American Professional Chimney & Masonry

Staff was professional, prompt and courteous. They installed the cap swiftly and efficiently and clearly explained the recommendations from the chimney inspection. When they returned to do work recommended in the chimney inspection -- sorely needed partly because we dallied on getting a chimney cap, partly because who KNOWS what the people who renovated the house before we bought it did -- they called to see if they could come early! Very impressed. They also put down pads so they woudn't track dirt in the house, and worked quickly for all the work they had to do. Would recommend them.

They were extremely professional, very timely and thorough. They took their time to explain what needed to be done. They honored their invoice estimates after an entire year. When they completed the work they were able to take detailed pictures of the work they completed so I wouldn't have to get on my roof and check myself. The workers that came to my house were very respectful of being clean inside my house and they were really just nice guys.

They gave me the confidence that they were going to do a good job. They were competent. I didn't go with them because they were expensive.

Went great. They were punctual and honest in their inspection. Very impressed and happy with their service.

I felt like I got nothing out of the deal. The technician took a look in the basement and said he would give me an estimate for additional work. He was talking with me but didn’t really take any notes on what I needed. The estimate was very high and I did not even like the sound of the design they were going to do. I had not issues with scheduling and the technician did seem professional. cccbba

There was a little hiccup in scheduling. I called a few days earlier to schedule an appointment. However, they didn't get back to me about the specific time of the service. I called in the morning of the appointment date, and was told that my appointment was not in the book! I had to make a few phone calls to straighten it out. Fortunately, Catherine was very helpful and managed to have the service done on that date. They were professional, and happy with the result.

They service went well, they did a good job.

They originally sealed our leaking chimney crown November 2013 and guaranteed the work for 10 years. After heavy rains in April,2014, we noticed water leakage in our basement due to the leaking chimney. We called American Chimney, they inspected the crown and said that the repair had failed. While they did reseal the crown per their guarantee, the technician said that it shouldn't have failed after 6 months. Our only conclusion is poor workmanship on their part the first time.

They wanted to charge us over double for an additional chimney even though it only took 10 minutes for the second chimney to be cleaned. They sent me an invoice for the additional fees. I tried to contact them about the amount on the invoice because it was different then the amount we agreed to and it was months later after the service that they sent the invoice. They haven't gotten back to me.

Responsive, easy to work with company that paid attention to the details. Highly recommend.

Coupon expired; did not user provider. I wish Angie's list would give an option for this to avoid rating a company whose service I did not use.

After some minor confusion regarding scheduling, American Professional Chimney and Masonry did an excellent job parging the firebox. This was the second time we used American Professional Chimney (they applied a "Crown Coat" to the existing cement crown chimney cap in May 2014). I was very pleased with the quality of their work and would not hesitate to call them to do any chimney work at my home again. First rate!

American Professional Chimney and Masonry Services was able to fix a variety of chimney, masonry, and waterproofing tasks for us. The estimate and scheduling process went very smoothly and the work was done professionally by competent employees. The office manager/coordinator communicated with us by phone and email and is best reached in the afternoon (in our experience). They were very conscious of weather-related safety and cleaned up the work areas very well. The team worked hard to get it all done right the first time. We would hire them again and recommend them to friends and neighbors.

We haven't used American yet, but the service that we have had from them so far has been very good. We called a few highly rated masons that we found on Angie's List and asked them for estimates to redo some concrete work. It's a simple job that will be fixing some terrible work that a subcontractor did. American sent someone out to do the estimate quickly, and I didn't have to be there. They sent me a proposal that seems very reasonable. They person that I spoke to was helpful and professional. They seem to be very efficient. I still need to follow up on some questions, but based on my experiences with them so far, they seem like a top choice to select from the masons that we contacted.

American Professional replaced weather damaged bricks on the top 2-3 feet of the chimney. They removed the bricks neatly, obtained almost perfectly matching bricks from a brickyard and replaced the brick using mortar to match the old mortar. The mason in charge of the crew was a master craftsman, taking his time, and making sure that the bricks were perfectly level. I am thrilled with the results.

Everything went perfectly. I had the chimney inspected when I bought the house and knew what was wrong. They came in, inspected the chimney and made the same recommendations as the home inspector so I felt very comfortable with what they said needed to be done. They arrived as planned and finished the work in the same day. The chimney has not leaked again.

American Professional Chimney & Masonry thoroughly cleaned the chimney, using vacuum equipment and brushes. The workers wore boots in January to minimize soot inside, and spent quite a bit of time pointing out potential problems in the inner chimney wall. I was so pleased with their service that we are hiring them to do external chimney repair. I highly recommend them.

Service was part of a "Big Deal" discount coupon. The two employees showed up promptly, were very courteous, and did a thorough cleaning and inspection. They cleaned up after themselves and left no mess. They walked me through everything they did and explained every place they had found issues with the chimney, including providing photos of the inaccessible portions (top and roof portions). The repairs they noted were generally minor (less than $1000) and they explained which ones were essential for the function of the fireplace and which could wait depending on usage. They did not push for us to agree to immediate repairs and provided contact information should we wish to call back and schedule repairs at a later date (which we are considering). Would definitely recommend!

Fine, and provided estimate of cost of reclining chimney.

Updated Review (6/22/14) REVIEW: The work requested was to replace the cement chimney crown. From my initial contact with American Professional Chimney & Masonry, I was impressed with the office manager (Catherine). She was prompt at submitting the cost estimate, quick at coordinating the resolution of problems, and considerate of my time in keeping me informed of changes in the crew work schedules. In spite of a major problem that occurred with the initial crown repair, I thought both work crews were conscientious in doing a good job, worked efficiently and completed the job that at least in appearance looked OK. The cost for the job was on the lower end of the several proposals that I received. The initial attempt to replace the chimney crown failed ? cracked within two hours! I was also shocked to discover that no thermal expansion joint had been installed between the flue linings & the chimney crown. Catherine consulted with the owner/master mason and within a day or two informed me that the failed crown would be completely removed and replaced with a form-fitted cement crown including a thermal expansion joint ? a better than satisfactory, ?A?-rated rework solution. The lead tech of the second crew came to inspect the failed crown. The key points of his assessment: 1) the newly installed crown was cracked, but its structure was OK; 2) the proposed removal/rebuild of the crown was unnecessary work and had the potential of damaging underlying bricks and mortar in the crown removal process; and 3) installation of a chimney crown thermal expansion joint at flue lining is an exception rather than standard practice in the trade! [ NOTE: It would be helpful to members if Angies List were to conduct a survey of chimney masons regarding the need of a thermal expansion joint to protect the flue lining & chimney crown, especially for wood burning fireplaces] The alternate rework solution that he offered was to extend the mortar to the corbel drip edge then coat the cracked crown with an elastomeric sealant. An expansion joint would be installed to a depth limited by his grinding tool ? a depth which he acknowledged would be too shallow to be fully effective. To offset my concerns for accepting the higher risks of this alternate approach, he offered a written 15 yr company-backed warranty on labor & material. With other roof work scheduled to begin shortly, I chose to accept the added risks of his proposed approach. The new elastomeric coat crown looks OK (umm... wasn?t that my impression of the first repair work before it failed?) but will it last. Summary: Not an ?A? rated solution but nicely done (thanks!) with marginally acceptable risks. Problems do occur sometimes, but how a company responds to those problems is an important factor to consider when you choose a company. American Professional Chimney & Masonry is a responsive company, capable of doing quality work and should be on your ?short list? of companies to consider. LESSONS-LEARNED: There are several ways to repair a damaged chimney crown, including elastomeric coating over the existing crown or a complete replacement of the damaged crown with a new crown (trowel applied or form-fitted cement). Make sure you understand what is being proposed in the cost estimates. Options, e.g. thermal expansion joints at the flue linings, labor/material warranty, and approx completion dates, should also be stated in writing.

I bought a chimney repair discount deal from American Professionals on Angie's list and indicated 3 potential days for the work to be done. American Professionals contacted me via email promptly and scheduled an appointment for the first of the days I indicated I could be available. The company contacted me the day before the appointment to confirm they were coming and to verify that someone would be home on the appointment day. On the work day, the men arrived on time, even a little early. They removed my cracked chimney crown and replaced it with a new crown, and replaced the sealant where the metal flashing at the chimney base had come loose. There was the potential for heavy rainfall that afternoon, so the men nicely put plastic over the chimney at my request (which I took off the next day). The men were polite and cleaned up after themselves. They asked if I wanted a full chimney inspection while they were there and I said OK, so they did a full inspection of both chimneys and provided an estimate for further repairs and upgrades. The crown work looked good and I was very happy with the service overall.

Initially, I found it somewhat chaotic with communicating with the office to schedule an appointment. I had to call the company and leave messages a few times. However, communications vastly improved leading up to my appointment to assess the work. First, I start by saying my mason was very knowledgeable and respectful. The initial visit was to assess the work, and he took the time to thoroughly explain everything. He answered all of my questions and I was quite pleased after the visit. Unfortunately, it took several weeks to complete the work due to the excessive rainy weather. However, I was quite pleased with the end result. I was so pleased that I?ve decided that I want this company and this mason to do other work. However, lesson learned is to account for inclimate weather as well as my place in the company?s queue of other projects. This is ok, because I?m willing to spread the work out over an extended period of time if it?s necessary. Although I hope not!

The service went okay. I would have liked pictures of the chimney to see the damage. I never got to see the picture. The quote to repair the chimney was very high. The technicians did seem to know what they were doing and scheduling was very easy.

It went great. The guys were quick and effiicient and it did not take very long at all.

Arrived as scheduled. Nice neat professional job.