Nicholas Chimney Stove & Fireplace Inc

Picked 'em because of Angie's List recommendations--and an AL discount--and yet again was steered right. Timely, high-quality working. Recommended strongly and without reservation.

Nicholas Chimney offered us a price as good as anyone else we called and based on the reviews they had been receiving on Angies List, it made up our mind to work with them. The gentleman who did the work, John, was very thorough, clean and professional. The "B" on punctuality is only because we had an 11:30a appointment, but John did not arrive until close to 12:15p, BUT he did call to let us know he would be late. At the end of the day, really enjoyed talking with John and getting his opinions on some repairs that are needed for our fireplace/chimney and he even gave us some great ideas for a gas fireplace we want to install in our kitchen. Overall, great experience, and would definitely recommend them.

Smelled natural gas whenever the fireplace was operating. After checking "the list," I gave Nicholas a call and made the appointment to get it fixed. Got a call from the company the night before as a reminder. Tech was on-time, and professional. He used drop cloths to keep his work area clean and neat, and explained everything he did. It took about two hours to get everything done. (The tech had to be a bit of a contortionist to get at the loose connection that turned-out to be the main problem.) Overall, the experience was great. I highly recommend these guys.

They were great. I liked them. Their price was very competitive and they were nice to work with.

Original report from July 27, 2010: I called for an appointment and the women who answered was very polite and scheduled us for a cleaning a few weeks in the future. We had no problem using the Angie's list coupon posted on their profile. On the morning of our appointment two people showed up promptly and they were efficient, so the cleaning didn't take long. They didn't leave any mess and were polite. They even measured the fireplace opening for us and recommended where we could get a good deal on new fireplace doors (ours were in need of replacement). Overall, we were very satisfied with the service. Update on 12/24/10: We had the above inspection done in the summer -- then when we went to use our fireplace for the first time this season we found the flu is not working properly. It left me wondering if they even looked at the flu during their summer inspection? When I went to make my first fire I put the pull chain in the position the inspectors told me was "open" -- and the house filled with smoke! I tried the other way, and the smoke kept coming! In short, the flu was stuck shut. This was especially traumatic and embarrassing because we had company over. Furthermore, I was 8 months pregnant and not in the mood to have all the windows open to freezing temperatures! Anyway, a few days later I spent some time fiddling with the chain and after much frustration the flu finally popped open, but it's not reliable -- clearly there is something wrong with the spring mechanism. Overall, clearly the inspectors missed this, even after I told them we'd been having problems the previous season. I believed them that everything was fine, and it took days to get the smoke smell out of our house. Overall, I have changed my rating of this company for obvious reasons!

Elvis came on time and did a very thorough job of cleaning the chimney. He then checked the second one and let me know that it did not need to be cleaned (love the honesty). I then asked him to check the top of the chimney for cracks because when there was heavy rain, some drops would come down into the chimney. While he was up on the roof, he took some pictures of the cracked crown to show me what was wrong and then provided an estimate to get it repaired. He came out the following week to fix it - took before and after pictures of the work and the office emailed them to me. Now that is service! They did an awesome job and I would definitely hire them again.

Other than the assistant wanting to hold conversations, the employee assigned to the job came in and went right to work. The entire job took less than 1 hour. it was done professionally and in a timely manner. The estimate for other work was also done in a professional manner. This company is highly recommended..

It's hard to offer enough praise for the work Nicholas Chimney did! I wanted them to clean my chimney and then provide an estimate for the tuck-pointing. Bill and his co-worker, Billy, arrived right on time, did a thorough, efficient, and professional cleaning, and also inspected the flue, providing the good news that there were no cracks or other problems. Bill then did a complete inspection of the exterior and and gave me a detailed verbal and written evaluation of what needed to be done along with an estimate that seemed, for the work contemplated, extremely reasonable! Several weeks later, due to weather delays, Bill and his crew returned to do the tuck-pointing and chimney cap repair. Again, a thoroughly professional job done efficiently and effectively. Actually, it went beyond that. Bill is not just an expert in his trade--he is a real artist. He had explained all about doing his best to match the mortar so the repairs didn't stand out like a sore thumb and he nailed it! I know what areas needed repairing, but looking at the chimney now, there's virtually no difference at all--and anyone else would have a very hard time discerning where the tuck-pointing was done. Again, I just cannot praise this company--or Bill--enough for the work they did!!!! DO: Hire this company if you need chimney cleaning or repair. DO: Ask for Bill if you want or need perfection and the skill and touch of a true master craftsman/artist at what he does. DON'T: Hestitate at all. DON'T: Worry about a thing! Nicholas Chimney is incredibly easy to work with, and their staff are exemplars of customer service!

I called for assistance in getting my gas log set pilot light re-lit, and training on what to do the next time it goes out. I also requested they look at the chimney to determine if I should be "sealing" it so the pilot light doesn't constantly get blown out. The two men who arrived spent a lot of time examining my chimney, log set, etc. and explaining to me the pros and cons of vented/ventles gas log inserts , wood stove inserts, and different options for my fireplace. This was after they relit my logs and showed me how to do that myself the next time it was needed. There was no "sales pressure", but I should be able to make much more informed choices in the future when I need to update my gas log set.

They were terrific and really nice guys. We were glad that we had hired them. The price was reasonable. We would absolutely use them again.

They thoroughly cleaned and inspected our fireplace. They were very good about being clean, and spent a nice amount of time making sure it was clean and inspecting it. I normally would not need such a thorough and expensive service, but good to have once in awhile!

They were good and we liked them. They came twice. The first time it was $225 for the sweep with a $10 discount and $273 to install a stainless steel cap. The second repair was for the crown and it was $365. We got to meet Elvis, the repair guy. He was prompt, clean and efficient. He told us what he was doing, why he was doing it and what needed to be done. He seemed to be a professional. The price seemed reasonable but we didn?t get any other estimates. They seemed to be in the ballpark.

They were very good. I spent about $200 on this job and I felt that their price was fine. The guy showed up on time, was neat and did a good job of cleaning up afterward because there were ashes every where.

We moved into our house last summer. Our gas fireplace seemed to work well but we suspected it hadn't been serviced in a while and we also had some questions about it. The technician showed up on time. He spent a fair amount of time checking the fireplace and explaining different aspects of how it worked. He cleaned it out, adjusted the settings, and reset the fake embers for maximum effect. While we were waiting for the thermostat to kick in for the back burner, the technician took a look at my gas furnace ducting and answered some questions I had about the flue and liner. He was very personable and knowledgeable. I thought the cost was on the high side for what amounted to a one-hour service call, but I was satisfied with the work.

I thought he did a good job with the inspection. He dealt with my tenants, and he was able to come out right away.

They are fantastic. The guy who came was very thorough and he spent a lot of time with us on a Friday afternoon past the time of our appointment. He answered any questions that we had and he even went up on the roof and checked the covering that we had on our chimney, which was outside of what we were paying him for, which was just the chimney and gas fireplace maintenance to get that working again. He was really helpful and even suggested things that were low cost and it was like talking to somebody like your neighbor. He definitely wasn't trying to gauche us for money at all. He was very professional and our fireplace works great. We can't say enough good things about them. The only bad thing is because they are so good, they are popular and it was hard to get an appointment with them. We had a ten-dollar coupon.

No work was performed. I found another service provider.

Appointment was made. Received no call to move the appointment (because of snow) until well past the scheduled appointment. A voice mail message was left. They received no confirmation from us that the new appointment was approved but just showed up. Fortunately, someone was home.

It was a great experience and he was very knowledgeable and willing to spend the time to do the job right and answer all my questions. He went above and beyond and did not charge me for the second fireplace because he said it did not really need to be cleaned and he got the pilot light to work properly. They gave me the Angie's List discount with no problem.

Overall a great experience. Was originally rescheduled due to rain and then I had to reschedule for a meeting that came up. They were very patient and helpful when booking. A couple days before I had another meeting pop and was concerned about being able to make the meeting on time if the service ran long. I had the appointment of the day and they showed up about an hour early which was very much appreciated! I will use them again.

They did a good job but the electrician did not do a proper job. There was a lack of communication between them. It was not well coordinated. This was the only problem with this job. Their quality of work was good and they gave good advice.

Technician who provided the service was exceptional - he was punctual (even early), polite, clean, and thorough with his inspection. He even stepped me through the process before and during the service. Time it took to have the inspection scheduled from time of call was 2-3 weeks. Very displeased with pricing. Highly recommend getting quotes for service in writing. Was quoted $145.00 for inspection and sweep. Was told the total would come to $135.00 because of a $10 coupon they offered me. Was charged $215.00 at time of service ($225 - $10 coupon). I questioned the price, the technician said that was the normal charge despite me being told otherwise. Was not able to contact the office as they were not yet open. I also had a coupon from Angie's list for its members for $50 that had an expiration of 1/22/2010. I called the office and asked for the discount and was told that the coupon had expired. I explained I had the coupon in front of me that I got off of the Angie's list site and reiterated the expiration date and was told that coupon was removed from Angie's list in July. This is impossible because we didn't become members until recently. When I talked to them about the discrepancy between what I was quoted and what I was billed I was told they wouldn't have quoted me that and that I was mistaken. I will tell you I was not mistaken. I know nothing about chimney sweeps and inspections, when I called I was told it was $145 for the inspection...I was shocked at how pricey that was just to have the chimney looked at and then they told me well that includes the sweep as well...so I felt better about the price and went ahead and scheduled the service. If I use this company again...it won't be without getting a quote in writing and also getting other quotes from other companies. I think the service the technician provided was excellent, however, the customer service and failure to honor quotes and coupons was very poor.

They were really good at getting back to me. The guy who came out the first time was punctual and was very knowledgeable and talked above me. I told the girl who works there that the guy who came out, confused me as he knew so much and she broke it all down and made it easy for me. Then, she had a different guy come out to do the work and he could speak in layman?s terms. He was easy to deal with and he worked around my schedule as I was out of town for some time. Their pricing was very affordable and the quality of their work was good.

They did a good job and were professional. Their price was reasonable price, not cheap but acceptable. The price could have been better, it was a little expensive. I would use them again in future.

They had a camera that went up the chimney, so you could acutally see what they were talking about, which was nice, so you knew what they were saying was true. I plan on having them come back out to do the replacement for my chimney.