Ashmasters Chimney Service Inc

They did what they said they would do. They did not push me into any purchases

The work was done wonderfully. Very professional, tidy and unobtrusive. Everything was explained very clearly to us prior to the work being done.

Everything went fine although their timing was slightly off. They were supposed to be here between 2 and 4 p.m. They called around 3:40 and said they were running late and would be here in about 20 minutes. They came about 4:15 but were courteous, professional, answered our questions and performed the task to our satisfaction. I would definitely use them again and recommend them to my friends. Thanks.

They showed up on time. Did the job swiftly, prepared the area properly, and left no mess or dust.

We used a company for several years to do fireplace work -- flue cleaning, flue replacement, re-pointing the brick. On their last visit, the senior service technician warned that the mortar in our firebox was in serious need of work, and that failure to do so could become a fire hazard. Then they went out of business. Ashmasters happened to be at a neighbor's home today, and I asked if they would mind taking a look and giving me an estimate for repairs of the cracks. They said they would come over as soon as they finished the neighbor's job -- a very good tactic; I don't like firms who interrupt the work for a paying customer to drum up unexpected business. They dropped by promptly, took a look at the fireplace, and assured me there is no need to fix it until the cracks widen and the mortar actually begins to crumble, especially because a proper job would be very dusty and affect the whole house. I REALLY liked their honesty. They could easily have emulated the other firm, playing up the possibility of a fire hazard if no action were taken. But they didn't. They gave me priceless reassurance and didn't charge a cent. When I next need their services, I will engage them enthusiastically.

Did a thorough job and identified what I thought was a chimney leak, as a roof leak. They replaced the inside fire bricks but failed to align the pegs for the log holder legs correctly so I'm not able to secure it as before. Overall, satisfied with the services performed.

the techs went methodically about their work. worked and cleaned up. gave report. no hard sell. diagrammed eventual needs of older chimney.

Very good on time cleaned up after themselves. They laid out tarp to prevent getting anything on the carpet

My husband dealt directly with Ashmasters and he wrote the review below. Prior to engaging with Ashmasters I had read reviews in which a customer reported that Ashmasters had attempted to use the $75 chimney sweeping special to quote thousands of dollars of allegedy needed repair work which was invalidated by another professional. Note that all my email messages included properly context-quoted conversations. I emailed Ashmasters at both published addresses on 25 Mar 2013 asking, "I'd like to take advantage of your $75 chimney sweeping special ... Would it be possible to take care of this today? If not, then I'd like to schedule a visit this week.". The first reply from Lisa Smith arrived the next day saying, "The soonest I would have availability, would be April 10th". I replied the next day asking, "That date should work. What's the latest time that afternoon you can arrive ...?" to which Lisa replied the same day saying "Between 12-2 on the 10th or 2-4 on the 12th" (and asking for the address and number which I gave in my original email). The next day (28 Mar 2013) I replied saying, "16:00 on Fri 12 Apr 2013 would work for me. Please confirm time and date.". Lisa replied the same day saying, "We have you set up for our chimney sweep/visual inspection special for $75.00 on Wednesday April 10, 2013 between the hours of 12 -2." I immediately replied noting, "I think you have the dates and times mixed up. Please confirm for the given date and time. If you need a time range rather than a time, then please let me know the shortest latest range available.", to which Lisa replied saying only, "between 12-2 on wednesday 10th". Hoping to remove any confusion I tried again the same day with, "I'm not sure how come you're still confused about this since I quoted the entire exchange, but the time you offered and which I accepted was 16:00 on Fri 12 Apr 2013. Please confirm this date and time. If you need a time range rather than a time, then please explicitly tell me so and let me know the *shortest* *latest* *range* available in April 2013.". Lisa did not respond. On 10 Apr 2013 A note was left at my recently purchased and inspected* house from Ashmasters with a quote for $5900 to rebuild the top of my chimney. On 12 Apr 2013 I emailed Lisa that day asking why I had received this quote and noted that "Due to your apparent inability to read and respond appropriately to email even after multiple attempts by me to arrange a sweeping, I did not contract any service with your company." along with a copy of the previous email showing the entire conversation. Lisa replied saying, "We had you down for the 10th because that is what you and I decided. I did not receive any email from you before this morning stating other wise.". I responded requesting that she "Please forward me the email from me with full headers in which I agreed to service on 10 Apr 2013." and provided the times and dates of all six email messages I sent. I then forwarded all six emails to her. There has been no response. *[Inspected and re-inspected by an Angie's List five star home inspector]

They were very thorough in following up with everything. They came back when there was some more work needed to be done.

Arrived on time and were great. Cleaned and examined everything to do with my woodstove and explained things I didn't know after owning it for 25 years! Wish I could remember the name of the gentleman because he was so friendly and professional.

Prompt for the appointment.

They were excellent. Great service. Great experience. Great Company. They saved me some money, and they took pictures. I was pretty impressed.

They did a thorough and quick sweep of the chimney - were punctual, cleaned and vacuumed. They also took a good look at it and pointed out to me where there was some rust and let me know - should I choose - what it would cost to re-cap the chimney. No pressure, just information. in and out quickly.

We had agreed for Ashmasters to come out and give us an estimate on a chimney flue pipe replacement (~$3000). Before setting up the visit, we made sure the estimates were free of charge. Two other competitors came out to give us an estimate, free of charge. On the date of service two technicians showed up for a cleaning. After they were informed about the real reason for their visit, they did an "inspection" and charged us $50. We tried to resolve the issue by calling the office and asking for a refund of the $50, but the person we spoke with lied about what happened and implied dishonesty on our part. Needless to say, we never got a refund and we would not recommend this company to anyone.

Came out to our home to give us an estimate in early Jan. The estimate as 1/2 of what others wanted to charge us. They came to the house ontime, if not early, and started right in. They were done by 2-ish. The house looked as it did before they showed up! Not a stitch of dirt or dust. Wonderful group of fellows! Explained Everything to me before they did anything.

punctual, efficient, clean, inspection revealed chimney was fine Upon departure, the guy was even conscientious enough to point out a substantial deficiency in our exterior window molding that had long been left undone by another contractor - even though Ashmasters doesn't do that kind of work themselves.

Ashmasters installed a new chimney liner in one chimney and smoke guards and sealed chimney dampers in both chimneys. While the work was expensive, we were convinced that the work was necessary if we were to be able to use one of our chimneys safely. We considered the new liner and investment in our property. The smoke guards help keep smoke out of the room and the new dampers are easy to use and much quieter, energy efficient, and user friendly. They were good investments as well. The work was done in two jobs. Installation of the chimney liner was a messy job, but the installers from Ashmasters made sure that the living room furniture was protected and they used equipment to minimize dirt and debris. Ashmasters provided a detailed estimate of the work and did not pressure us at all. The office was responsive and they scheduled the work on days and times that were convenient. The installers from Ashmasters were punctual, friendly, knowledgable, and explained the work they were doing on the day of the installation.

The person who sold me my house used Ashmasters in July to replace the crown and caps of the chimney, sweep the chimney, and remove the wood stove for $1,200. I bought the house in September. By November, I was getting water in my house, and the insurance adjuster told me that the crown was full of cracks. I had a handyman go up and repair the cracks until I could get something done about the crown. When he came down, he said (in addition to the cracked crown), it looked like someone had patched between the bricks with something strange like grout. I called Ashmasters, and they said that the previous homeowner did not buy the one-year warranty on the crown, so the workmanship was not covered. They did say they would send someone out to look at the crown, but then I never heard back from them. So, I had another company come up to give me an estimate for fixing the chimney. He said that the crown did indeed need to be replaced. Also, the mortar between the bricks had been patched with silicone. I asked him if it was recent, and he said within the last year. I don't know if Ashmasters actually put the silicone between the bricks or not, but surely they should have noticed the state of the chimney when they repaired the crown/replaced the cap and told the homeowner. The one bright spot was the flashing appeared to be installed well, which is why I'm giving a D rather than an F. What kind of company makes you pay for a one year warranty on their construction? Shouldn't it be expected that their crowns last for more than 4 months? The company who is fixing my chimney says that their work is automatically warrantied for 4 years. One of the big selling points of the house to me was that the previous homeowner had taken care of the chimney and I wouldn't have to do any work on it immediately. What a ripoff Ashmasters turned out to be.

Since moving into our 1952 house three years ago, we have not been able to use our fireplace. After 30 minutes of getting a fire started, smoke would pour back into the house. Not good. We tried many things, but finally resorted to having someone (different company) come out to inspect for $109. They said that the clay lining had eroded away and smoke was building up in the flue. They quoted close to $3000 to reline it with concrete. I called Ashmasters to get a second opinion. They also said that the lining needed to be replaced, but described the problem in much more detail and didn't charge for their visit. Ashmasters quoted $2800 to reline the flue with stainless steel and replace the damper with a top mounted version (at cost). Their work came with a lifetime warranty as long as we used them to sweep the chimney each year. At $75 for a sweep they are half the price of most other companies. So I went with Ashmasters. Two workers arrived on time and began their work. The job turned out to be a bit more complicated and took longer than they expected. Sometime in the afternoon I saw six or seven workers total. The company had sent another crew (or two?) to help the guys working on my chimney. Very cool. They could have easily come back another day and made it a bigger headache, but their customer's happiness was important to them. They finished the job that evening and the fireplace works once again. In short, great company, great work. I am glad I chose Ashmasters.

Ashmasters arrived within the timeframe we were given and were extremely professional. They covered their shoes before coming inside and laid a cover over the carpet. The work was completed as promised. They pointed out a couple of areas where we might want to consider having some minor work done. At no time were they pushy. We did not get a "sales pitch" and will definitely use them again in the future.

Excellent experience overall. Our only regret is that we forgot to ask for the Angies List discount.

After earthquake in DC, wanted a thorough inspection of three chimneys in addition to cleaning of two. I should have asked if they used a remote camera on a pole to inspect for cracks; instead they made visual inspection with flashlight from roof and ground level. Nice guys and they seemed to know what they were talking about . But a team of two inspected three and cleaned two in no more than 15 minutes total. So they did not inspire confidence in their thoroughness. Not sure they were worth waiting two weeks for an appointment.

The workers arrived on time. They inspected the chimney, inside and out, and confirmed that it was in good condition and didn't need a full cleaning. I asked for them to clean it anyway, as I had been burning a lot of Dura-Flame logs. The cleaning process was quick and efficient. My family room stayed clean and the cost was well worth the knowledge of a safe and clean fireplace.

The technicians arrived in the middle of their scheduled window and were finished before the end of the window. They kept the area around their work clean and worked efficiently. They also inspected the masonry and cap and explained that everything looked good. They reported their findings in my dryer vent (a nest) and assured me my dryer would be working better (it is).