HANSEN & SONS CHIMNEY REPAIR

They were excellent and did a really nice job.

Called to ask if he could be early for the appointment. Very professional, explained things well, and careful about not getting the carpet dirty.

We were satisfied with their work and professionalism and will hire again.

I would use them again.

not well. The first time with leaking, it was the flashing coming loose, the second time it was an unsealed screw in the flashing and the third time said we needed a new roof and not their responsibility. Having the additional work done by another company. Two roofers said a new roof was NOTneeded. So have a tarp on the chimney until the other completion work can be done.

It went very well. They were on time and they were friendly and very clean. When they cleaned the chimney nothing came in room. sealed it all off and laid stuff down.I appreciate the courtesy in keeping my things clean.

When I called there was no apology, offer to reschedule, or anything.

They were very personable. They came out, and did a good job. I had additional issues with the draft, and they came out within a day, for no additional cost, to fix the issues. They are very committed to satisfying their customers.

We got them from Angie’s List. It went fine. They were right here when they said they would be. I’d recommend them. They did some repair work on my outside chimneys too months ago. You can’t even tell that they did a repair. It looks original. I supposed the price was fair. It was not what I thought I would have to spend.

unknown

Hanson's pulled out my old fireplace that was only good for atmosphere since all the heat in the house went up the chimney when I used it.  They took off the siding off the back side of the house, opened up the wall and pulled the old fireplace out from the back side. They rebuilt the chamber to accomdate the new wood burning stove, insulated it, and then sealed it back up.  The replaced the chimney and the chimney cap.

Quick summary:  We had an outstanding experience with Hansen &Sons this fall.  We had a fair price, excellent service by very considerate, polite, careful workers.  In particular, they were really accomodating to our schedule when setting up initial appointment, installation and for all the follow-up work.  The gas insert itself works great and looks great.  I'd recommend them to absolutely anyone for this work.  If you want the long version, read on. 
 We have an older Arts and Crafts home with the classic wood-burning fireplace.  It was rarely used, caused cold drafts and made our living room the coldest room in the house.  We decided to install a gas insert in early Sept and went to several chimney/insert outfits in Madison.  Hansen was the easiest to work with from the start, as Bill (owner) was willing to stop for the evaluation and estimate after we got home from work.  (the other place we talked too insisted that the estimate could only be done at 2 p.m. -- not convenient for us with our jobs!)  We got a reasonably accurate first estimate immediately and found Bill to be charming and very helpful when choosing our insert style.  He suggested that we could save money by getting our own electrician for outlet installation (which we did and saved $250!)
     Part of our incentive for the gas insert, was that my wife was having surgery in two months and would be recuperating on our couch during November/December.  The insert would make recovery much more pleasant.  Although it was the high-season for his business, Bill took it as a challenge to get the unit in ASAP.   It took 6 weeks for the unit to come, as he predicted,  and it was installed shortly after her surgery in one day.  It turned out the decorative faceplate for the insert was not yet in stock, so Bill offered to install it with an alternate faceplate temporarily.  
     The two workmen for installation were great -- polite and kept the house clean throughout.  The exterior work for gas hookup was neat and professional.  The replacement faceplate arrived 6 weeks later and was a tricky install as it was a brand new design for them.  Ultimately it took a few extra trips by them to get the fit right.  Through all of those extra trips, they were unfailingly cheerful and a bit sheepish about it all.  But there was no attitude issues, because you could tell that they weren't going to be satisfied until it was just right.  
     I've never had a better experience with a construction outfit than the one we had with Hansen & Sons.

We are very satisfied with the service they provided and will be calling them again next time the chimneys need cleaning

unknown

The team was professional and the quality of work was outstanding. The price without the extra stone work was competitive with area fireplace installers. It was the stone work to the vaulted ceiling that added to the cost.

Bill was very helpful when we worked thru the design...which turned out amazing.

One door of the regency fireplace unit had the paint / coating come off. Hansen and sons has worked with the manufacturers and is taking care of it and repairing the door.

We love the fireplace and stone work. We are very happy with Hansen and sons.

It went very well. They cleaned everything up so nicely. We only waited 1 1/2 weeks for them to do the work which is what they told us. The estimate was what they told us.

They did a great job.  They estimated the work and pricing very accurately and were respectful of the disruption to our household of them being in our living room.  The quality of the work was excellent and the team was very professional.  They really knew their trade and were able to fix some things that others had not wanted to touch.  We needed a lot of work and they got it done on time and on budget.  I would recommend them.  The only inconvenience was that to order the fireplace doors we had to go over to their shop which was not open regular hours.  However we called and arranged a time which worked out.

It was excellent. It went pretty well. I just need to call them back for one thing. The flue is looser so I have to call them back. They were very efficient and very respectful. They put things over their feet because it was snowing out. I was a little shocked at the price.

We were happy with their work and they did a good job. The job was done satisfactorily. A couple of times things had to be postponed one or two weeks  but we understood because they were busy. In the end they got the job done and they did good work. It would have been $500 more if I hadn't gotten a second competitive bid. They said they would match any lower estimates so I purposely got a second bid and it was $500 lower. I stuck with them because they only do chimneys.  They were very considerate of our property. The price was reasonable because they lowered it by the $500.

Bill came out quite promptly about October 2012 and was courteous, friendly, and competent. He said they would get the chimneys done in 6-8 weeks and cold weather was not a problem. Mentioned tents for enclosing the chimneys if necessary for the tuck pointing. We signed the quote to start work. After 9 weeks, I called and got no answer. I was a bit nervous at this point! Ultimately, I talked to the office and it sounded like they were overwhelmed with lots of work and at least one employee out unexpectedly. There was also some confusion as to how many chimneys the agreed-on price covered. I prevailed in convincing them that the quote for $900 was for both, in no small part due to the written quote saying so quite plainly! The next promised interval elapsed, then another promised interval. At this point it is like January. Finally, after asking in e-mails and on voicemail if they are still planning to do the work so I can decide if I should cancel the credit and look for a new company, I speak with the woman in the office. She tells me they can't do the work in the winter despite what Bill said! So I am on the schedule for spring. Great for me since I had flashing letting water under the shingles! Luckily not coming in the house, a testament to ice and water shield. Finally some time in March they did come out, tuck pointed and sealed the chimneys and put on new flashing. It all appears water tight, but did not look like a very tidy job to my eyes. Lots of silicone gobs and strings all over (in addition to some on the actual joints!), sheet metal snippings on the roof and in the gutter (not just little corners, but good sized strips), and pretty rough edges and bends in places. The work is on the roof, and maybe I expect too much, but it looked less well-fitting than the old flashing. At least it seems to perform better than it looks. Ultimately, they showed up to quote, which was better than I was getting from other companies, but the rest was so disorganized and disappointing that I am not sure if I would use them again. If they were the only ones to quote, I probably would.

My husband raved that Jake was punctual, professional, and seemed honest. This was our third chimney sweep, and my husband insisted we try Angie's List for the new recommendation. We were more than satisfied.

It was okay although the communication took a long time for things to happen and we don't know when it's going to happen.  Originally, they said the quote will come out within 4-6 weeks but it was three months later.  They also said that they had so many projects to do.  They did a good job.

We looked at gas inserts in early February 2013. Satisfied with the owner's presentation of product options and communication about the job, including via email, we scheduled the job one month out. Two weeks before, Hansen rescheduled the job, delaying 2 days, which was inconvenient but manageable. The installation seemed to go well: the installers got the job done in a reasonable amount of time, gave adequate instruction on use of the fireplace, and cleaned up the worksite. We were told there would be some gas odor for a short time, but after a gas odor persisted for several days, we called Hansen. A new Hansen worker visited the next day but his leak detector was not functioning. He turned off the gas to the unit and arranged for an independent contracted repairperson to visit 3 days later. This repairperson (not from Hansen) found and fixed an installation problem connecting the gas line to the unit. He also called Hansen and from what we overheard of the conversation, was rebuking them pretty harshly about the installation. Hansen did call us later to follow up on resolution of the gas leak. Overall our up-front experience interacting with Hansen & Sons was better than with several other fireplace/chimney companies. We are tentatively satisfied with the product so far, but the gas leak installation issue was a very notable drawback, and we are concerned about the proficiency of Hansen for installing and servicing this Regency unit. We only have limited time left with cold weather to evaluate the unit.
UPDATE 12/18/13: We used the gas insert about 5 times in March/April before shutting it down for the season. Recently we have been trying to run the unit without success. One problem: we light the pilot, it is burning fine, but when we attempt to turn on the flame, it starts but within 10 seconds all flames go out including the pilot and the unit automatically stops gas flow. Second problem: we light the pilot and leave it on, hoping that "time will solve the issue," but the pilot goes out on its own within an hour followed by automatic gas stop. We called Hansen & Sons about problem and left answering machine message 12/16. With no response after 2 days, we called again on 12/18, described the problem, and were scheduled for a service visit 9 days later (12/27). Will update again as this saga continues.
UPDATE 12/31/13: Service visit on 12/27 was less than 15 minutes. Service person changed remote control batteries, went through same process we had multiple times with same results, and said he didn't know what was wrong but would refer it to the owner, Bill, who is the "engineering expert," but was not answering his cell phone right then. Not hearing from them for the rest of the day, we called and eventually were able to schedule a service visit from Bill on 12/31/13. Bill showed up an hour late from another job and was apologetic about not having our phone number with him to notify us. Encouragingly, he was able to get the fireplace started by first opening the glass pane until the flame was stable, then re-sealing the system, consistent with a venting problem and oxygen starvation. He believes the exhaust vent is not working effectively in the very cold weather we are having with an exterior uninsulated chimney, leading to buildup of CO in the unit, oxygen starvation, loss of flame, and automatic shutdown. Once the flame is well established and the vent pipe is warm, the situation is resolved. He has scheduled a service visit in 2 days, on 1/2/14, to pull the unit, create a base in the top of the firebox, pour vermiculite insulation around the vent pipes from the top of chimney to provide insulation and facilitate effective venting, and reinstall the unit. If this fixes the problem (without having to open the glass each time when starting the unit, which is not recommended and would be a hassle), and is done without charge, it will be a good resolution and respectable professional follow-up on a paid job. Bill seems very knowledgeable, sincere, and professional.
UPDATE 2/28/14: Unfortunate saga continues. We got email 1/1/14, changing the plan to installation of an insulated sleeve around the exhaust vent pipe, which they had ordered and would install upon arrival early the next week. That seemed like a fine, even better plan than a load of vermiculite in the chimney, but only if it happens. Not hearing from them, we emailed owner Bill an inquiry on 2/23/14, and received in reply a copied message on 2/24/14 instructing Dan to install the sleeve "this week." On Fri 2/28/14, we got call from Dan indicating he was coming by to install AC adapter, and that was all Tod told him to do, but he would re-evaluate diagnostics on this visit if we insisted. We have made 3 calls and sent an email, indicating that the power issue had been tested before and found not to be the problem, that diagnostics were done when the problem (cold start-up) was evident and the remedy was insulating the exhaust vent pipe and this had been promised, and that repeat diagnostic evaluation now with the unit on and the chimney and exhaust vent pipe warm seemed pointless. This has now swung back to a very disappointing and unresolved problem, though I am ever hopeful...
UPDATE 3/19/14: After no visit as promised 2/28 and no subsequent communication, we sent strongly worded email on 3/4, got call on 3/5 to schedule service, and got service call on 3/11. At that time, the insulation sleeve was (finally) installed on exhaust vent pipe. (As an aside that is both irritating and somewhat amusing, the service person criticized the initial installation of the unit, saying "why did they insert the screws this way, should have done it the opposite way.") As of 3/19, the system remains working. Effectiveness of this remedy will only be tested if/when we again have extremely cold temperatures when trying to start a cold system for first time in heating season. I don't think this process need have been as painful and prolonged as it has been, and I'm disappointed with sequential installation and functionality issues, but eventually we have gotten promised work accomplished.

The price, I don't know because I don't have what to compare it to and the quality of work seemed to be okay. The responsiveness was very good.