Chris Arndt Masonry & Chimney Restoration

Last year we had our roof replaced. At the time of the roof inspection the roofers recommended having the chimney tuck pointed and a new crown put on. They showed me were the brick and mortar were deteriorating and the crown was breaking off. I then scheduled 3 bids from Angie’s, all of the contractors were very nice and all noticed that the liners were cracked from the crown down to the fire box and said the chimney was unsafe. Bids ranged from a high of $4,450, mid $1,300/$1,400 to a low of $870. The high bid included installing a 6” X 20’ flue liner with a chimney cap, tuck pointing and resetting loose bricks. The low was just to tuck point loose mortar, on about 15 to 20% of the chimney and then put a new crown and seal the chimney. I chose the mid price because of the following. Several years ago, I needed work on a rental property and had Chris come out to put a bid on tuck pointing the chimney (the real estate agent said I needed to do that before I sold the house). He said he would be happy to do the work, but upon inspection he noted that the mortar was more dirty than deteriorating , and suggested that a good scrubbing was all it needed for the brick and mortar. I realize that companies are in business to make a living, but I really appreciate it when they try and look out for their customers, so that is what I did in that case. When Chris came out to put a bid in on the tuck pointing and crown, he said he could tuck point it, but he would recommend just rebuilding the entire chimney, and he would try and pull out as many flue tiles as they could reach, and then seal those that they couldn’t get out and the price would be somewhere around $1,300 to $1,400 figuring replacement of 3 or 4 flue tiles and more should they be able to replace more tiles. As it turned out they were able to replace all of the tiles, and the price came out to $1,480 plus tax. The bottom line is that I am very happy with the quality and costs of work that Chris and his crew did for the following reasons. Their prices are more than competitive specially with the quality of work that they do, and I feel I have an advocate who is looking out for me, not just selling me something but recommending the best course of action that benefits me, the customer. Should I need any masonry work done in the future, I won’t even go through the bid process, rather I will just ask Chris to make a recommendation and have them do it.

First, Chris himself.  So easy to deal with, excellent communications,  so prompt, so hardworking, so NICE.   He was able to work with ease with a persnickity neighbor where the scaffold had to be placed on his prized lawn.   Chris personally made sure our neighbor, and we, had an immaculate job site.  So many little things Chris did that were above and beyond - we didn't have the specialized siding we needed to cover the 7ft x 25ft spot where the chimney was , so he added tight tar paper to keep it dry meanwhile.   He also came back the next day for two hours and added some temporary framing boards inside the outer wall to support the interior fireplace.   Above and beyond.  (We can't place the siding yet -  it's a foundation repair first.).   Chris is a pro, but more than that, his hires are also super hardworking and nice.  His lead man for our job, Randy, deserves a special shout-out, impressed with him.  While it seems pricey, this price was competitive, and it's a heavy job to carry out all that brick,  so we give Chris an A for price, too.   More than that, there is a personal, attentive feel to this hire that really made us feel glad that we went with Chris Arndt's Masonry.   Highly recommend him and his team.  

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Awesome job.  Everyone was very professional and very responsive. Chris provided ideas for our front porch and was very respectful and responsive to our ideas as well.  Chris made sure we knew everyone who was working on the job.  The porch looks awesome.  We had had new concrete work done previously and they made every effort to protect the concrete.  Our neighbors were very impressed with the work as well.

They came on time, completed the job efficiently, and did an excellent job of cleaning up before they left. I highly recommend this company!

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My wife and I wanted to add some spark to our cabin and thought about adding some stonework to the front of our garage to give it an updated look. We found Chris on Angie';s list and asked that he meet us at our residence which was over an hour away from his home. He also agreed to meet us on a Saturday morning so we could walk thru and discuss our desires. Chris knows his business and in talking with us about what we wanted to do, he was able to provide to us some ideas that we had not thought about having done.
We engaged Chris to do the work and it turned out much better than we ever imagined, he did everything as we discussed and his craftsmanship shows that he has been doing this type of work for a number of years. His work is excellent and we are already thinking about having Chris do some work for us again.

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He told me that the other provider had used lousy materials on the outside. We went from an old, red brick and it looks really nice. I like it. I recommend him for further service to everybody. This guy knows his chimney stuff.

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Very professionally.  Chris removed the bad sections and replaced what was necessary.  Protected the roof with carpet and then did a complete clean-up.

While it took us a bit to get started, I felt it was only because Chris wanted to make sure his work turned out top grade.  The chimney we were fixing was built in the 60's with brick that is no longer manufactured.  Chris went out of his way to find a brick that was comparable.  It is not a perfect match,but he placed the new brick down to the roof line so the front appearance of the house is beautiful.  He cleaned up old surfaces of the rest of the chimney to restore it to a much more becoming finish than it was previously.  After all mason work was done, the clean up of my yard was impeccable.  He may have even removed a few weeds!

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I'm in the process of buying a home, and I called Chris regarding a chimney that will require repairs in order for my home loan to be approved. He was willing to go out and look at the problem the same day I called. He provided me both written and verbal feedback on how to approach the problem with both a short and long term solution. I've had many interactions with tradespeople in the past, but Chris is head in shoulders above them all. My experience was similar to other people who've reviewed him - he's very honest and exceptionally fair. 

We took Chris's advice and replaced  and repaired the old masonry.  It worked so well that the new homeowners never made mention of the brickwork it blended in so well.

Smooth, easy to work with definetly a first call when you have a need!

I do a lot of DIY stuff around the house but had never done much masonry work myself so his advice and encouragement was very helpful.  He was right.  I successfully made the restoration.  So although I don't know how Chris does actual work himself, I was pleased by his reponsiveness, knowlege (that he was willing to pass along), and business ethics.

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Called Chris, who came over, discussed the issues, came in with a team and in 4 hours removed and loaded some 6 ton of rock and took it to his place for storage.  No mess, no fuss, no dust!  After the jacking was done, I called him to discuss the next step.  He returned the next day with samples of stone veneer.   My wife and I could not find a veneer that satisfied, as we were really hooked on the pure white, sparkly marble that was there.   We decided that the answer was to cut the old rock into veneer blocks and reapply.  After discussion with Chris, and the potential labor costs in having the cutting done, it was decided that I would cut the rock myself.  Chris, at no additional charge, loaded, returned and unloaded the the original rocks, and I undertook several months (off and on) of cutting veneer pieces.  Chris further discussed the cost of the rebuild, and sugested, to save cost that I DIY it.  He then spent a couple of hours with me, effectively teaching a master course in firebox design, block laying and veneer work, again at no cost to me.  The result, after a couple of "help" calls, is (I think) a great new fireplace, and while it has taken me some 8 months of work, thanks to Chris's advise and encouragement, has cost me only my labor and occasional rental of a large stone saw!  Chris is a consummate craftsman and a great guy.  I have another project coming up, and will be calling him again... this time to do it for me!

Chris is a very down to earth guy, with deep experience in the trade. Spends the times to listen so he is actually quoting and performing the work you want. Work was done started on time and executed correctly. Really no negatives. And I would definitely hire his firm again.

Chris and his assistant came back to complete the job within a day or two. They did excellent work and cleaned up the site and put protective plastic over it so the concrete could cure. Everything was so professional and friendly from the speed of coming to the house to giving us an estimate.to completing the work. It was a pleasure to deal with such pleasant and competent a company