Al's Chimney Sweep

We have a 105-year old house with chimney problems. Chimney moisture is seeping through the plaster on inside of the house along the two chimneys in use, and the chimney for the furnace seems to be blocked. Al arrived promptly at the arranged time and took a look at everything, the inside damage, the exteriors of the chimneys, and the very old furnace in the basement, which we had also planned to replace this year. Al's professional assessment was that remedial work on the chimneys, including relining to prevent any recurrence of the problem, was not cost efficient if we still had to buy a new furnace. Also, the height of the chimney for the hot water heater was excessive and likely causing a draft problem on that chimney. Al's recommendation was to not put any money into chimney repairs and look into buying a high-efficiency furnace that would vent through the side of the house, bypassing the bad chimney. He recommended the same for the hot water heater, but since the unit was new, a vent booster fan could be used with the existing unit. Al was friendly and courteous and did not accept payment for his time and recommendation. Thank you Al!

The chimney sweep came on time even with bad weather. He was very professional and covered everything. He found no issues and swept the chimney in 40-45 minutes. They billed us, so payment was sent to the office rather than given to the sweep. We were able to have a fire that evening.

As usual Al is professional, courteous and trustworthy. He arrived when he said he would, did the work and gave us suggestions on what we should do to prevent further issues. We have used him in the past and he has never try to sell us anything that we did not need. I would never hire anyone else.

When he came, he inspected the chimney and determined that it didn't need to be swept and didn't charge us. He came back a bit later to install the chimney cap and did a fine job. Prompt and responsive.

We bought a 112 year old house that had a masonry fireplace that was converted to gas. We hired Al to come and clean/inspect everything before we used it. He recommended having the gas line moved back for safety reasons, in addition to modifying our set up and adding some glass doors. We ordered the doors online from Amazon, and had Al come back for the services he recommended (new insulation around the box, filling in where mortar was missing, new ambers and sand, etc). Everything looks great, and we were very pleased! He gave us a maintenance schedule and recommended having everything cleaned again in a few years. Will certainly have him back in the future.

Great! So glad to have the accomplished in a day!

Very well. Al was easy to work with and was very professional. We love our new fireplace.

Al was fantastic, I had to move the appointment a few times but he was always responsive. Did great work and really went above and beyond. He is professional, courteous, and does fantastic work. Had Al do similar work on my old house and I wouldn't work with anyone else.

Al was very responsive and knowledgeable. He quickly scheduled my work and was very professional upon arrival. I would highly recommend him for any chimney work.

Quickly returned my phone request. After hearing the problem of fireplace, he gave recommendations in detail and explained why. Since his alternative approach can be done by home owner, no work is scheduled. I appreciate his professional information and suggestion. He did NOT charge for his advice.

Very well. Al came for a preliminary visit to take measurements, discuss the work and give an estimate. He examined the site inside and out and gave me a reasoned overview of the situation, including an opinion that this work would not solve the problem. I wanted it done anyway and he did not try to browbeat me into accepting his viewpoint, content to have given me the benefit of his expertise and knowing that the work had some intrinsic value of its own. We had a communication glitch after the estimate visit but managed to get back in touch and Al returned with the well-crafted cap and installed it speedily and efficiently. The roof is "flat" so I have been able to inspect the worksite. I was worried about cement chips on the rubber roofing but the worksite was impeccable--not even dust to be seen. I will use Al's Chimney Sweep for all my future chimney work.

Al was very responsive, he came by and look at the chimneys and said they don't need any maintenance. He also did not charge any fees for the inspection saying he lives very close by and it was no effort to look at them. Hats off to such an outstanding professional.

Called Al back after a good experience with the cleaning of my chimney. Al did an excellent job of matching the mortar of the existing structure. Rain interrupted some of the work but he quickly got us back on the schedule as weather permitted. Al is polite and honest.

He was excellent. He inspected everything. He was very confident in what he did and was knowledgeable explained to me what he was doing. The price was reasonable. He arrived as scheduled. I feel safe using the gas fire place upstairs now. I feel that the chimney will work very well. He left me pleased in his work and confident in the use and cleaniness of the fireplaces.

I am very pleased with the outcome. I highly recommend using Al's Chimney Service.

He was really great. Very professional and very friendly.

Al responded promptly (within 2 hours) of message left (after hours) to come and evaluate two chimneys in our newly purchased home in Fox Chapel. According to prior homeowner neither fp had been used in 14 years - and reportedly both had been "sealed shut". Al scheduled an appointment with us 2 days after our call/request. He arrived on time, evaluated each of the fireplaces and offered his assessment of each. We then asked for his opinion on re-connecting the fireplace that once had a gas line for use with as gas/wood burning fp vs installing gas logs vs. installing fireplace insert. After much discussion, we made a trip to see the gas logs that he suggested. Al was kind enough to speak with the salesperson at the fireplace show room to provide his assessment of the situation and explain what he recommended based on what we wanted. We opted to go with the gas log set. Al then called the following Monday (4 days later) and completed the work that Thursday (one week start to finish). He and an assistant unsealed each of the rusted, closed chimneys, cleaned both, installed new damper in each of the chimneys, repaired mortar in each of fireplaces, and painted the gas log fireplace with black paint - vastly improving the looks and making each operational again. He reconnected the gas line that had been dismantled (in the garage/basement), installed the gas log set that we discussed, demonstrated it's use, demonstrated how to use each damper, reviewed safety issues (a few times) including showing me three different places to turn off gas line, and brought Carbon Monoxide tester in throughout to ensure that no CO2 was escaping. He then urged us to get a CO detector for safety precaution. The other fireplace was cleaned, repaired and readied for wood burning. He then showed me the dampers open vs closed from the outside view - and checked/showed me that the chimney was properly drafting. The sealed fireplaces were much more difficult to unseal that he had expected - causing him a few additional hours of work. He also agreed to take off an old glass door from one of the fireplaces - despite each of these things requiring more time, the proposed amount did not change. He stood by his proposal which was greatly appreciated. Excellent work. He and his assistant were knowledgeable, professional, timely and took great care to use covers for the floor, removing their shoes and using 409 to clean any remaining prints. They were very respectful of our home. I can't say enough about the care and service that Al provided. I recommend him highly and without reservation.

Communicated back and forth via Angies email. Contractor did not know where the area I live in. He gave me 2 prices of $159 for hot water flue and $189 for chimney sweep, Total of $348. Asked for competitive discount of Any amount, firm on price. After I explained where in Pittsburgh area I was he said "I do not service that area.." I don't think he wanted the job.I know how these things work. I always get at least 3 estimates. Wasted time

The company did not follow through on completing the work for which we had contracted. To pick up where I left off in "what did the provider do?", I would note the following: Several more weeks passed, at which point I received another call from the owner, asserting that he had come to my home and made telephone calls to me to arrange for the work to be done. He acknowledged that he did not leave a message when he called (and he did not leave a card when he allegedly came to the home). I found this odd and I found no evidence that he had called my home. We finally set up the work to be performed on 25 January 2014. The weather forecast for that day was poor, so I called the company the day before the work was to be done, asked that I receive a call confirming that he would not be coming on the 25th, and asking that we set up another date to have it performed. I did not ever hear from him again. I subsequently notified the company that it is obvious that there is no desire on its part to perform the work and that I do not want this company to do it. I thought someone might contact me with an apology and to admit that this job proposal was botched, but no one could be bothered. I have now wasted valuable time, losing a season in getting this repair performed. I do not understand why a company would waste my time and not be interested in performing an expensive, lucrative job.

Came exactly as scheduled. Were careful to keep everything clean.

I was able to get an appointment soon after I called to have my chimney cleaned. The chimney sweeper arrived on time, introduced himself, and took his shoes off to proceed into the family room to look at the fireplace. It was a very cold day (-9) so he made sure all his tools were by the front door so he could bring them all in at once to minimize the time the front door was open. He placed a large drop cloth around the fireplace to protect the carpet. As soon as he was finished he made sure everything was cleaned up before he left.

He inspected my chimney and found many issues that were wrong, making it dangerous to use. He actually came early which meant I was not home when he got here, but it worked out. We have not decided whether to repair the chimney at this time.

Terrible - they didn't show up or call back.

We purchased our home this past summer and even though the home inspector said everything looked good he suggested to have someone certified inspect it. I scheduled an appointment with them based on others Angie's List reviews. Al and his partner showed up a couple minutes before 8:00 am (the scheduled appointment time) and got right to work after introducing himself. The inspection and cleaning took no more than 30 minutes and the left our home clean. They removed their shoes at the door and took care to respect our home. The price was what they quoted ($90 to inspect and $160 if it needed cleaned as well) which I felt was appropriate for the service provided. After the service was complete, Al took time to give us suggestions on how to maintain the fireplace and chimney, and overall was professional and friendly. Overall this was a great experience and we will definitely use Al again for our routine cleaning and maintenance.

Called Al and within a couple days they were at my house inspecting my chimney. They were running a bit late so they didn't charge me anything for the visit which was appreciated. When I changed my mind and decided to go back to wood burning, Al called me back within 10 minutes on a Saturday to advise how to safely start using the fireplace. Service and attention like this is much appreciated and will absolutely use Al in the future for any fireplace needs.