CHARLIE'S CHIMNEY SERVICE

It was a great experience. He arrived on time, did the work and cleaned up after himself. He was fast, efficient and the work was done perfectly.

Steer clear of this unprofessional, unscrupulous, unstable and incompetent person. Charlie charged us $2300.00 for chimney repair work he only pretended to do and other work that was of extremely poor quality or didn't need to be done at all. He ended up botching the job, rendering our chimney completely unusable plus the leak is still there. We are now paying a reputable company over $1000.00 to undo the damage he did and to address the actual issue causing the leak. His 10 year warranty is bogus as he simply does not return calls if there is a problem. Following are only some of the details. Once we figured out Charlie was not to be trusted we asked to please see the old chimney cap he said he just replaced. He knew he was busted for ripping us off so as a cover, flew into a rage, and started digging wet mortar out of our chimney with his bare hands, throwing it around, and threatening to walk off the job leaving everything exposed to the elements. At this point I knew he was a con artist and an unstable individual with an anger management problem but he had us over a barrel because noon e else could come out for three weeks to even give us an estimate. I mistakenly thought it best to have him stay and finish the job so gave him an honorable out by suggesting maybe there had just been a misunderstanding. (Although the written job order clearly included replacement of the cement chimney cap which I have since learned can cost over $300.00.) In hindsight I should have had him leave that day. Due to his incompetence, Charlie damaged our chimney by caulking around the top of it with poly-urethane which has a low melting point. Now, when we turn our gas insert on it heats up the globs of caulking and fills our house with the toxic fumes of burning plastic! He said, "I didn't think it would get that hot up there". To add insult to injury, he foolishly applied the toxic grout to an area where it couldn't possibly do any good and it can?t be removed without damaging metal parts, so it all has to be replaced with new parts. I have since had two highly rated and very reputable chimney repair companies over and they had the exact same findings. Besides not replacing the promised cap, there is no evidence at all he bothered to grind out the old mortar before applying more over the old. He only said he did it. The flashing has to be completely redone due to Charlie?s extremely sloppy work. The caulk line he applied to attach it, which was supposed to be a thin, straight line, looks like it was applied from 15 feet away with a sling shot. Charlie said, ?That?s the best I can do.? I have no idea how this guy is still in business. My next step will be a complaint to the Better Business Bureau and possibly court action.

Charlie came to estimate a job for cleaning and repair of our chimney. On the phone before the visit he stated the estimate would be free (and this is also stated on his business card). When he came to look at the chimney to give us an estimate, he had nothing to give us a quote with (paper, form, etc.), and did not mail or email a quote afterward. He told us verbally that it would cost $400 but did not itemize this. We understood it to be for cleaning the chimney, fixing the capstone and repairing the damper. We gave him a $50 deposit for the work. After he left we decided to get another quote, and frankly started second guessing whether we wanted to hire him after the lack of professionalism, and lack of actual quote. We decided we would just get the chimney cleaned and wait on the repairs. When we called him a few weeks later to discuss the work, he said the chimney cleaning would be $100. When we reminded him that he had the $50 deposit, he said that it would be $100 after the deposit. When questioned about what portion of the quote that was, he then stated that the $50 was for the estimate and that he was now starting to charge for estimates. He was argumentative and loud on the phone, and continued to refuse to let us apply the $50 toward the cleaning, as it had already been 'spent' for the estimate regardless that we continued to point out his card stated free estimates. As he became more rude we had to hang up and have not yet tried to re-contact him.

Prompt--out to do the work within a couple days of my call. Friendly and professional -- I have two loud, high-energy dogs that didn't seem to phase them at all. Able to complete the additional work without a second visit. Trust-worthy -- I had a question about a repair to my foundation, and Charlie said that that was outside his scope, and he referred me to someone else who would be better suited to that type of work.

THEY CAME OUT THE SAME DAY FOR AN ESTIMATE AND COMPLETED THE JOB QUICKLY. IT LOOKS NICE AND IS NO LONGER LEAKING. THE OLD BRICKS WERE HAULED OFF WHEN THEY FINISHED.