James Ball Chimney Cleaning

He suggested that we first have our gutters cleaned and if there is still a problem he recommended a local mason who would reseal the chimney and replace the flashing if necessary. He did not charge for the assessment. We're very satisfied with this company and are happy to recommend him to members of Angies List.

This is a top notch company. Mr. Ball discovered the problems quickly and was able to explain them to me in the simplest terms. He proposed solutions along with pricing on the spot. He and Omar got the work done on time and on budget. They even did a free sweep of the chimney. All around a terrific experience.

It went exactly as it was supposed to, which is rare in today's world.

We contacted James Ball Chimney cleaning in the Spring to have our chimney (oil burner) cleaned and to have our dryer vent checked. James answered the phone and walked through exactly what he would be doing and gave us an estimate and we scheduled an appointment. On the scheduled day, James and an assistant arrived on time and looked at the chimney and dryer vent. The chimney required a replacement connector piece from the burner, including a bit of masonry work (we thought this might be necessary - not unexpected), so we had to schedule a follow-up. As for the dryer vent, it looked clear upon inspection, so we weren't charged. They arrived on-time on the rescheduled date and performed the chimney/masonry work quickly, cleanly, and professionally. We plan to continue using them in the future.

James was great. Very professional, knowledgable, and a pleasure to work with. He takes a lot of pride in his work and it shows. We didn't have a ton of work done but he was great. He checked everything and believe it or not told us the primary chimney looked good and did not need a sweep. It sounds like a backhanded compliment but that is the kind of honesty that we do not see out of every contractor. With James you know you are going to get the real picture, and that is why we will continue to call him for any chimney needs in the future.

Job well done! Everything was completed according to contract. The job "site" was left exactly as it was prior to beginning work (nice and clean!). Very professional and courteous! Having just moved into our home a few months ago and not knowing the maintenance history of the previous owner, we wanted to start fresh and know that the maintenance that needed to be done was done and done properly!

I had some minor issues with basement water leakage near my chimney/ashpit in my single-family house. A waterproofing company gave me an estimate but recommended that I first get the chimney inspected to make sure there were no issues there. I found James Ball on Angie's List. Unlike other chimney contractors, he returned my call right away and came to inspect the house within days. He examined the chimney and determined that it was fine and that my issues should be resolved through work unrelated to the chimney, such as sump pump installation, regrading, etc. He doesn't offer those services but took the time to offer me detailed advice on those services and various strategies for eliminating the water problem. I appreciated his honesty and the fact that he went out of his way to give me advice on topics that would earn him no money. If at some point I need chimney work or dryer vent work, I will definitely call him. I recommend him wholeheartedly.

I did not hire them, although they were prompt, courteous, and clean. They bad mouthed the work done by prior Chimney companies, I was asking what work needed to be done in order to sell the house, i.e., tuck pointing etc. they did not really answer just said that the prior company's chimney liner was too small, and had to be replaced since it didn't fit properly. I did not hire them.

Overall the experience was excellent.

Very professional and courteous. Showed up right on time and really knew his stuff. I would highly recommend this company

He correctly installed new duct work leading from our hot water heater to the chimney and charged us just over $50. A bargain in my eyes. He also provided us with an estimate for a chimney liner and a chimney cap. We've not gotten it yet but we will have him do the work when we have the money to proceed.

We could not use our fireplace because of the debris above the damper, and we wanted to remove an old fireplace insert so that we could build fires. We found James Ball on Angie's List and called for an estimate. He and his associate came on time, reviewed the situation and sent an estimate within 24 hours. We accepted the estimate and set up an appointment for the work to be done. They came on schedule and completed the first part of the work within a few hours and rescheduled a return trip to complete the balance of the work. They came promptly and completed the work without a hitch. They were very careful since our living room has a light colored carpet and cleaned up completely. We highly recommenend this company.

Extremely knowledgeable and informative. He told me I could wait to do the fireplace. It was in pretty good shape. It is a fireplace we use infrequently. He is as honest as they come. I had him clean it anyway and he was very thorough, taking out the damper to get at hard to reach areas, something other fireplace sweeps have not done in my experience.

We called James in to have our chimney and flue cleaned and to have a chimney cap installed. James's employee Allen identified that our flue needed a new lining (bricks were crumbling in the flue) and that our chimney needed to be parged to bring it up to code. They showed up on time on the date they told us they could come, completed the work in one day, as they said they would, and were completely courteous. James was not able to re-line the flue with a pipe as he intended, but recommended an excellent person who could install a thermocrete lining for us. Because James and Allen were courteous and up front with us in discussing the work we had done, we will us him again for future chimney cleaning needs.

We had smoke coming back into the house in our basement fireplace. James recommended putting the chimney caps on the roof and some minor masonry work (not related but suggested we do anyway). Unfortunately due to our setup we had to get scaffolding which cost us $800 to set up and the masonry work was another $600. The chimney caps were approx 700 to install. Bottom line: James was very responsive and good to deal with. He did have to come back after the install to replace an item, but he did this immediately and without question. The best part is he fixed our problem. We have NO MORE smoke, that is all I really cared about.

So I joined Angie's List because I am tired of contractors coming on to my property and disappointing me. Living in New Canaan, we get the automatic "up-charge" where contractors just goose the price and unnecessarily increase the project scope just because of our address. I am not saying Jim did this but it happens more than not. I have been trying to get my chimney cleaned for several years now. All I want is my chimney cleaned; that is it! Every company that has come out wants to acid wash my chimney or replace the caps, etc; all I want is my chimney cleaned. I explained all of the above to Jim, the owner, and told him I found him on Angie's list and that he got high ratings. He assured me he would make sure that the person "inspecting" our chimney understood all this. Well, the young guy that came was very polite, on time and attentive. But the very minute we walked in to my house he saw the dryer and immediately went over to it; pulled it out and said our dryer exhaust line was not good. Although he first tried to "push" a new steal or metal exhaust line (which of course they would have to maintain and clean with a wire brush) he realized I was not happy and that the space was too tight. We maintain that dryer line ourselves (it is pretty simple to clean and replace) and I had zero interest in them bidding on it and never said anything to Jim about looking at my dryer. All I wanted was my chimney cleaned! I let it go though and let him look at our chimney. The "inspection" was not what I thought. Just a quick flashlight look. He immediately said that yes my chimney needed cleaning and that my firebox must be re-glazed and although I could not see any chipping, he said he had to be re-glazed. Then he went downstairs and said the smoke pipes from my furnace all needed to be replaced. It is funny because just the previous year, I had my furnace man look at it because I was concerned about a small amount of corrosion that was on the pipes. My furnace guy said the corrosion was superficial and the vents did not need to be replaced. So, maybe a year later they do but I have my doubts; but I let it go and let him he keep going. He said the furnace chimney was in horrible condition and might need work but he could not tell because it was so dirty. Funny because once again my furnace guy had just serviced the furnace the previous year and he said it looked okay and the draw was "great". I am sure it does need cleaning but anyway... Any rate, you can see where this is going. I get the quote and it is for just over $1000. I cannot tell you how many times quotes for minor work come in just around $1000!!! In fact, I cannot recall a quote for less than $1000 whether it is for window cleaning, a dump haul, tree work, etc. And of course a busy guy like Jim is not going to follow up on his quote. I never heard back from him. And the worst part of the experience was on the way out this young guy made me sign something that he said relieved them of liability or something along this line and he made it very clear that he felt my chimney was not safe to burn fires in. An obvious scare tactic? We had a contractor do the same thing with our Radon system when he was trying to get us to purchase a new upgraded unit for $3000 stating that our current system was insufficient and "dangerous". So we had our water independently tested several times and it was crystal clear; absolutely perfect. In fact the current older system was So, I am still searching for a good chimney guy. Jim might be it and maybe he is too busy, but all I want is my chimney cleaned!

Overall I was very pleased with the service I received. James Ball initially came to my home and conducted and inspection of the chimney, which was when he found the lumber still inside the chimney. At that time he gave me a price for the job, and we agreed that he would come back to perform the work. On his return visit, the problem with the dryer vent was discovered. This was then fixed on the same day, at a reasonable price, and all of the work was completed then. I was very happy that both of the unexpected safety issues (wood in chimney, unconnected vent hose) were found and fixed. Also, the actual chimney cleaning was done to my satisfaction in that there was no soot or mess inside my house when the job was completed.

Ball is very busy and does not schedule work this time of year in the Ridgefield CT area. He did, however, refer another company (Apologies, his name excapes me but he did not appear on your listing.). This chimney sweep seemed very knowledgeable and works in my area. As I use a wood stove and vent through the chimney, he recommended that I install a stainless steel vent pipe in the lined chimney. This he said is the new fire code in CT. As`I am not prepared to incur this expense, approx $1400, the sweep job was not scheduled. The stove/chimney will not be used this season.

James returned my call a few hours after I left him the message. I described the work that needed to be done (which included rebuilding the crown, to repoint parts of the chimney, and place blue stone on the hip). He said that he does not do extensive masonry work and gave me the name and number of a mason he recommended. He was very pleasant to speak to.

We requested an estimate on a chimney sweep and the installation of a chimney cap. An appointment for the estimate was arranged and they arrived promptly. The estimate was provided on the spot for both and a very detailed explanation was provided regarding the installation of the chimney cap. Once we made a decision to do the work, they arrived as scheduled and completed the work timely. They were very courteous and conscience about keeping our home clean. While performing the work, they identified some additional repairs and provided an estimate. Along with the estimate, they showed actual video footage of the damage and explained how it would be repaired.

very professional, punctual, informative and friendly.

Called for estimate. James Ball came out with his assistant Ray 2 days later. I was asked a series of questions regarding our experiences with our chimneys. A thorough examination of all chimneys and dryer vents were performed. WE were informed of all available services and recommended services and were told we would receive an estimate via email. Less that 24 hours later we had the estimate. We reviewed it and contacted James to set up the work. We were not upsold and in fact a requested service was not performed or charged as there was no need. This was pointed out at the time the work was done as we did not open the basement ash trap until the cleaning equipment was on site. We were told there was a 3 week wait to order the chimney cap (specialized and custom fit item). We paid only for that item up front. Were were told the work would begin at 730 AM on Dec 31 2009 weather permitting. The weather did permit it and Ray was at the house with an assistant at 7:29. The work took about 4 hours and has been perfect ever since.

I found him very helpful. We originally called him because we thought our chimney was leaking, and he said I could come out and do it for you and charge $400, or you could do it yourself then call me. He said if you're going to remodel, don't waste money on me and just call me when you're ready to remodel. He was very honest.

Unfortunately, due to purchasing a new water heater and spending $ on re-routing the exhaust, I couldn't afford to hire him. However, when I do get some extra funds, I would definitely hire him to clean my chimney.

Overall it went very well. They were very professional. Answered all questions and explained what they were doing. Showed up on time. Prompt return of phone calls. The job took a little over an hour with 2 men, not including the time they spent on giving us the estimate. The price was reasonable- perhaps a little on the high side given the amount of time it took to complete the work- but we got what we paid for-- it was done by someone who knew what they were doing and it was done right the first time. He also gave us a 5% discount because we came through Angies list. All in all we were pleased and would definitely use him again.