MacDonald's Chimney Sweep

When smoke bgan to bellow unexpectedly from my furnace at 8 pm one evening, I used Angie's List to find a company that repaired chimneys. The owner of MacDonald's was willing to come over that evening to inspect the chinmney, although he was at a bachelor party. I refused his generous offer and he came the next morning. He diagnosed the problem, proposed a solurion and provided an estimate. My research indicated that his price was very reasonable. As soon as the weather allowed, the crew replaced my chimney lining. The owner of the company was always available, answered all of my questions, and had a crew that worked efficiently and expertly. They cleaned up all of the mess, including vacuuming my dining room. What mattered to me was how quickly and reliably they solved a major problem. I would happily recommend them to any one. They did well what they said they would do and put no pressure on me to buy other products and services.

This person failed to show up for the scheduled appointment - TWICE. When he missed the first appointment, I called and we set another date for the following week. He did not show up for that appointment either. Highly unreliable. Do not waste your time.

It was a seamless and easy experience!

I was impressed with how responsive MacDonald's seemed to be when I called to request an estimate for the repairs to several chimneys in my "new" old home. We scheduled an appointment and Rich (I think) came out to take a look. He seemed professional friendly, and knowledgeable and he mentioned a few prices that gave me the impression that the estimate would be reasonable and affordable. But then, after promising to email the estimate, I didn't hear anything for a couple weeks. I phoned (left messages) and emailed and got no response for another week. Finally, I caught Rich on the phone and he promised to email the estimate the next day. That was a week ago. I'm very disappointed. If someone at MacDonald's had simply explained that they don't want to repair my chimneys, I wouldn't have waited all this time for their quote. I'd have chosen one of the other contractors who gave me estimates. It's frustrating to read the positive reviews, while I can't get anyone to return my phone calls or emails. Obviously, I won't be able to see whether they do good work or not.

This is a three-story 100 year old single family home in Medford, MA. We orginally contracted With MacDonalds to install a 7 inch steel liner from the gas boiler to the attic and to rebuild the chimney from the attic floor to above the roof using cement blocks. The total chimney lenth from the cellar floor to above the roof was about 35 ft. The old brick chimney section in the attic, about 7 feet, was not stable(mortar very powdery) and the chimney was also slanted in the attic to avoid going through a main roof rafter(a so-called "witches bend"). When they started to take down the chimney above the roof, the chimney collapsed down to the attic floor with a loud roar! We had to change plans very quickly and decided to install a Hart & Cooley double wall insulated steel chimney from the attic floor through the roof and above the roof and connect that to the new steel liner at the attic floor. We were able to obtain an OK to do this quickly from the Medford Building Department. Rich MacDonald, the owner, responded well to this emergency and got the Hart & Cooley sections quickly and also rebuilt part of the roof around the chimney to accomodate it so we didnt need to bring in other carpentry and roofing contractors which would have been very expensive. Rich was great and I managed not to have a heart attack!

Rich and his crew arrived promptly and were able to break down the chimney from the inside and remove debris from the basement without having to break open any interior walls. The work was done in a single day, and at the end of the day, except for a little bit of dust on the roof you would not have been able to tell that there had ever been a chimney there. The crew did a great job cleaning up and removing the debris at the end of the day. Rich was a real pleasure to do business with, and I would not hesitate to hire him again to work on our other chimney.

They were excellent. They were very prompt, clean, and neat, and did the job very well.

They must have more business then they can handle. Can't even return phone calls.

Rich and his employees are great. They came when they said they would, they did the work quickly and professionally. And when they came back with the invoice a week later, Rich made sure to ask if there was anything else he could help us with. I mentioned there was still occasionally a stale wood fire smell coming from one of the fireplaces (I have a very finicky sense of smell) and he got his tools out right then and there to give the back wall an extra scrubbing with a brush, no charge.

Great Service Great Price Great Attitude, and even great with our kids!! Rich and his team will be back every year we own this house. As new homeowners, our first Angies List find was a real superstar. After talking with Rich on the phone and describing all our chimney problems his estimate was the least painful., and all the reviews where great so we decided to go with MacDonald's. When Rich and his assitant arrived on Saturday morning they got right to work and when they left you couldn't tell a contractor was ever in the house. Rich had previously asked for some pictures of the chimney and when the arrived they had all the parts and materials they needed on the truck to do everything we had discussed. NO DELAYS, NO UPSELLING, NO HASSLES It turned out they were able to perform repairs to several items we thought might have to be replaced (Ash pit door, Damper, etc...) and the overall bill was less than we had discussed one the phone.. They were friendly and great with our kids 2 & 4 who thought it was great to see someone going into the fireplace. These guys are just fantastic people and excellent at what they do; you will not be disappointed.

Went well. Staff were very professional and explained to us all the details.

We had a dormant chimney in our house that we needed to remove in order to use the chaseway to run pluming and electric to the third floor for the construction of a bathroom dormer. Rich and the crew came in and demo'ed the whole chimney from inside the chase, working their way from the attic to the basement. They didn't have to put a single hole in the wall. Once they were done they cleaned all the work areas and hauled away the brick and we could hardly tell they had been there at all. Rich was very easy going and knowledgeable and he was a pleasure to work with. I would recommend him again and again to anyone who might need chimney work.

Price was fair---punctual and thorough---job was extremely difficult because of age of house, and poor condition of chimney. Job was completed in spite of many inherant problems with old chimney, and workers were fully experienced and left a completely clean workplace. Highly recommended.

The work was done the day after a big snow storm and he was running a little late (which was understandable), but I appreciated that he called to apologize and let me know he was on his way instead of waiting for me to call him looking for them. The work was done efficiently and based on rough estimates we had gotten from other companies, the price was good.

Terrific service. Reasonable price and quick to schedule appointment. Would definitely hire again.

MacDonald's is great. When the old liner collapsed, I emailed Rich at 8:00 pm and heard back from him within 5 minutes. He was willing to come over that evening. I said no only because I didn't see what they could accomplish at night. The crew arrived at my house at 7:00 the next morning and cleaned out the old clay liner. (Until the old liner ws cleaned out, I could not have my furnace cleaned and turn the heat back on. Their next-day response was crucial to my family's comfort.) We had to schedule installation of the new liner three times due to weather. Rich commmunicated promptly with us about the schedule and the rescheduling. When the crew was finally able to start work, they arrived when they said they would. The members of the crew were careful, thorough and respectful of my home.. Rich explained everything to us: the work required, the cost, and why it cost what it did. The cost was very reasonable compared to other companies. They were able to save us some money by lowering the height of our chimney. They cleaned up the bricks and dust that fell into the dining room while they were working. An additional benefit for me was being able to use a local business and, thereby, support my neightborhood. I would not hesitate to use them again and I am happy to unreservedly recommend them to anyone.

He was good. I would recommend him. The price was for both jobs.

Very pleased with work and results. Price slightly higher than others, but thouroughness and quality of work which was well above the average was worth it.. Very professional and reputable; will use them again. I would recommend them without reservation.

Service was punctual, friendly ,and efficient.

Rich was responsive from the first call and came out the next day to take a look. We discussed a few options for the various parts of the project and came up with different prices for different amounts of work. I decided to get it all done and they scheduled work for about a month later. They came out on time and in two days (interrupted by a rain day) had everything done. The work seems to be very well done, and they were a pleasure to have around the house. They seemed to enjoy explaining what they were doing. The only uncomfortable part was the lack of a written contract before the work was done. I had to ask for one, which only showed up on the second day. But the cost met the estimate right on the dollar, and in the end all was well, though it seemed oddly casual for a big chunk of work on their end and money on mine.

Very well. He arrived on time, gave us some advice on maintaining the chimney, and did the sweep.

The complete experience was terrific - MacDonald's is local to my neighborhood - he was prompt in estimating, prompt, professional, and experienced in doing the work. I would definitely use him again. He also referred me to another local guy (Frank Bowler, Bowmac Construction) to install a gutter and replace some fascia boards - another professional experience.

They were polite, on time, and efficient.

exellent, quick, cleaned up after themselves.

Because the location is outdoors, and we had lots of rain in April, it took a few tries for him to provide an estimate and then to do the work, this is no fault of the business but keep this in mind when working with any service that is done outdoors. I had to call a couple of times; he's very busy and is probably getting a lot of work from recent reviews here and the letter in the magazine. I haven't been up on the roof to look at the work up close, but from what I can see from the street it looks good.