Master Chimney Sweepers

We have used Master Chimney Sweepers to clean and inspect our fireplaces for many years and had been very satisfied and had always recommended them to other people so we called them again this year. The service person who came was pleasant and seemed to understand his profession. Unlike prior sweepers, he never used any brushes from the top of the chimney for the cleaning but had his assistant do all the cleaning from the fireplace. We do not know if this is significant or not. The service person did all of the inspections and measured the air flow in the flues. Because we do not have an external cinder box, he said that he would have to drill a hole in the flues from the furnaces to measure air flow and to cover the hole with metal tape, which he did. The price for the cleaning and inspection was on the high side but not overly so and the work appeared to be professionally done and there was no mess. However, after the cleaning, the service person recommended that we install chimney caps to keep varmits and water out. Since we had some water dripping problems during heavy rains which our handyman was not able to repair or determine the cause we were receptive to the suggestion. The suggestion was made in a low key anner and without pressure and he said that he had the flue caps in the his truck and could install them immediately.. When he told us the price, we remarked that the price seemed awfully high. The prices were (after discount) $300 per single flu cap (both of which we are on the same chimney and $600 for the triple flue cap. We were told that it was because they used high quality stainless steel caps. At first, we said, we would wait but then we realize that it could snow any day and were concerned about any service people having to work on a slippery roof so we agreed to do it. It turned out that one of the single flue caps in the truck was dented so he said that he would do two of the caps and come back at a later to install the other one. When he finished the days work, we paid for the work he had done and agreed to send a payment for the remiaining flue when he installed it.. He came back a day later and installed the other flue. During this interval, I went on line and priced the high grade chimney caps which they claimed to use on their web site and realized they were charging $800 above the material costs for approximately 1.5 hours of installation labor. I sent a letter to the owner documenting what I determined in regard to the charges and expressd my displeasure and disappointment. To his credit, he called as soon as he received my letter an offered to split the remaining amount of $300 plus tax. Although I felt that the actual amount, that should be refunded was closer to $300, I accepted the offer because I recognized and told him that I should have sought other bids but my trust based on our past experiences with the firm caused me to have them do the work. In the future, I will use them for cleaning but will seek other bids on any other work. The owner seems like a nice guy but it appears the Company's prices for repair and installation have become excessive.

My wife booked service from ad. Came at appointred date and time, performed work and explained why liner had to be replaced. Have already booked replacement and will report when work done. Extremely competentand professional. Great experience..

They gave us a four hour window when they would be here and arrived right in the middle of it. The sweep (Tony) was very nice. He did a nice job and kept the area surrounding the fireplace clean while he was working. He was here for about an hour to do the two flues. Suggested chimney caps but did not give me any sort of hard sell.

Professional, honest, knowledgeable. I've experienced some sketchy chimney sweeps in the past that only tried to upsell, put this wasn't at all the case with these guys.

Flues were cleaned efficiently, cleanly and professionally. The price was right.

No up-selling, total honesty, job well done.

Very responsive when I called for an appointment, although they were booked well into December. Then yesterday they had a cancellation and they called and fit me it. I was very pleased with that! The technician was very friendly and professional. He gave helpful advice and did a thorough job. He was also very careful to make sure my house didn't get dirty. He was a little bit late, but apologized right away. I gave a less than perfect grade for price simply because I did not understand that the cost I was quoted was for one flue only. Never having had a fireplace before, I did not know there were two flues and thus two charges. The price was fair, it was just a lot more than I expected.

Technician came and cleaned out the chimney in the house. The whole job took less than 1 hour. The technician was prompt and polite. No mess was made in the house from the cleaning. I am satisfied with the work that was done, but the service seems a little expensive based on how little time the job took.

Getting a hold of someone to make an appointment was a real challenge. We played phone tag for two days, and I couldn't get an appointment for six weeks! Since they had such rave reviews on Angie's List, I didn't bother calling another company, and they actually called a week later with a cancellation and fit me in right before Thanksgiving. At the time of the appointment, I didn't ask about price, which I now regret. The technician came and looked at the two fireplace flues and determined that they were clean. He looked at furnace/hot water heat flue, and said that I needed a metal insert. I asked if we should bother cleaning the flue since we were going to insert a metal liner, but he insisted on it. He then spent about 10 minutes vacuuming (?), and then spent another 10 minutes replacing the adhesive he took apart when he took down the pipe to look at the flue. Total cost: $279! (After a $40 Angie's coupon, it brought it down to $239). I really regret not insisting that he leave the flue alone. He then gave me an estimate for $2500 to insert a liner. I thought that was a little high, so I looked online at average prices, and it is very steep. In addition, an estimate to repoint the chimney, which he did from the ground, was over $1200. Something didn't feel right, and since then, I've gotten two more estimates, which are between $500 to 700 cheaper for the liner, and half for the repoint--because they actually climbed up to the roof to inspect the work to be done! Not sure what I actually paid for, but I'm glad I did my research, and I will not be giving Master Chimney Sweep my business or recommending them to my friends. Update: After I submitted this report, the owner, Bill Heffernan, called me to apologize for the poor service. He also refunded my money and offered to have another technician come out to go up on the roof. He quoted me a much more reasonabe estimate for the liner. This is above and beyond what I would have expected, and I really appreciate his sincere effort to make the situation better. Thank you, Bill. You obviously have a great deal of pride in your business, and customer satisfaction is your top priority.

The company returned my call promptly and scheduling the appointment was easy and convenient. The service was performed efficiently and the technician was professional. My only complaint was the price which, even with the coupon from the Angie's list sight, was about $100 more than I paid to have the same service done last year. I have not yet gotten a second estimate for fixing the collapsed liner.

Techician was very professional, clean with his work, and seemed honest and thorough

Master Chimney Sweepers had very good communication. They called the night before and the morning of the service to confirm. Sean showed up exactly when the office said he would. Sean worked fast and efficiently and did a nice cleaning of my damper (which wasn't working at the time) flue. He removed a lot of debris and inspected the whole system. Sean was very clean and you wouldn't have known the chimney was even cleaned. The price for the damper and flue cleaning was 229 with the Angies List discount and quite reasonable. I asked to have a cap put on and the price wasn't disclosed to me-my own fault. The price for the 13x13 stainless cap was 325 dollars installed. I thought that was a high but since he was here, I asked to have it installed, and I didn't have to do it, I decided not to fight it. That is the only reason I have the C grade in the price section. Other than that I was very pleased with the work and will have them back again to clean the chimney. Sean was great and I will request him next time.

They called to reconfirm the appointment, and arrived as scheduled. Jason explained to me what he had done in each chimney and what he had seen. I was reassured that everything is in order.

Matt and Mike came out to inspect our chimneys. After inspecting they advised that all three needed to be cleaned, and that the most important one to address first was the boiler flue. Unbeknownst to them, we had just had the boiler flue cleaned the week before by another chimney sweep! I asked them if they were sure that *all* three flues needed to be cleaned. After it was clear that they were sticking with their recommendation, I informed them that we just had that flue cleaned. They looked surprised and shocked. I told them that I fully expectd them to tell me that the other two flues needed a cleaning, but that the boiler one was in good shape. I asked them if they could show me evidence, which they were willing to do. Could they support their claim? They took the pipe off (which was corroded all the way through with a hole the size of a silver dollar) and showed me visible crud sitting in the elbow of the pipe. They shined their flashlights in so I could see the blackened edges. It indeed looked as if it had been touched. They tried to be delicate in saying that they thought we'd been "burned," but refrained from badmouthing another chimney sweep. (If they were too vigorous in their criticisms of another sweep's work I would have been suspicious.) They focused on the project and pointing out things that they thought needed attention. (And, by the way, Matt's "burned" pun was truly unintentional . . . he didn't even realize it until I laughed!) I was in a conundrum: should I pay them for just the inspection and go back to the first chimney sweep to ask him to re-do the work, or should I have these guys do the cleaning on the spot and go back for a refund from the first chimney sweep? I decided on the latter. I would be taking a risk, but I felt better about them doing the work, plus I wanted to see what they did and how it differed from the first chimney sweep. I asked them to provide "support" of their work by way of "before" and "after" photos, which they were willing to do. They even took pictures from the roof to show me. They also described what they were doing each step of the way. They didn't pressure me, and let me have some space when I was deciding on the spot how to proceed. They also helped me with problem-solving on trying to decide what to do, by providing options. They took a long time for the appointment ? I'm sure it threw their schedules off; they were here for more than an hour and a half. Both of them were working the whole time and they appeared to be very thorough. They also said that the bit of pipe with a hole in it should be replaced (which they ended up doing for free), and that it would be a hazard otherwise ? leaking carbon monoxide into the house. (And, that the previous sweep should have at least flagged that to us.) In short, they were very understanding that my trust was rattled, and they earned it. They were patient, took lots of extra time, and were very thorough. They provided a written estimate of other work to be done. They were critical of the work done by the previous sweep, but kept the focus on getting it right and moving forward. All in all, we got three quotes from three different companies and Master Chimney Sweeps cost more than the other two, but the reason I still gave an 'A' for 'price' is because I think their price is fair. It is fair to pay more for quality work, and they were the most knowledable and detailed. Plus, they helped me navigate a delicate situation. I went back to the previous chimney sweep (also on Angie's list) and he did in fact give us a full refund. He said he cares about his customers and so he was willing to make it right. I think that's the best part of Angie's list ? even if something doesn't go well, at least there is a level of professionalism in handling it. There's a strong incentive for companies to "do the right thing." We got the three quotes because we thought it was worth the extra time and effort (and money) to pay for additional inspections, and we think it paid off already! We're so glad we got at least a second opinion! We feel good about going with Master Chimney Sweeps and are going to give them our future business as well. We're installing a woodstove and fireplace insert next, and we'll need liners, etc. We'll be happy to work with them again.

Jay was great! He was prompt, very helpful, even nice to my cat! He told me my chimney was not in need of cleaning ( thanks for the honesty) He asked if I wanted my oil chimney checked, I did. That needed to be cleaned. When he went down to wre it was he noticed my water heater was dripping a bit and alerted me right away! Thanks to Jay I will avert another major issue. I have used Master Chimney before and will continue to do so. Thanks Jay

This company is top notch. I purchased the Big Deal so, obviously, the company was performing a service at a reduced price. The job they did far exceeded my expectations. Unfortunately for me, I did not hire them again this year. I opted for another big deal and I was sorely disappointed. I will not make that mistake again.

The project lasted more than a year because had to do some brick work and had to work around the weather. When they finally finished the work they did a great job. They worked nicely and the price was right as well.

Contacted Master Chimney Sweepers to schedule a chimney inspection and cleaning. They were very professional and informative over the phone. This professionalism continued when the technician, Mark, arrived during the scheduled time and through the entire processes. After inspecting the fireplace, chimney and flue, Mark asked to look at the furnace flue. Thank God he did because it was immediately apparent that the lining of the furnace flue had completely decayed and fallen apart. This issue had been missed/overlooked by a previous chimney inspection and furnace maintenance. Mark cleaned both flues and provided an estimate on replacing the furnace flue. Great experience overall and I will definitely use them again.

Update ffrom my first report--just got a call from Bill Heffernan...VERY helpful, concerned and flexible in addressing my concerns. Coming back out to have further discussions on the issues I mentioned below (at no charge). Extremely impressed with the almost instant reply to my original report and the willingness to make me happy. I did learn one thing from this (and I should have known this to begin with) if you have questions or concerns, or you don't understand something, ASK!! Tony was a really nice guy and he and Vinnie were very professional...but I think we both assumed the other would bring up the relevant questions. Thank you Bill, for addressing my report so quickly and so professionally. It was okay. I don't have much experience with this type of service so please take that into account. They inspected my furnace flue and swept the chimney. They didn't make any comments about the weird masonry or lack of bricks on the chimney on the outside, which seemed odd... When I was done I felt like I needed new everything. Again, I am unsure if that was the correct feeling or not--but I just read the article on Chimney companies so I am a little nervous. They did not have any cameras to check the liner from the inside--all they could show me was a piece of liner in the basement that was cracked. I would have expected the entire chimney to be inspected for cracks...especially for $229....and less than an hour of work.

The man was very polite, very professional, and I would use him again.

Great service. I sent an email via angieslist, they called me the next day to set the appointment, then called the day of, as they said they would, to confirm. Sweep (Mark) arrived on time and we very clear in explaining the whole process. Beyond professional he was a very friendly, nice guy. He identified a few necessary repairs, but in no way made me feel pressured to do it right away. He left my house as clean as it was when he arrived. Cost was exactly what they said it would be for the cleaning of 2 flues. All in all, will use these guys as my regular sweep.

It was great, the technician explained in detail each step of the process, what was being done and a detailed report on each step as he took them.

prices higher than other highly rated suppliers in the area

They arrived on the date and time that was scheduled by phone. Worked quickly and clean

I contacted Master Chimney Sweepers and spoke with Dave. After explaining my situation, Dave indicated that they had dealt with this problem before and could help me. He proceeded to give me a quote for the job which was a range of $169 to $398.00 depending on what the tech found and might have to done in order to correct the problem. They called to confirm the morning of the appointment, the tech arrived on time and proceeded to clean the chimney. He did not find any big obstructions, but the chimney did need a cleaning and he adjusted the pipe to the correct pitch allowing the draft reading to be in the correct negative zone, upon retesting the draft to the chimney. He gave me the paperwork indicating such and all the work he performed on the chimney. I found this company to be very professional, efficient, my cost was within the range quoted, no hidden fees and I was very happy with the Customer Service and overall experience with this organization.