Boston Brick & Stone, Inc

It turned out good. They did a lot of work over a period of time. When they did an inspection, they gave me pictures of the inside and told me what needed to be done. They were responsive and they were always on time. They were very professional.

It went pretty well. The cleaning went well and I would think about using them again. This was the first time I had used them, and I would recommend them to others.

I bought an Angie's List Deal for a $99 cleaning and inspection to be sure the fireplace in our rental house was in fact safe for use. They promptly called within a few days to set up an appt, which was set the week after. They then called to confirm the day before and also on the day to let me know they were running late, which was great. They did not tell me that two separate teams were going to come out - first was a 2-man chimney cleaning crew and later the chimney inspection technician showed. It was fine since I took the afternoon off, but it would have been nice to know it was going to take about three hours total, instead of one or two. Its a very messy process, if you have furniture or carpets that you don't want soot on, then move it out of the way in advance. The guys that come in to clean do tape off the area and keep most of the dirt/dust/soot from escaping, but their hands are filthy (since they clean chimneys) so if they need to move something out of the way it will get black fingerprints and smudges on it. And soot does not come out of every fabric, so move your stuff yourself and give them enough space to work. The crew was fine and professional, one spoke English, the other did not. They put a long ladder on the roof after taping the fireplace off and spent about a half hour sweeping the chimney. Then they vacuumed up the soot pile, cleaned up any other large mess, took all the tape and plastic away and left nothing behind. It was relatively quick and painless. Like every worker who comes into your house, you do have to watch, even if it makes you feel uncomfortable or like a busybody. They used a hose out in the back to rinse their arms and hands off, but it was over the vegetable garden, so I had to throw away some kale covered in soot. I didn't catch it until they were already halfway done, but they didn't ask if it was okay to use that hose (I would have preferred they use the one over the non-edible plants). I always wish vendors would take the extra step in respecting my home//stuff/crapnooneelsecaresabout, but some things are inevitable. The technician came about 45 min after the cleaning crew. He was polite, nice, professional, wore a uniform and seemed very knowledgable in his job. This process will also take up a fair amount of space so don't move your furniture back in place after the cleaning guys leave. The tech has a camera and a portable monitor and needs to connect the camera rods as he goes, so clear a three or four foot radius and put construction paper down if you have sensitive floors. He found cracks in the mortar and declared the chimney unsafe for use. He showed us where the cracks/separation were and explained why it was dangerous. I have no idea what to look for inside a chimney, but it seemed like common sense that you can't have holes in the mortar else a rogue spark lands inside and causes a chimney fire. He also knew about retrofitting a chimney and happily answered any inane question we had about chimneys. I did not feel rushed or like I was annoying him with all the questions, I really appreciated his patience and thorough explanations. About a week later they sent a very detailed report, it had photos and descriptions and cited the county fire code and also explained the remedy. Very helpful. Unfortunately, the cost of repairing the chimney is over $5,000. It needs to have a ceramic glaze laid on top of the brick and mortar (hope I got that right). They explained that would be a three day process. I don't think $5,000 is unfair for the scope of work they explained, but since its a rental we won't be spending that amount out of our own pockets and the management company hasn't given a response yet (it was sold as a working fireplace so fingers crossed they feel like honoring the listing). I would definitely use Boston Brick & Stone to do the work they quoted and I'd also ask for a thorough explanation of what the work would include so I could prep the area in advance. I do also see the benefit of getting a second opinion since the cost of repair is so high, but I have a feeling I'd go back to BB&S, they seem to know their chimney stuff.

The guys came and were very professional with covering the interior of the house with plastic to protect my white couches. Then Thomas came and did his inspection. Very thorough and explained everything that was in need of attention. They are really the best in the business--if you see a "Big Deal"--grab it because it's worth it!

It was rather intimidating and downright suspicious. How in the world could they do this for $99? I was afraid of up-selling but this didn't happen. I have not yet received the results of the inspection but they left my house clean and the chimney was swept. That's what I wanted anyway. The overall grade of "B" was because of how uncomfortable I felt.

My overall impression of them was fine. They were good.

The cleaning went well. The process took about 30 minutes. When the inspector came a week later he looked at the fire box and chimney. He asked how old the house was and how often I have used the fireplace. I told him that I has used it twice in twelve years. The fireplace has a gas line and faux wood logs. My home was built in 1977 (37 years old). He informed me that fire boxes are not meant to last that long and he could send me an estimate on installing a new unit. Approximately $5000 - $7000! My feeling? This was a sales job to get me to buy a new fire box unit. I gave this a excellent rating because of the two gentlemen that did the cleaning. The dirty work! But, I resent the sales job.

They were on time and went about their work quickly and efficiently. They also had suggestions for additional work that could be done to ensure the safety of my fireplace. They were cordial and very professional. I would gladly utilize them again.

They were very good and reliable. They were very polite and efficient. They know what they were doing when it comes to fireplaces. When I brought up an issue about pricing, they immediately addressed it without any problem.

Overall the service went very well. The two workers who swept the chimney took the time to properly cover my furniture with plastic and were careful to not make a mess. I dont know anything about chimneys but it looks clean to me. Once they were finished cleaning the chimney a friendly inspector from the company came and let me know about a few issues with my chimney. He said he would follow up with an estimate for the work that could be done to bring my chimney up to code. I gave him the impression that I wasn't very interested in spending any more money on my chimney but that I would share the estimate with my husband. I was never sent an estimate but that was probably because I didn't seem that excited about it. Overall they were easy to schedule, I was happy to have in the home and they did quality work.

It was an Angie's List Big Deal that I purchased. He was very nice but he proceeded to tell me that it would cost $4,000 so I was not impressed with that part of it. They were very nice and clean. I thought they were going to clean the inside of it but they didn't. They were in and out within half an hour. He sent me an email with pictures of the inside of the fireplace. I felt like he knew what he was doing. I didn't pay any additional. The chimney is only 20 years old and he said that the concrete had separated from the metal part so he said the smoke could go up between the spaces into the attic and potentially cause a fire. It is an old Spanish house and the gas turnoff valve is inside the fireplace and that it needs to be moved to the outside because of code. It would be $1,000 to move a valve 8 inches. I talked to my brother-in-law who does plumbing and he said that I didn't need to move it because it was grandfathered because it was the original that came with the house. It was $3,000 to repair the fireplace. I thought the price was a little off the chart. They did their job and they were very courteous and professional. I would get another bid before I used them again.

The service was ok and they were nice people. They were overpriced compared to the other company who gave me an estimate. The owner for the property I manage thought the bid was excessive. I would possibly get bids from them in the future.

I used an Angie's list deal $99 for video inspection and cleaning which I thought was a good deal. They also did some replacements such as a chimney cap with spark arrestor and installed a gas log for us. Initially thought the chimney cap installation was a bit pricey but it all worked out in the end because the gas log installation which I had no clue how to do I think was quite reasonable. They were also very prompt, did exactly what they said they were going to do and were very helpful and nice over the phone and email which I think is the most important part. Would use them again.

Excellent company excellent reference thanks so much for the work done so far as to this date.

The two inside guys called ahead and came early. They were polite, smart and did their job efficiently...left my living room spotless after removing the plastic furniture covers they had installed before the chimney cleaning. The inspector, Mark Cazares, was great...answered all my questions with real knowledge about his specialty. Mark's insight and warnings may have saved me from a fire in my house or possible damage to my roof.

Two days later I received a comprehensive report which included a number of recommendations; unfortunately he did not return my calls to discuss his report.

Their work ethic and quality is phenomenal. Their prices were a little high, but well worth it in the end.

It didn't go very well. A gentleman came out to do an estimate, but was about a half hour late with no call and no apology. He never explained what he was doing, but was using a camera to look at the chimney. I asked for a receipt or invoice, but I never heard back from them. A few months later, I got a letter from them asking if I was going to call to make an appointment. I was very disappointed that they never followed up with me.

Quote was almost 2x more than we paid with different company.

Chris in the office had to reschedule us after the original appointment, which was difficult for us because we had tenants moving in, but we made it work. Two technicians and one inspector arrived early on the appointed day. We had already had a chimney inspection during the escrow, so we didn't need an inspection -- or so we thought. We knew there were some repairs needed, that we had not yet done, but at this point we just wanted to get the cleaning done. We asked Chris if they would do both of our fireplaces for the Big Deal price, in lieu of an inspection. But the inspector was already on site, so Chris told him to go ahead and inspect both of the fireplaces for us and see what they could do. It turns out the inspection by Boston Brick pointed out the work we still need to do on the living room fireplace. The inspector showed us photos from the attic indicating that, although we had already had a contractor move dangerous insulation away from the chimney per the previous inspector's recommendations, there is more insulation to remove. In addition, he cited some necessary repairs that we had been told about, but neglected. He gave us some bad news, which the other company did not tell us -- that our upstairs gas fireplace in the Master Bedroom is a fire hazard and should not be used because it is so old and out of code by today's standards. We learned that it will cost between $6,000 and $12,000 to replace it. We will probably just remove it. The technicians who cleaned the living room fireplace seemed to do a good job (it's hard to tell, if you don't know chimneys). They covered up the area and prevented the soot from getting into the house. The inspector told them they could go upstairs and vacuum out the gas fireplace too, which he said was very dirty. While they were up there, they did me a favor by vacuuming up some plaster that needed an industrial strength vacuum -- I was very appreciative. We are awaiting the estimate from BB&S for the additional repairs, and will decide at that time how much we can afford to do.

I was very satisfied with the work that they did. They were very professional and they cleaned up after themselves. The workers that came were quiet and helpful. They gave me a photographic report of the inside of the chimney and explained it well. The report was very thorough. I did do a comparison of estimates and the estimates were pretty close, but I felt like the report was more thorough with Brick & Stone. The quality was good and they came right away.

The workers were polite and professional. Covered everything in room with plastic sheeting before cleaning and vacuuming out the chimney. The fireplace was left clean. I would definitely use this service again.

It went very well. The company was on top of everything and followed up when they said they would. The chimney was very dirty and hadn't been done in a very long time. Great job.

It went excellent. They were really well ranked. They did good work and did it quickly.

They took a brick from another part of the porch and moved it to where the broken brick was. Then took the broken pieces and placed them in the "out-of-view" area of the porch. The broken pieces were arranged and affixed in such a way that you couldn't even tell the brick had broken. Beautiful work. Looking at the front porch, you'd never be able to tell that there had been any damage.