My Chimney Guys

On Feb. 17, 2008, high winds blew all night and when I was backing out of my driveway that morning, I noticed an old TV antenna had come loose from the bracket and was dangling from the ribbon antenna and rocking against the side of my house. I racked my brain to think of who to call for help and remembered that Bob Wagner of R.W.and Son had done excellent chimney work for me on two separate occasions. I called him and he agreed to come out as soon as he had finished with a scheduled job. He called about 45 minutes later and said he was on his way. He came to my house very soon afterward and climbed up a ladder and removed the TV antenna and put it on the tree lawn. I was grateful that he was willing to come out right away on such short notice.

Called this company for estimate. They arrived on time/ assessed that I did not have chimney problems, but rather needed flashing done on the roof around the chimney and explained that they were not the best firm for that job. Did measure and give me an estimate on the cap. Ordered it and installed on a Sunday as our weather is pretty iffy in Ohio to work on the roof. They took advantage of a good weather day, after calling to make sure that it would not be an inconvenience.

Prompt service, on time arrival for work, prompt completion of project.

Bob returned our call quickly and give an estimate. He said that he would be at our home at 8 a.m on 6/23/07 he was there and on time. He cleaned up as he went. All in all we are very happy with Bob and his work.

RW Wagner was the only place on the list I found, willing to remove an old fireplace and install a new one. Randy Wagner came in less than a week for an estimate. He looked at the old gas fireplace, said he could take it out and install the new one, no problem. While he was there, he looked at our wood-burning fireplace, and although his company does chimney sweeping, told us we didn't need it. Up on the roof he found a crack in the chimney, which he came back the next day and fixed for a very small fee; I can't remember now exactly how much that cost. Turns out, he installs ceramic tile, too, so he agreed to do the room, which is enormous. He ripped out the old fireplace, laid all the stone, with a decorative border around the hearth, and installed the new stove. He even dealt with the store when they sent me the wrong amount of tiles, and helped me get that straightened out. Randy was great and he did a fabulous job. The room is gorgeous.

Bob showed up early and checked the outside and inside of the chimney. He indicated that it did not need cleaning. Showed me how to check in the future. I have used RW and Sons before and they continue to be in my list for future jobs.

Bob is always very prompt and courteous. After inspecting the chimney, he let me know it really didn't need to be swept yet but would need it next fall if we continued to use it as much as we had last year. He is very willing to answer questions and give advice on products and usage that will or won't help keep the chimney clean and safe. They advised us on what we would want to do and look for, since we are going to be selling this house and buying another. Overall, I would recommend his services and plan to leave his card/info for the next owners.

I had used this guy for chimney sweep work several years ago. At that time he also put a new mortar cap and screen on. I had him out to check out some repairs that needed to be done. He said the chimney was fine and didn't need any work, which was contrary to what 4 other contractors said that came out. They all said it needed various stages of rebuilding. I think he just didn't want to do the work or he really doesn't do chimney repairs. Either way, I wasn't real happy with his assessment after having had real masons look at what needed to be done. He should stick to just being a sweep.

Mr. Wagner gave us an estimate in a timely fashion last Fall. We did not have the work done until April 2006, but the estimate was still good. He started the work as scheduled, and finished as scheduled, calling us before he arrived. The work was done to our complete satisfaction, and at a cost that was $300 less than another company's estimate. The work area was left clean and orderly.

Bob and Randy were very professional and courteous. They fully explained the necessary repairs and were very helpful. When they said that they would be at the house at a certain time, they were there. I really valued the fact that they were punctual, a quality job was done, and they cleaned the work area afterwards. I definitely would use their services again and would recommend R W and Sons to others.

We noticed a lot of build up in the fireplaces. Bob came out, and he was very nice and professional. He was patient in answering all questions. I was impressed with the way he inspected everything. Their was a cap on the chimney, and he made sure it was okay. He said to us that he could take our money and clean the chimney, but that it didn't need it. We felt that was admirable on his part. He didn't charge anything and taught us that our chimney didn't need cleaning. He showed me an easy way to get rid of the of the creosote build up. He was very through in explaining the use and cautions of using a combination gas/wood burning fireplace system that was new to us. We plan to use RW and Sons for annual cleaning and for any future problems.

I find them to be extremely honest, and he does extras above and beyond. We needed a fireplace insert installed which he doesn't do, but he gave us all the information as to what we should look for in a company to do that work .

Inspected the chimney and did not find any problems and advised me to put a sleeve in.

Mr.Wagner returned my call right away. He was somewhat late to the appointment, but apologized greatly. Filled in the mouse holes quickly and can not tell where the work was done. Was fairly friendly in carrying out job.

CALLED 12/02/2005 TO HAVE CHIMNEY INSPECTED. MR. WAGNER INFORMED ME THEY DO NOT SERVICE THE AKRON AREA DUE TO THE INCREASED GAS PRICES.

AT THE TIME, I THOUGHT THAT I HAD GOTTEN GOOD SERVICE, BUT I FOUND OUT QUICKLY THAT I HAD NOT. ALL THREE FIREPLACES WERE "INSPECTED" and DETERMINED TO BE FINE. I WAS TOLD TO REMOVE A DAMPER STOP FROM ONE OF THE DAMPERS, WHICH WOULD ALLOW THE DAMPER TO CLOSE BETTER. RW and SONS TOLD ME THAT THEY COULD NOT DO IT UNDER STATE LAW. AFTER I REMOVED THE DAMPER STOP, I COULDN'T CLOSE THE DAMPER. I CALLED and RW and SONS REFUSED TO COME BACK, SAYING THEY WERE TOO BUSY. I GOT ANOTHER SWEEP TO COME and HE SAID THAT THE FIREPLACES WERE FILTHY. WE EVEN HAD TWO DEAD, DECOMPOSED SQUIRRELS IN ONE CHIMNEY, WHICH OBVIOUSLY HAD BEEN THERE WHEN RW and SONS CAME. IT COST ME ANOTHER $208 FOR THE SECOND SWEEP. SO I PAID RW and SONS $140 FOR NOTHING.

BOB CAME OUT AS PROMISED and ASSESSED THE WORK. WE FELT THAT HIS ESTIMATE WAS FAIR. HE PERFORMED THE REPAIR WORK FOR US and ALSO POINTED OUT SOME OTHER ASPECTS OF THE CHIMNEY THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO WATCH OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS.

RANDY WAS VERY CAREFUL TO SALVAGE AS MANY OF THE ORIGINAL BRICKS AS POSSIBLE SINCE THE COLORATION OF THE BRICK WAS DIFFICULT TO MATCH WITH THE CURRENT BRICK STYLES. HE INCORPORATED THE NEWER BRICKS INTO THE SIDES OF THE STEPS WHERE THEY WERE LESS VISIBLE WHEN VIEWED FROM THE FRONT and USED THE ORIGINAL BRICK ON THE SIDE THAT FACED THE STREET. THE STEPS LOOK GREAT NOW, and ARE MUCH MORE SOLID and SECURE.

WORK WAS WELL DONE OVERALL; SOME REPOINTING WAS NECESSARY. BUT HE DID TAKE CARE OF IT AFTER I CALLED ABOUT IT.

A SERVICE PERSON CAME OUT, DID SOME WORK, BUT ALSO MISSED AREAS, AND DID VERY SLOPPY WORK. HE'S OFFERED TO REDO SOME WORK, BUT HE WAS UNPREPARED WHEN HE RETURNED, AND BASED ON THE QUALITY OF THE WORK DONE, I DON'T WANT HIM TO DO ANYTHING ELSE TO THE HOME.

THEY DO GOOD WORK ON CLEANING THE CHIMNEY AND WERE EVEN HONEST ENOUGH TO TELL US SO WHEN WE DID NOT REALLY NEED TO HAVE IT CLEANED. HOWEVER, THE CAP THEY PUT ON DID NOT REALLY WORK...THE BIRDS STILL GET IN THERE.

I CANNOT RECOMMEND BOB ENOUGH. BESIDES THE FACT THAT HE COMES OUT IN THE MARY POPPINS CHIMNEY SWEEP OUTFIT, HE IS A VERY HONEST BUSINESSMAN. ONE TIME I CALLED HIM TO COME CLEAN MY CHIMNEY AND HE TOLD ME I DIDN'T NEED HIM BECAUSE I HAD JUST HAD IT CLEANED THE PRIOR YEAR. APPARENTLY YOU ONLY NEED TO CLEAN THEM EVERY TWO YEARS WITH NORMAL USE. HOW MANY BUSINESSES DO YOU KNOW WHO WOULD TELL YOU NOT TO SPEND MONEY ON THEM WHEN YOU DON'T REALLY NEED IT? (IF ONLY MECHANICS WERE THIS HONEST).

BOB WAS ON TIME, PLEASANT, AND KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT CHIMNEYS. HE WAS HONEST IN SAYING MY CHIMNEY DIDN'T NEED CLEANING AND WAS IN GOOD SHAPE. HE GAVE ME INFO ON HOW TO BURN IN THE FIREPLACE AND NOT GET MY FAMILY ROOM ALL FULL OF SMOKE. I ALSO LEARNED SOME FACTS ON HOW TO TELL IF MY CHIMNEY NEEDS CLEANING.

BOB WAGNER WAS EXTREMELY HELPFUL. HE WAS THOROUGH, ON-TIME, POLITE, AND ALSO TOOK THE TIME TO DESCRIBE ALL THE POTENTIAL ISSUES WE MIGHT HAVE WITH THE FIREPLACE, AS WELL AS HOW TO FIX THEM.

THE PERSON WAS ON TIME, POLITE, AND ENGAGING. THE JOB WAS VERY COMPLETE.