FIREMAN'S CHOICE CHIMNEY SERVICES

After the quote it was lousy. Initially Rex came out to offer a quote. We were looking to have the old deck completely removed and a brand new deck built in its place. However, Rex recommended that he could save us money and time by salvaging a portion of the original deck by resurfacing it. We went with his plan. Work started on the correct day and at the prearranged time. However, the experience went down hill from there. The original estimate was for 2-3 days. The actual work took 2 weeks and they never finished. Two understandable events delayed completion: 1) The lumber store delivered some of the wrong materials. 2) It rained for a couple of days. However, Rex identified that he knew the materials were wrong, but didn?t tell the front office for a few days. Therefore, the front office never reordered new material, and my stuff showed up days late. In the mean time Rex and company used whatever materials they had to get some work done. Work nearly never consisted of a full day and rarely did the same folks show up. This caused confusion with each new worker as he tried to understand what the previous fella had done. Each one cussed the other and they all cussed the head office rep named Carol in MO. After 2 weeks of dealing with no shows and horrible workmanship it was apparent that this had to end. I called Carol and demanded a discount and informed her that I'd finish the job myself. We came to an agreement, but I still got ripped off. I had 3 full days of work to do myself including removing the entire rail and building a new one. The spacing between each spindle was way off and very few were straight. On top of that over half were split at the tops and bottoms where he used the nail gun. I had to screw in over 50% of the deck boards, I had to replace a few deck boards that were severely split, and I had to add the lattice. They didn't screw in all the deck boards at the ends either, so I had to do that after I removed the damaged railing that was in the way. Some items were beyond repair. The 4 x 4s were severely mangled at the tops where they cut them off. They did add a top cap (5/4 x 6), but you can see the jagged saw marks under the caps. 2 of the 4 x 4 deck posts were sunk "off-line" from the rest of the deck. Therefore, my deck is crooked until I replace it. Also, in haste they really mangled the edge of the deck when they used the circular saw to clip the ends. It's so bad that I couldn't completely redo the edges without cutting into the end joists below.

The company scheduled a time to do the work and delayed 4 times before they started on the project. The work was suppose to be completed in one day. After several excuses (wrong supplies, installers vacation, etc.) the job was completed one month from the date it was started. The estimate we received from Fireman's Choice was actually more expensive than another quote we had received. We had decided to go with Fireman's Choice because they were going to insert a larger pipe than our other estimate. Unfortunately, what Fireman's Choice said they were going to do they did not do. The pipe was suppose to be continuous from the stove to the top and double insulated. Neither of these were done. Our mistake was not getting the estimate in writing. Several attempts were made to contact Rex to discuss our issues but messages left with his wife did not go any where.

Appointment was made by telephone, and price quoted. The worker came on time, was neat and appeared to be physically fit for the task and knowledgeable. He said he had been a fireman in a nearby city, for 12 years. Protective coverings were placed on our hearth and about 5 feet beyond. The job was done expeditiously, taking a bit more than one hour. The worker cleaned up when finished. We were invoiced and worker was paid by personal check at the completion of the job. Only problem was lack of proof of liability and Workman's Compensation insurance - - despite promise that worker would bring it with him. Rex said nobody at company office told him anything about that, and I believe him. Climbing on a roof is risky and home-owner may be liable in case of an accident if company does not have Workman's Compensation Insurance. Arkansas Workman's Compensation Commission told me they had no record of such insurance for this company; perhaps the corporate name was not Fireman's.