AAREN CHIMNEY & ROOFING SERVICE

I like the way they explained things as they went along. It is an old house, so it needed a lot of work and they found all that needed to be done. They did an excellent job. I will definitely recommend them and absolutely use them, again.

DON'T USE THEM ! Had a problem with water coming in through a window frame. Aaren roofing said they could fix my problem if they replaced the whole roof. I asked them if they could just fix that section and they said no they had to re-do the whole roof. After roof was done I had the same leak in the same place. They told me to get a heat coil and they would install it. That seemed to take care of the leak. By researching the internet, I figured out the problem I was having was an ice dam, which should have been remedied by adding more ventilation to the eaves. Roof replacement has no effect on ice dams. Replacing the roof was a waste of time and money and the fix was a $60 heat coil that melts the ice dam as needed. So I wasted $7000 !!! I filed complaints with Attorney General, Angie's List and better Business Bureau to no avail. Aaren claims heat coil was my idea to install (good ruse on their part to get me to buy it) and they take no responsibility that the roof replacement did nothing to stop my problem. The three agencies I filed complaints with could do nothing to help me - If the company you complain about to Angies List doesn't want to cooperate, Angie's is powerless. MA. Office of Consumer Affairs sided with Aaren (I thought it was the office of CONSUMER affairs), Better Business Bureau is paid by the businesses so don't expect help from them. Anyhow good luck with Aaren Roofing who claim to have been in business for 35 years even though nobody there is named Aaren. Also - When I pointed out a hole in the sheathing inside the roof where cold air was coming in - They claimed in their report that rodents caused it and told me in person that I was crazy if I thought they were going to do any more work for free even though their signed contract claims a guarantee of workmanship

I had Aaren Chimney and Roofing Service put on a new roof in late 2009 because of a leak I was getting in the kitchen. At that time I asked Jim Jalkewicz if he could just work on the troubled area but according to Jim Jalkewicz - If I put on a new roof all my problems would be over. The next time the weather got bad the leak in the kitchen began again. Jim sent his crew out to hammer out an ice dam and told me to get a heated cable which they installed outside on the roof. I have used that whenever the snow builds up on the roof and have not had the leak in the kitchen since. On Feb 17 2012 Jim Jalekewicz came out to the house to look at a hole in the sheathing I discovered while cleaning out a crawl space. This was in the same area where I had the original problem.He told me it would cost me 4 to $500 to fix. I have a 5 year guarantee on the roof from Aaren Chimney and Roofing. This should cover any problems I find with the roof. Mr. Jalkewicz said I am crazy if I think he will work for no money. I checked my contract, which he signed, and it has no disclaimers on the 5 year roof guarantee. This is separate from the roofing materials which are guaranteed for 30 years. I held up my share of the binding contract by paying what was asked. So why can't he follow his own contract guarantee? I have also found other holes in the sheathing - some of them are clearly visible from outside the roof. These should be fixed by Aaren Chimney and Roofing Service at no charge to me.

I was not very happy because they were not able to fix the leak. This was due to an ice dam problem. I had to wait till the winter to find out it was bad.

I used them before so I called them to look at the roof. The representative that I worked with has retired and I was not impressed with the new one. It has been three or four weeks and I still have not received an estimate.

I strongly recommend against this company. This company advertises that it has an Angie's List Super Service award, which was one of the reasons I chose it.

We are looking to break up the repair of the roof over a few years to moderate costs (nothing is leaking it just needs some work). We got a few quotes and Aaren's seemed to be the most reasonable for the work. Aaren came in very quickly after we called to request a quote and gave us a quote that we could easily break into affordable pieces for this year. Work was done in a very timely manner. In the end they replaced one more shingle than quoted and did not charge us for it.

Jim was prompt in calling me back and on time in arriving for all meetings, and his crew was, too. He was flexible about schedule and got the job done as planned. The work was good, the clean-up good but not breathtaking. I learned part-way through the job that Jim had not gotten the permit (paid and contracted for), and 1/3 of the ridge vent was installed before I saw it was not what I'd asked for. I had to insist on tarps to prevent debris from blanketing my neighbor's plantings. Also, the black grit from the stripping process came through the unfinished attic ceiling and covered everything in the attic: art, papers, photography etc. I withheld final payment until he got the permit. The next time I ask for a special item (like a vent) I will get it myself-- it was too much to ask. To his credit (and after being paid), Jim has agreed to help with the interior clean-up (he hadn't think to tell me what might happen, I hadn't think to ask), and I'll report back here after completion.

Two people came out to look at our gutters and basically told us that our gutters weren't worth cleaning. They told us our roof was peeling off, our chimney was leaning, and that we had much larger problems than our gutters. After a very thorough home inspection and many roofing/gutter estimates, no one else had given us this information. They were incredibly condescending to us and never got around to giving us the estimate we had initially asked for.

They had excellent service, were honest, and trustworthy.

Contacted them late August. Excellent reponse to come out for quote. Quote was not lowest, but timing was a factor. Quote was also not the highest, either. They quickly scheduled the job and completed it within three days. Job appears to have been excellently done and very neat. Have recommended them to neighbors and Home Depot At Home, Division of Home Depot. We would use them again!

I had a horrible experience with Jim and this company. We had a 5 year guarantee on the work(as Jim said all roofers in MA had to give). 2 1/4 years after putting on the roof, we developed a leak. Jim came and told us the roof was fine and it was just the chimney absorbing water. Roof continued to leak. Then he came and said roof looked fine but he spent 10 minutes Caulking. Roof continued to leak and despite multiple calls, he never came to look at problem again and did not answer our phone calls. We had mason look at roof - said workmanship was horrible - flashing was too short and not anchored properly, leaving gap for water to get in. And the repointing we paid for was never done. We had the work redone by another contractor and are now trying to get back the cost of that work and the cost of repairs necessary due to water damage.

Very fast service. Amazingly, they had notes on the work required from when I called more than a year ago, so were able to do the job right away without submitting a new estimate. No leakage since the repair, but we haven't had any extreme rainstorms yet. Also cleaned gutter.

PARKER SULLIVAN WAS VERY PROMPT. THE WORK WAS DONE SOONER THAN I HAD EXPECTED, AND VERY QUICKLY.

INCREDIBLY POSITIVE. CAME OUT QUICKLY TO GIVE AN ESTIMATE - IN ONE OF THE WORST WEEKS OF FLOODING/WEATHER WE'VE HAD IN A BOSTON OCTOBER. MR. JALKEAICZ WAS VERY PERSONABLE, EXPLAINED EVERYTHING AND RETURNED ALL MY CALLS PROMPTLY. ONCE I'D SIGNED THE ESTIMATE HE WAS ABLE TO FIT ME INTO THEIR SCHEDULE MUCH SOONER THAN ANTICIPATED AND ALL WORK WAS PERFORMED QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY. I WAS VERY PLEASED WITH AAREN ROOFING AND WOULD DEFINITELY USE THEM AGAIN.

WE THOUGHT THE PRICE WAS HIGH FOR 45 MINUTES WORTH OF WORK, AND IT IS LEAKING IN THE SAME PLACE A YEAR LATER

THEY RESPONDED TO A PHONE CALL QUICKLY, BUT I'D RATHER THEY HADN'T. THEIR ESTIMATOR CALLED QUICKLY TO ARRANGE A TIME, AND GAVE ME AN EAR FULL WHEN I TRIED TO CUT DOWN HIS THREE HOUR TIME WINDOW TO AN HOUR AND A HALF. THEN HE ARRIVED AFTER THE TIME WE'D AGREED. HE QUOTED WHAT SEEMED LIKE A VERY HIGH PRICE FOR THE SNOW RAIL. SEEMED TO KNOW WHY I WAS ASKING EACH QUESTION SO HE COULD IMMEDIATELY TELL ME THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION THAT I REALLY MEANT TO ASK. I HAD TO ASK THREE TIMES ABOUT SNOW HOOKS INSTEAD OF RAIL BEFORE HE ADMITTED THAT THE COMPANY DID THESE. HE THEN SAID THAT THEY WOULD WORK, AND I NEEDED A HOOK FOR EVERY SLATE, AND THAT IT WOULD BE MORE EXPENSIVE THAN RAIL. WHEN I POINTED OUT THAT IT WAS A SMALL ROOF, AND THAT NEIGHBORS HAD WINTERED SUCCESSFULLY WITH FEWER THAN THIS, HE GOT ANGRY. I ENDED THE CONVERSATION AT THAT POINT.

THEY RESPONDED PROMPTLY TO REQUEST FOR AN ESTIMATE. THEY DID THE ROOF REPAIR WHILE WE WORKED. THE PROBLEM HAPPENED BEFORE I WAS TO MAKE THE FINAL PAYMENT. A BIGGER LEAK OCCURRED IN A DIFFERENT AREA THAN THE PROBLEM AREA. AFTER ONE CALL, THEY CAME BACK PROMPTLY AND SAW THAT THEY FORGOT TO SEAL MY SKYLIGHT. THEY REPAIRED IT ADEQUATELY, AND WE HAVE NOT HAD ANY MORE PROBLEMS. I WAS LEFT WITH A HUGE STAIN AND DAMAGED PLASTER ON MY CEILING, WHICH I THEN HAD TO FIND A PAINTER TO RE-PLASTER AND PAINT. THEY HAD TO PAINT THE ENTIRE CEILING, COSTING ME THE BALANCE OF THE JOB ($900) PLUS MISSED WORK, ETC. AAREN CHIMNEY WAS SORRY FOR THE MISHAP, AND EXTENDED THE OFFER THAT WE USE THE BALANCE TO PAY THE PAINTER. NICE PEOPLE, BUT THE ERROR WAS A VERY SIMPLE OVERSIGHT, WHICH CAUSED AN EVEN BIGGER PROBLEM. WE HAVE OTHER WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, AND WE ARE CONSIDERING GIVING THEM ANOTHER TRY, WITH SUPERVISION, BECAUSE OF THEIR GOOD ATTITUDE IN ADMITTING TO THE PROBLEM AND FIXING IT.

ALTHOUGH THE REPRESENTATIVES OF AAREN'S WERE PROFESSIONAL IN THEIR DEMEANOR, WE MADE THE MISTAKE OF FAILING TO CHECK THE QUALITY OF THEIR WORK UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE. THE WALLS KEPT TAKING IN WATER, AND A HIGHLY RATED MASON WE HIRED MONTHS LATER SAID IT LOOKED AS IF THEY HAD BARELY DONE ANYTHING AT ALL TO RE-POINT, THE QUALITY OF THE JOB WAS SO POOR.

CREW WAS VERY PROFESSIONAL AND KEPT YARD CLEAN EVERY DAY. THEY SHOWED UP AT 9 AM AND WERE CLEANED UP AND OUT BY 5. ANSWERED CALLS WITHIN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME, AND BEGAN THE JOB SOON AFTER THE DEPOSIT WAS SENT. UNFORTUNATELY I CAN'T REALLY TELL HOW THE WORK WILL HOLD UP UNTIL AFTER SOME SEVERE SNOWSTORMS.

RESPONDS TO PHONE CALLS, HAVE TO LEAVE A VOICE MAIL, BUT HE ALWAYS CALLS BACK, USUALLY THE SAME DAY. INITIAL ESTIMATE WAS THAT 'CHIMNEY REPLACEMENT IS NOT NECESSARY', 'REPOINTING WILL SAVE YOU THOUSANDS,' AND INDEED THE ESTIMATE WAS THOUSANDS LESS. HOWEVER, ONCE STARTED, HE EXPLAINED THAT LEAD FLASHING WAS NEEDED FOR ADDITIONAL $$. HE ALSO ADDED ON CHARGES FOR ADDITIONAL ROOF FLASHING. BOTH OF THESE PROBLEMS WERE VIEWABLE AT THE TIME OF THE INITIAL INSPECTION, BUT CONVENIENTLY 'FORGOTTEN'. IN THE END, THE REPAIR COST MORE THAN IT WOULD HAVE FOR A NEW CHIMNEY. AND THE FINAL STRAW, THE POINTING JOB WAS OF HORRIBLE QUALITY. WHEN I CALLED TO COMPLAIN, HE INDICATED THAT 'IT'S NOT A NEW CHIMNEY', AND YOU HAVE TO EXPECT THAT IT WON'T BE PERFECT. BUT IT WAS SO BAD, THAT I TOOK PICTURES, HE REPLIED THAT 'HIS PICTURES SHOW OTHERWISE'. I PERSISTED AND FINALLY CONVINCED HIM TO LOOK HIMSELF, AFTER WHICH HE WAS MORTIFIED AT HOW BAD THE JOB WAS PERFORMED. THEY REPOINTED AGAIN.

VERY RESPONSIVE. YOU HAVE TO LEAVE VOICE MAIL MESSAGES, BUT HE ALWAYS CALLS BACK, AND USUALLY PROMPTLY. THIS JOB WAS ADDED ONTO ANOTHER JOB HE WAS PERFORMING, AND UNLIKE THE ORIGINAL JOB, HE PERFORMED THIS ADDED JOB WITH GOOD QUALITY AND EXPEDITIOUSLY.

IN 2002 WE HAD OUR PRESENT ROOF PUT ON BY SOMEONE WE THOUGHT WOULD BE TRUSTWORTHY BUT ENDED UP ESSENTIALLY DISAPPEARING - WE RECENTLY NOTED A LEAK IN OUR KITCHEN CEILING LIGHT FIXTURE AFTER HEAVY RAINS. JIM FROM AAREN ROOFING CALLED ME BACK SAME DAY AND WAS OVER THE NEXT MORNING TO HELP ASSESS. REASSURED THAT THE ROOF APPEARED TO BE INTACT AND THAT OBSERVATION FOR NOW WAS REASONABLE. OVERALL A GREAT SERVICE, PROFESSIONAL, TIMELY AND MUCH APPRECIATED. WOULD DEFINITELY HIRE FOR WORK IF NEEDED

THEY SET UP AN APPOINTMENT AND NEVER CAME OR CALLED.

JIM WAS VERY RESPONSIVE. THE ROOF LEAK WAS NOT RESOLVED AFTER THE FIRST VISIT, AND HE CAME BACK MULTIPLE TIMES UNTIL THE SITUATION WAS RESOLVED. I DO THINK THE PRICE WAS EXCESSIVE, AS THE JOB TOOK ONLY A COUPLE OF HOURS INITIALLY, BUT THIS WAS THE ONLY COMPANY FROM ANGIE'S LIST WHO ANSWERED MY CALLS.