Mt. Tabor Chimney

unknown

Kent came out to do a chimney clean and inspection. He advised me that my fireplaces needed to be replaced and were very dangerous. I appreciated his non pushy attitude and that he did NOT try to sell me a complete new fireplace package. Instead he gave me great advice on my options for removal or replacement of the fireplaces. I will gladly call Kent the next time I need chimney services.

unknown

Fantastic service. Kent came out, did a very thorough inspection of the entire fireplace, chimney, and surrounding areas, identified problem areas and whether they needed immediate attention or could wait for months or years. The flashing where the chimney meets the roof had been installed improperly and the crown was cracked and at risk of failure. The repairs were done quickly and professionally, as was the follow up appointment to ensure that no further work was necessary. Kent does great work, is very professional, and even gave us a few cedar firestarters at no additional cost.

I was referred to Mt Tabor Chimney and called them to schedule an inspection of my chimney. Kent Swanson responded promptly, scheduled a time to meet, performed a thorough inspection of the large, three flue chimney, discussed options with us then provided an estimate of work. The fifty year old chimney was solid but needed to be tuck pointed which involves grinding out the old weather ravaged mortar and re-grouting it. In addition, our counter flashing was beginning to fail and we decided to be proactive and have Kent remove and replace the flashing. Upon acceptance of the estimate, Kent was there within the week. He was careful not to damage new flashing on our roof, tarped the area surrounding the chimney and went to work grinding out the old mortar, cleaning up prior to leaving. He returned the next day to finish removing the flashing and then grout the chimney. Day three was spent designing, dry fitting, and then installing the counter flashing. After carefully sweeping any remaining dust from the roof, the whole work area was hosed down. Kent is a professional who takes the time to tell you what he's doing, why he's doing it, and what to do in the future, for example, how to inspect the chimney crown for wear.

First, it pains me to write this. Kent Swanson did come out fairly quickly after we requested and got to work. He is a very nice guy, hard working and I'm sure the work he did in cleaning our chimney was excellent. He was both responsive, professional and thorough in his work and inspection report. So why do we give him a low rating? In Short: During the chimney cleaning last December, Kent got his last chimney brush segment stuck in our chimney. It is still there, now 10-months later. Though he DOES return calls for NEW business, he WILL NOT return our calls once he knows that we are calling for him to get the brush out of our chimney!!! When he did the original chimney clean, all went well until he got the brush stuck. He then tried from the top, then the bottom, then finally said that "I'll have to get a special tool and come back later." As it was Winter and that this chimney HAD BEEN rarely used, I suggested he could wait until Spring when the weather might be better for roof climbing and chimney work but that HE NEEDED to remove it and not forget it. He assured me that he needed that brush for his work and he thanked me and after my paying him IN FULL for his services, he left. I called him back in the Spring, we spoke and he said he was still waiting for a special tool. I called again in June and again he said he was waiting for a special tool. I called back at least 3 times in September and he wouldn't return any of my calls. I tried twice in October----same lack of response. Finally, in October, my wife called from a separate phone. After a little phone tag, they spoke. She didn't mince words, indicating that it was time that he remove his brush from our chimney. Kent responded by saying effectively that with the good weather he really had to respond to his paying clients first. My wife responded saying that he's had all year to remove that brush and that he needed to get it done---he suggested that the next morning he might be able to come out. My wife asked that he call her either way to inform as to his plans. It has now been a week since that time and he hasn't called and isn't responding to my wife's followup calls either. It's all very sad. I really like Kent as a person and have given him 10-months to get this job done. He assured me that he needed that brush segment and would get it removed. I wanted to have him make a new crown on the chimney and add a chimney extension or two to correct back drafting to our basement. Now, Winter approaching, it's probably too late for that to get done this year. Worse, I now will have to either try to remove the brush myself or pay someone to do so. Customer Service is important, Kent knows that. It befuddles me why he has failed to act responsibly on this. And so we've given up: CCB, BBB and Angie's List reports are our only recourse. If you use Mt. Tabor Chimney, I do hope you do not end up with a chimney brush stuck in your chimney forever. Unlike every other chimney sweep, Kent does not use threaded extensions for his brushes. Rather, he has adapted compressed-air-style quick disconnects for at least the final segment, if not all. Consequently, as he pulls the brush up, if the segments wrap around a corner (as going into a basement flue), on pulling up, the knurled sleeve can grip the side of the chimney brick, then release the last segment, returning just the female knurled segment and no brush. That's my understanding of what happened in our case. It's near the bottom of our basement chimney, in the flue to the side of our main floor chimney---it is difficult to reach now from top or bottom. We do not know what we will do.