GATEWAY CHIMNEY SERVICE

John Craft and his son arrived on time to perform a chimney sweep and evaluation on a home that I bought about a year ago. John and his son were both professional and polite and provided a lot of valuable information. They recommended that I have certain repairs done to the chimney and provided an estimate for such repairs without coming across as forceful or overly-selling the need to have the repairs done ASAP. I plan to contact John in a couple of months to have him perform the work.

The Crafts were homey professionals who explained the hows and whys of chimney care before they began. They covered the area with a large tarp and performed their task with speed and efficiency. A great deal of leaves and soot came down the chimney and they cleaned up so thoroughly that there was no sign of the mess they had encountered. They were chatty and informative without slowing down with their work. They dislodged debris and caused a squirrel to fall down on to the smoke shelf which prompted much deliberation on the tactic to be used to get it off the shelf (and into the living room). This procedure took a bit of finesse on both their parts because they both were quite concerned about injuring the squirrel, and they plotted out a workable plan to execute. Mike Craft kept saying, "Don't hurt the squirrel, let's be very careful." Mike was able to use his chimney rotating cleaner device to successfully force the squirrel to jump down off the shelf into the fireplace and then, with the two of them and myself waving arms and moving all around the room, we were able to herd the little beast out the door to freedom, unhurt. It was actually quite funny. I was really struck how caring they were about the well-being of the squirrel. In addition to the work contracted, I was also informed of needed work and suggested work to correct the deficiency of the system. Information without a 'hard sell' was what I was provided. When I made the appointment, I was told it would take about 30 minutes to do the work. They were here, even with the squirrel, for about 30 minutes. I was 'blown away' by their personalities, professionalism, sense of caring and sense of humor. They are the top of my list. I will now use them annually to maintain the functioning of my chimney.

John & his son arrived on time and did an excellent job of cleaning our chimney. Very neat & professional. If they would have taken our money and left right after cleaning the chimney we would have been happy with their service. But they took the extra time to talk about fireplace safety and were pleased to see that we had a metal container for ashes, a fire extinguisher, etc. As a plus, provided a folder with a Chimney Service Report and additional reading material about Chimney Sweeping, Firewood, etc. And we received a Senior Citizen's discount.

They were easy to schedule and arrived on time. They answered all my questions and gave me a great rate. I felt that they were very thorough and made sure the job was done properly. I thought they did a great job.

I wouldn't call on them again. They were supposed to put a cap on the chimney to keep the birds out but never did. Their prices were reasonable and their work wasn't too bad but their responsiveness to my needs wasn't very good.

This was a very good experience. They offered a 10 year warranty with the work. They were very professional and thorough. They explained everything to me so I understood what was being done. I would recommend them.

The main problem we had was the smokey smell coming from the fireplace. Although the work was only recently completed (3 days ago), so far, no smokey smell. Hopefully, this will continue...

I called several companies from your list on the day our power went out and John not only was the only one who returned our call, but did so that day. We had already went to a hotel, so scheduled the cleaning the next Fri. John was on time and described what his findings were. Cleaned the chimney and debris,he also noted we needed some work done and left us an estimate, which we plan on completing in the spring with him.

Arrived on time. Completed work quickly at agreed price. Left area clean. Provided detailed invoice and additional materials. Will get bid on additional chimney cap repair work in spring.

Wonderful experience. Would never use anyone else.

Workers arrived before schedule. Provided lots of information about general chimney/fireplace maintenance. Did all the clean-up afterwords.

He did an excellent job and gave us numerous tips on how to enjoy our fireplace. He was incredibly friendly and helpful. He even showed us how to use our gas starter.

John did an excellent job! When they came to sweep the chimney they did so in a very timely manner and did a great job cleaning up afterwards. They took the time out to explain how to take care of our chimney and how to have safe fires. They were very thorough. They had to come back a couple weeks after the cleaning to install the chimney cap. Again, they did so in an efficient manner. I would highly recommend Gateway Chimney Sweep.

They were a day or 2 calling back, but were able to get us an appointment within a couple of weeks. They were 20 minutes late, but did call ahead to let us know and to make sure it would not create a problem. When they arrived, they came in and explained what they would do and asked some informational questions to understand what our use of the fireplace would be and how familiar we were with starting fires and the type of equipment we should have for safety.

John Craft and Mike came to sweep and check our chimney. Mike spread a tarp over our floor before he began to clean the flue with brushes attached to a piece of motorized equipment. John climbed on the roof and checked the chimney from on top. Afterwards he gave me a detailed estimate of some things that may require attention in the near future. John is very knowledgeable and explained thoroughly what the repairs entailed. He also left me with brochures on buying firewood and care for our chimney.

John Craft was thorough, courteous, professional and explained reasons why fireplace might smoke. He offered a reasonably priced solution for the smoking, so that the marble fireplace surround I'm having installed will not be stained. Work was performed in a reasonable amount of time, and the workers were very tidy. I contacted this company because of its favorable reports from other Angie's List members, and I'm glad I made the change from the sweep I'd used in the past.

John Craft and his son arrived early for their appointment for the chimney cleaning, which was fine. The work was performed, and John gave me a lot of good information regarding fireplaces and chimneys, which I appreciated. His demeanor was professional, the work was done well, and the area was cleaned completely before they left. I will definitely hire them again.

John was great. He was very informative, he was on time and reasonably priced. He was also willing to come up with lots of options we could consider, as far as using our wood stove went. He's passionate about his work.

John did a great job. Polite. Cleaned up. He was 30 minutes late. The numbers on my street are confusing, but he didn't call when he had trouble finding the house.

He also fixed some flashing. He gave us some great advice and did his work very quickly. He was very knowledgeable and very easy to talk to. He responded very quickly.

I actually did not check Angie's List before I had John Craft come out because he has taken care of our fireplace for years and I am familiar with his work. I was not surprised to see he has an A rating. John is always prompt, polite and very knowledgeable. On each visit he gives good tips and information regarding the chimney, safety and building fires. Last year he recommended installing a chimney cap and we have had no debris or birds getting in our chimney since then. John is honest and does not recommend cleaning or other work if it is not necessary. I would definitely recommend John, and in fact, just did. A good friend just made an appointment to have John come out later this week based on my recommendation. Our neighbor next door also had John come out to install a chimney cap based on our recommendation.

I WAS NOT HOME BUT MY WIFE SAID THAT THEY WERE VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE AND SUGGESTED THAT I HAVE A SPARK ARRESTOR CAP INSTALLED.

COMPANY RETURNED 1 CALL, DIDN'T CALL BACK AS PROMISED AND NEVER RETURNED SUBSEQUENT CALLS.

JOHN CRAFT WAS ON TIME, POLITE, AND WAS VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT HIS WORK. HE DISCOVERED A BROKEN FIRE BRICK PANEL WHICH NEEDED IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. HE REPLACED THAT PANEL AT A REASONABLE PRICE. ($95 FOR CLEANING AND INSPECTION, $180 TO REPLACE THE PANEL) I WILL DEFINITELY USE JOHN AGAIN.

JOHN CRAFT WAS ON TIME AND VERY INFORMATIVE AND KNOWLEDGEABLE. GOOD WORK!