CHARLIE'S CHIMNEY SERVICE

It was a great experience.  He arrived on time, did the work and cleaned up after himself.  He was fast, efficient and the work was done perfectly.

Steer clear of this unprofessional, unscrupulous, unstable and incompetent person.  Charlie charged us $2300.00 for chimney
repair work he only pretended to do and other work that was of extremely poor quality or didn't need to be done at all.   He ended up botching the job, rendering our chimney completely unusable plus the leak is still there.   We are now paying a reputable company over $1000.00 to undo the damage he did and to address the actual issue causing the leak.  His 10 year warranty is bogus as he simply does not return calls if there is a problem. 
Following are only some of the details.  Once we figured out Charlie was not to be trusted we asked to please see the old
chimney cap he said he just replaced.  He knew he was busted for ripping us off so as a cover, flew into a rage, and
started digging wet mortar out of our chimney with his bare hands, throwing it around, and threatening to walk off the job leaving everything exposed to the elements.  At this point I knew he was a con artist and an unstable individual with an anger management problem but he had us over a barrel because noon e else could come out for three weeks to even give us an estimate.  I mistakenly thought it best to have him stay and finish the job so gave him an honorable out by suggesting maybe there had just been a misunderstanding. (Although the written job order clearly included replacement of the cement chimney cap which I have since learned can cost over $300.00.)
In hindsight I should have had him leave that day.  Due to his incompetence, Charlie damaged our chimney by caulking around the top of it with poly-urethane which has a low melting point.  Now, when we turn our gas insert on it heats up the globs of caulking and fills our house with the toxic fumes of burning plastic!  He said, "I didn't think it would get that hot up there".  To add insult to injury, he foolishly applied the toxic grout to an area where it couldn't possibly do any good and it can?t be removed without damaging metal parts, so it all has to be replaced with new parts.   
I have since had two highly rated and very reputable chimney repair companies over and they had the exact same findings.  Besides not replacing the promised cap, there is no evidence at all he bothered to grind out the old mortar before applying more over the old.  He only said he did it.  The flashing has to be completely redone due to Charlie?s extremely sloppy work. The caulk line he applied to attach it, which was supposed to be a thin, straight line,  looks like it was applied from 15 feet away with a sling shot.  Charlie said, ?That?s the best I can do.?   I have no idea how this guy is still in business.  My next step will be a complaint to the Better Business Bureau and possibly court action. 
  

Prompt--out to do the work within a couple days of my call.
Friendly and professional -- I have two loud, high-energy dogs that didn't seem to phase them at all. Able to complete the additional work without a second visit.
Trust-worthy -- I had a question about a repair to my foundation, and Charlie said that that was outside his scope, and he referred me to someone else who would be better suited to that type of work.

THEY CAME OUT THE SAME DAY FOR AN ESTIMATE AND COMPLETED THE JOB QUICKLY. IT LOOKS NICE AND IS NO LONGER LEAKING. THE OLD BRICKS WERE HAULED OFF WHEN THEY FINISHED.