Chimney Cricket

Well! They came to our house within a few days of me contacting them. They were on time, courteous and clean.

Called several times to have someone come out and look at my chimney. Each time I was told that someone would be there the next day and leave me an estimate. No one ever came. Very unfortunate. I will make sure that I don't refer any of my clients to you as well.

An older gentleman came to perform the service. He arrived about 25 minutes early. I showed him where my fireplace was, he laid some cloth down and went to work. The man was quiet and didn’t talk much. When he was done there was no mess or anything. It was like he never came. He showed me how to work my new damper and recommended different flooring or a hearthrug in front of my fireplace and then left. He doesn’t take credit or debit cards, only cash or checks.

The man who answered the phone the day before Christmas Eve was very polite and was able to get me on the schedule for the very next day which was great. The price he quoted for cleaning the chimneys was also very competitive. However, I didn't have Chimney Cricket perform any work in the end. The serviceman they sent out to the house for the chimney cleaning the next day had a very thick accent and was very hard to understand. He also wasn't incredibly polite. I don't think he understood how to clean chimneys in old homes since he said he couldn't clean the chimneys based on them having too narrow openings from inside the house. I told him that I was also supposed to have an estimate for chimney caps and he said that he'd have to come back with a special truck as well as build scaffolding to access the chimneys from the roof in order to even give an estimate for this. I was frustrated that the work was not able to be done and now need to call someone else to come out.

On the morning of the appointment to clean the chimney they called to ask if it was OK if they came a few minutes early which they did, no problem. The appointment was for between 10 and 11 AM and they arrived a few minutes before 10 AM. Three gentlemen arrived in a clearly marked van with a bunch of ladders on top. They were shown to the fireplace where they quickly set up a drop cloth and a large industrial vacuum. Within minutes the guys were attaching rods to a bristly brush and shoving it up into the flue. They vigorously jammed the apparatus up-and-down as they shoved it further and further up the chimney. There was a minimal amount of dust and the vacuum was utilized to prevent the soot from going all over the room. When the sweeping was finished they speedily cleaned up after themselves and we're out the door in a flash! Literally, from start to finish, the entire job was completed in 10 minutes and they were gone by 10:15 AM. They didn't go up on the roof or use the ladders to access the chimney from above and I wasn't made aware of any possible problems with the chimney. I felt that they were honest when they said I wouldn't need a cleaning every year. If I used it only occasionally, like on the weekends, I would only need it cleaned every couple years. In fact, when they were leaving one of the guys said "See you in a couple years". By the way, this entire appointment was completely set up via messages through Angie's List and it went very smoothly.

Not as expected....had high hopes considering the great reviews

I called on Wednesday and they were able to schedule to come take a look at my chimney the next morning at 7:45 am. They (three guys) arrived almost precisely on time. The older gentleman made a short introduction and then immediately took a look at the outside of the chimney. After just a minute or two, he informed me that the brickwork which would be necessary to repair the chimney is more extensive than the type of work he performs. Accordingly, he went to the truck and wrote down the name and number of a mason who he recommends. Then, he accompanied me inside the house and looked inside the chimney (this is a house we just purchased, so we wanted to know if any repairs would be necessary to get the chimney up and running since we want to run a gas line and install logs). After having a look and opening and closing the damper a few times, he said the inside of the chimney looks good-to-go and will not need any work. We talked about running the gas line and getting gas logs installed and he said they could do that when we are ready. He gave me an on-the-spot, verbal rough estimate of the cost for that. There was no charge for his inspection on this day, which I thought was lovely given the fact that he did come in and inspect the chimney and fireplace for us. He was kind and professional during the entire visit. And the person who scheduled the visit via telephone was also articulate and professional. Overall, I was very happy and will likely use them to install our gas logs after we get our masonry work done.

The crew was very quick, professional and cleaned up after themselves. Would recommend them for any type of chimney work.

Went very well, extremely professional, quick and concise.

The Chimney Cricket guys were great. They explained what they would be doing, were 'expedient' in their work, good natured, and a pleasure to talk to. Would definitely call again.

They showed up right on schedule and did a quick inspection of the job. I told what was wrong immediately, which was a great cross check from what my home inspector had stated and was identical. I was also immediately given a quote for the work to be completed. Everything was quickly performed and cleaned up perfectly. The flue works so smoothly now; I'm very pleased.

They were really good. It was an old Russian guy and then his American grandson. It was quite a unique experience talking to him because of the broken English but he knew stuff though. I waited a week or two to talk to him and offer him to come do the work because he was heading out of town for something. He had the tools to do what he needed to do and he took care of it. I'd give him an excellent rating. The guy came in in dickies blues and a tee shirt and he looked like he was working on a chimney before.

fast and thorough cleaning and inspection

The owner came to do the work personally. He was very professional and answered all questions that I had. He told me that that was some additional work he would recommend having done but did not need it at this time. I was nice to see a business owner tell you that you need some other work but it was not imperative at this time. Very honest and knowledgeable. They were on time and thoughtful. They protected the carpet around the area and even cleaned their equipment prior to bringing it in the house. They made sure not to hit any of the walls or get any portion of the house dirty. I would highly recommend.

I spoke to them and decided to go with this company because I spoke with someone who seemed to know what they were talking about, rather than a receptionist (who I got at another company). They showed up when they said they would and tenant was very satisfied. I didn't need to show up at all. They are wonderful.

We were very happy with the work performed.

When I phoned to make a request for the price for having my chimney cleaned and to possibly make an appointment to have the work done, an answering machine came on and I left a message. Shortly there after Mr. Ken called me back with the information and we set up an appointment. Mr. Ken and his son Arran arrived at the scheduled time within 1 1/2 days of my call. They were careful in covering the area where they had to work and in bringing their equipment in. I think within 45 min. they had completed their work to my satisfaction. They were very professional and I was very happy with their work and will have them in the future when the chimney needs cleaning. I certainly appreciated the fact they were prompt in the call back to me and arriving on schedule. Do not hesitate in hiring Chimney Crickets to clean your chimney. E. Dussling (Allison Park, Pa.)

The motor had fallen out inside the fire box, so they repointed it. and it all fell out, so my husband did it.

They were prompt, fast at their work, gave us a good sense of the the work that needed to be done, encouraged us to be both pro-active and practical in deciding to seal off the unused flue rather than trying to fix it (which would've been much more expensive), and overall just seemed to do a quality job. We were very pleased with them and thankful they were willing to come out and take care of a long-standing issue. The only B we gave them was for price, and that is just because it was a little more expensive than we had anticipated it would be based off another quote for a chimney cap.

Vendor was very responsive. Scheduled appointment within 2 days for New Year's Eve. Arrived on time. Before he even entered the house he identified a problem with our chimney cap. Upon inspection he said it looked like our chimney had not been cleaned in 5 years. We had had regular annual cleanings by other (obviously less qualified) contractors so this was a surprise. Cleaned the chimney within 30 minutes. We used the fireplace that night with no problems.

We got the time wrong. We thought he was coming in the afternoon. Here it was morning. So when he called us and we were at the store he just rescheduled for the following week. He made it early in the morning at 9:00. He was prompt and cleaned the fireplace and left. No problems and he was in and out in no time.

Third year in a row I have used them. Come promptly, very friendly and polite and quick. I trust that they leave my fireplace safe for me to use. A family owned business.

They were fine. They were in and out, did a good job. I don't have anything to compare them with because I didn't shop around for other prices so I would assume that they were competitive.

Chimney Cricket was great! My call to them was returned promptly and they came a few days later. We were so pleased with the work they did. We highly recommend Chimney Cricket. We won't hesitate to call them when we need anything for our fireplace.

Overall, they were very good. A little pricey on the cap install, but then again, I didn't have to do the work.