Tom Cady Chimney Sweep LLC

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They were very quick, extremely helpful with my questions, and incredibly nice - especially since it was near 0 degrees fahrenheit, and they worked through New Year's Eve and New Year's Day (which was the crew chief's birthday!) - so this review is long overdue. Not only that, they were understanding when I explained that I could not pay the entire balance up front, and offered me monthly payments - WITHOUT INTEREST!! - after I paid the deposit, which was a reasonable percentage of the entire bill. Working with them through the payment period was very easy. At one point, we disagreed on how many payments I had left, and we were able to resolve the question by going back through the records together and finding their mistake. They were very nice about it - there was no defensiveness and certainly zero rudeness. I feel like this is a business that cares not only about doing good work, but about the people they serve. They're the only ones I'll let near my chimney.

I had called for an estimate, as I noticed creosote on the exterior of the chimney in my attic, which was beginning to seep through the ceiling of the second floor. I did not realize that the estimate was going to be a chimney inspection, for which I was charged $90. I was told that I needed a liner, a pull out drawer at the base of the chimney (for code compliance), and acid wash of the exterior of the chimney, because even after a liner install creosote could keep leaching out. I was told that an insulated liner was recommended, and that a lifetime warranty only applied for insulated liners. I got the estimate, which offered a discount if I scheduled within 30 days. There were also some other discounts that I wasn't sure of, but the original estimate was $4800 but with these discounts it came down to $3800. I got a second opinion for 1/3 the price, and got an uninsulated liner with a lifetime warranty. The other provider also said they would do the cleanout drawer at my preference, and gave me the option. I went with the other provider and am very happy with their work.

The first day, two guys were came. They were not the same guys who had inspected the chimney. It became quickly clear to me that they had not read the inspection report before coming over. I had to show them the inspection report (done by the same company) and ask them exactly what they planned to do. They deviated from the inspection report recommendations without sufficient discussion and approval from us or their company (from what we could tell). I also didn't trust that they knew what they were doing, and had to insist that they explain to us exactly how they planned to do the work as there were complications with the design of our chimney. At the end of the work day, we saw that they had not correctly re-installed the fireplace insert (it was noticeably out of place) and had severely scratched the side paneling. They left without explaining the condition in which they were leaving things. After a few days, we had to call to see when they were coming back to finish the job. The second time, the company sent the original guys (who had previously done the inspection) to finish the job. It was clear that these guys knew more. One of them commented that it would take him longer than anticipated due to the condition that the other guys had left things in. The fireplace insert, this time, was correctly placed back in. However, instead of addressing the scratches on the side paneling, the guys just turned it around. They didn't tell us that this is how they "fixed" the problem. Good thing we noticed. We called to complain. Our interactions with the company owner by phone so far have been positive, as he offered to give us a 10% discount and sent a guy over on the same day to paint the scratches (though we weren't told by phone that he was coming - luckily one of us happened to be home).

They were on time, professional, and did a good job. They did suggest that we also have them crown coat our chimney to repair some cracks. This added an additional $200 to the cost. At the time I thought this was a bit high, but had them go ahead and do it. They recommended that we replace the liner and we asked them to send us a quote. Three months later, we finally received the quote. It was just under $4,000 (with a 10% discount if we scheduled the work within the next 30 days). We decided to get a second opinion and the other vendor said the state of our liner wasn't as bad as Tom Cady led us to believe. The other vendor's quote was about 1/4 of amount of Cady's quote. I'm sure Tom Cady Chimney Sweep is a reputable company, just make sure you get a second opinion to save you a lot of $$.

After a chimney fire, we had Tom Cady Chimney Repair come to install a new liner. In our case it was a stainless steel/titanium liner. They also repaired some brick work and re-installed our wood stove. It was a very good experience.