Ye Olde Chimney Sweep

I have used Jim Duffy in two houses since 1994 and have always been impressed by his thoroughness and professionalism.

Have never had my chimney cleaned in 6 years of living in my condo so I thought it was time. Called Jim on Tuesday and was able to schedule a service call for that Thursday. He arrived on-time and proceeded to check the chimney from the inside. He determined that I had zero buildup so a cleaning wasn't needed. He did call my attention to irregularities about the size of my flue to the size of my opening and some smoke marks he saw on the tops of my bricks. Suggested I do some tests to determine if vapors are escaping into my living room and if there are, gave me ways to correct the problem. I found him to be very knowledgeable and would definitely call him again if I had a problem.

Jim arrived on time and went right to work. He inspected and cleaned the fireplace, damper, and chimney. He adjusted my gas starter so that it would operate more efficiently. He was pleasant and very knowledgeable and was not pushy or try to sell me anything. Jim made suggestions after I asked him questions regarding my chimney. I highly recommend Jim and wish I had found him earlier.

Jim is extremely knowledgable about woodburnng fireplaces and is very professional. His price is reasonable and you can feel safe about what Jim recommends and the service he provides. We are moving to a new condo that has a ventless fireplace and won't need his help for that equipment.

Jim came and got right to business and inspected the fireplace. He asked some questions about our fireplace usage and after seeing that we didn't need a cleaning, he offered many helpful safety tips on proper fireplace usage (I know, I thought you put in wood and light, but there is much more to it)! He even gave me tips on how to adjust my damper opening (using a crushed soda can) to reduce heat loss and increase wood burning time. I am very satisfied with this service and in 3-4 years, will call him for a full service! Plus, getting a 10% Angie's List discount was nice, too!!! The only downside was that it took me almost 3 weeks of leaving messages (during holiday season) to get a call back to schedule an appt. He also called to reschedule our initial appt the day before he was to come out, and then was an hour late coming on the new date.

The first time I talked to Jim Duffy over the phone he took quite a bit of time finding out what had happened last year and talking with me about it. We scheduled a time, and then he had vehicle trouble and had to cancel. They fit me in the next week which was busy for them - right before Christmas. I wasn't able to be here, but felt I could trust him and left the back door open. When done he called and took a long time explaining what he found. Even though there is deterioration of tiles, that's not a problem since they are surrounded with brick & mortar which don't burn. He said he would be comfortable having a fire 6 days a week 8 hours a day in my fireplace! Most of the deterioration was above the roof line, and we will follow his recommendation to put a rain cap on later. He seemed very knowledgeable and experienced. I appreciated the time he took talking with me. And Jody in the office was exceptional. Christmas was yesterday - with a fire! Thanks to Mr. Duffy.

Very well. Jim came over, got right to business. Assessed that the fireplace had never been used before then began to give me a lesson on how to use a gas fireplace and he had a spare key in his truck that I could buy. He left a pamphlet on how to use fireplaces and the care of them.

Jim was very nice and professional. I would highly recommend his services. He installed high quality pieces and showed me exactly what he did. When he first came out he inspected the fireplace and took measurements for the damper and the cap. He then came back about about a month later after the pieces were fabricated for installation. I did find the initial $74 inspection fee (on top of the $780 materials/labor charge) redundant considering it was for the damper/cap installation.

Jim Duffy came to our house on-time and inspected both chimneys and determined that they did not need to be cleaned. We just purchased our home so we did not know what condition the chimneys were in. He gave us all sorts of useful information about operating our fireplace. The fee for his travel and the inspection was well worth it for the information and assistance he provided.

The company called me back promptly and scheduled an appointment for the following week. They called a day before to reconfirm the time and showed up on time. After inspecting the chimney, it was cleaned and some suggestions were given for possible further work. Very efficient, courteous and professional.

Prompt, reliable, could monitor the results. Very nice job.

I later got a call canceling because Mr. Duffy had hurt his back. I let several weeks pass, then sent an e-mail, hoping his back was better and wondering if we could reschedule. No response. I left a telephone message several weeks after that. No response. I finally remembered to call again in June. I got him on the phone and he said he would pull the file and get back to me in a day or two. Two weeks later, no response. He seemed like a very knowledgeable and honest man, and I was looking forward to using his services. I have decided to give up rather than pester him any further. I feel like we both ended up wasting our time.

Mr. Duffy patiently explained each step of the inspection of the fireplaces. He took notes (leaving a copy for me for later reference)about each fireplace. He also left me a fact-filled brochure. After thoroughly inspecting both units, he told me that the fireplaces did not need to be cleaned. I was impressed with his honesty. I was grateful to not have been taken advantage of. What a kind man! I would definitely call him again for fireplace service.

Jim was very prompt, friendly and informative. The cost was for the intitial inspection, and then for 3 caps over our chimneys. He did have to push the appointment back once or twice, but the weather had been very bad (in the middle of winter). I didn't need to be home for it, and I had originally told him there was no rush. Highly recommended!

They were polite, on-time, called ahead and provided a valuable information.

Mr. Duffy was very informative, even if there is no easy solution to our odor problem. But fixing the flue will help with the chill in the room & alleviate some of the odor. We were impressed that he did not clean the chimney. We would have had no way of knowing that it wasn't necessary.

It went VERY WELL. Jim Duffy came with an assistant (trainee?) about 5 minutes ahead of time. He explained that there was no damage to any damper, told us how to care for our fireplaces, the best way to start a fire, what to do when putting it out, ETC. He also told us none of the chimneys needed cleaning. He obviously knows what he's doing, has integrity, and is not interested mainly in making a buck. I highly recommend him.

Fantastic company. Very professional and helpful. Keeping their customer happy. Not just a company that is out for the money and sending someone on-site for something that can be solved over the phone. Previous service call they surprised us positively. Put all fireplaces back into service instead of replacing them.

We were very pleased with Jim's services. Recommended against the sweep and provided info on how to set the flue to reduce rate of wood burn. Provide multiple options on the chimney cap. Highly recommend.

Excellent. He was on time, very tolerant of our dogs.

When he first took a look up the chimney, he told us there were some problems. He identified the fireplace as having been improperly installed, having a loose part and thus a fire hazard, that we should not use the fire place at all because it is so hazardous. He even suggested several times we call our real estate lawyer to pursue legal action against the seller. However, he was reluctant to put this evaluation in writing. I asked four times before he did. I'm also not sure why he continued to do the cleaning on an unusable fireplace. He didn't even ask us if he should continue. We just bought the place (closed three days before he arrived) and are a bit perplexed now. Our home inspector said the fireplace looked like they people who built it "knew what they were doing." The fireplace has been used quite a bit, so much that it needed cleaning according to these guys without major incident. However, we are now scared to use it. Going to call someone else for a second opinion.

They arrived on time, were courteous, and professional. He explained the problem and what he was going to do to fix it. He did efficient work; the problem was fixed in approximately two hours. They are highly recommended!

Jim wouldn't take my money to clean the chimneys. He said they didn't need a cleaning, given how often we use them. I really appreciated his honesty and integrity. He also spent time to show me how to properly light and maintain a fire -- I had really been doing it inefficiently -- and I had my first really successful fire the other night! Hats off to Jim Duffy!

Excellent service. Did a good job on what he was supposed to and didn't try to sell us anything we didn't need, which was just getting the chimney cleaned. Will definitely use again.

Jim was extremely knowledgeable, and informative. He provided a lot of information about fireplace cleanliness, safety, and how to build a fire. I learned that I had been building fires all wrong, which in itself was worth the service call. He also told us what we needed to do, and what we did not need to do, for now and in the future. We had to wait about 1 month for the appointment (due to the busy season), but when the time came Jim showed up exactly on schedule, and on time. We will definitely call him for any future fireplace, and chimney needs.