Mad Hatter Masonry & Chimney Sweep-Seattle WA

My hat's off to Braden Smith for his outstanding work. Also, whoever works at the desk was also helpful as she called to verify my address and to make sure Braden was arriving at a time that was good for me (he was early).From the minute I answered the door I was impressed with Braden. He apologized for being early - which of course I was thrilled about. He checked the chimney and showed me how to use the damper. He explained starting a fire - we should open the damper ten minutes beforehand to heat up the pipe. He answered several quetsions I had and then he explained the bill. He was cheerful and professional! Kudos to Braden! Merry Christmas!

I have two fireplaces and the dampers in both would not close. One Mad Hatter technician came on 11/17/09 and repaired one, swept one chimney that needed it, but the second damper presented a problem. Mad Hatter called right away to schedule a second visit with the lead technician to diagnose the problem with the second damper. I was traveling, but as soon as I returned, the lead tech and a colleague returned and fixed the second damper, which had an odd problem. They refused to charge any additional fee even though they had done additional work. I was very pleased with the quality of service, punctuality, professionalism, and price of Mad Hatter service. They are excellent!

They arrived on time, were friendly and very professional, good communicators, and respectful of our home. They did not leave one spec of ash behind them. Would definitely use them again.

I have an apartment complex and they were supposed to come back because I also had a chimney that needed some repairs and tuckpointing. This work was quoted at $1,000. They called twice and kept making excuses. I told them that if they didn't have time to let me know and they called back four or five days later and I didn't return their call. When I originally called, they came right away and I think they did a good job. The first part of the job they did correctly, but they never came back to do the other part of the job. It was weird because I called an 800 number and I think they give the work to other people.

They were on time, but were just dreadful. They told me that my liner was misaligned. My contractor said that it didn?t have a liner and that actually the pipe was off center which was common. The crew from Mad Hatter Masonry & Chimney Sweep said I needed to get a mason out to get a hole in my chimney. I had a fan that helped get the updraft. Actually the fan blows the heat through the insert into the house, and everything works fine now. The contractor rebuilt the fan and I paid him. Mad Hatter Masonry didn?t do any work for me. I didn?t like the fact that they did not understand what was going on. I didn?t like the fact that they told me that I had to hire a mason to cut a hole in my chimney. They didn?t know that the fan had nothing to do with the updraft, but had to do with blowing heat through the insert into the house. My experience with them was not good.

The first time they came they didn't did a good job, but the guy was right back on it and fixed it so we were satisfied. We would use their services again.

It all seemed to go fine and it was a positive experience.

After a quick inspection of the fireplace and furnace flues, Jay informed me that the chimney looked fine, as is, and he would look forward to seeing me in about a year when my fireplace insert needed cleaning. No charge for the visit at all!

If more companies operated with the integrity of this firm, they'd have client's lining up & clamoring for their service. They were responsive, gratious upon arrival, nice to be around, worked hard & consitantly during their time here. They had to return to check on the chimney cap, which had been installed in a manner that the man who did the cleaning was unable to remove. Upon return - the owner, this time - everything was checked out as OK, no additional expense. And, surprise to me, he carried a can of black high-heat spray paint which he applied to my paint pealing chimney and reviewd with me the type of wood I'd be burning during the winter (this is my primary source of heat). I was so glad that I had chosen this firm & would recommend them to anyone needing similar service.

I would highly recommend this company. We had another service come out to look at the chimney and they said it would have to be replaced ($3000). Mad Hatters came and looked at it and discovered that the only issue was the flashing was improperly installed, restricting the air flow in the chimney. Even with the addition of the heat reflector, the total was less than 50% of the other companies quote. They were efficient, thorough, thoughtful and I will always call them from now on.

The service was great, he took the time to help us figure out to use the fireplace as we were missing the directions, and after spending a good 20 minutes with us refused to charge us for the time. He said it was just in need of new batteries and a full propane tank and was not going to charge us for helping us figure that out. He was very polite and very helpful!!

Mad Hatter Masonry & Chimney Sweep came out because I thought that I needed to have my chimney cleaned and I needed the chimney cap put on. They told me that the chimney didn't need to be cleaned. I thought that they were very honest for just doing the work that was needed and by not trying to oversell me on services. They also explained options about upgrades I could do in the future.

It went very well as the individual showed up on time, recommended what to do now and what could be left for later with a second fireplace. The man was very professional and cleaned up after himself.

They not only did the job they came out for but also took a look at an issue that I had with the chimney and gave me suggestions on how to deal with it. They were very honest and upfront. They were clean and cleaned up after themselves.

Painless. Called them and left a message and they called back right away. They showed up when they said they would, and did their work quickly and efficiently. A previous cleaner had told me we had cracks in the firewall, which I had fixed myself with some special caulking. These cleaners found no problems and said that this was a way that many sweeps will try to drum up business. From now on, Mad Hatter is the one I will call!

Overall it went pretty good. I do wish that the insert downstairs was pulled out from the box more than 12 inches to get a better inspection and cleaning being I was charge an extra $65.00 for having an insert in the downstairs fire place. I forgot to ask him if the damper plates were sealed up when they were closed. I did not know if this was part of the inspection or not.

The chimney sweeps were to arrive between 1 and 3 pm, but called just before 3 to let us know they were running late. They quickly looked at the chimney and determined it didn't need cleaning but suggested that we needed a chimney cap. They had the cap in their truck and installed it quickly.

They got here on time and did a great job. They were really quick. We would absolutely use them again.

Our fireplace has always been tempermental and did not draw very well. Before tearing it all apart, I figured the chimney might need cleaning, as the previous owners were not particularly good at general household maintenance. I called them up, they called back within a couple of hours, and were very accommodating at setting up a time. Just before coming over, they called to clear up a couple of small issues to make sure he had the right tools. When he got there, he noted that the "insert" is actually a wood burning stove stuffed into the fireplace because it was too heavy to sit in front of it. He also noted that it wasn't insulated properly and that it was not a good idea to light fires in there anymore. He wrote down what needed to be done, and offered to help us install a proper insert if we get one. Very helpful and professional. I really don't like the people who used to live here, though.

Took some time (two weeks) to get on their schedule. On the scheduled date, they showed up 30 minutes late (they did call as they were on the way), then arrived without the proper equipment to do the work. They promised to call to reset an appointment, which they so far (a week later) they have not. I can only assume they aren't interested in our business.

Did fine, but other companies also cleaned fire box, too.

The work was done in three visits. The first was for the cleaning, which went well after a slightly late start. The cleaner advised repair of some open areas at the top of the chimney and in the fireplace, where the grout was no longer intact between some tiles and around the damper. He seemed so knowledgeable that I specifically requested that he be the worker to return to do the repairs, which he did the following week. Unfortunately, however, he neglected to advise us to open and close the damper a few times while the grout was hardening. A few days later, when I wanted to start a fire, I was unable to move the handle at all because the damper was sealed shut. My partner was able to pry it open, but it still didn't move easily. I called the owner to report the problem. It took a few calls and some time to hear back from him, because he was in the process of moving his office. He explained that he had let our worker go because of several lapses of attention, and said he would send one of his best men to take care of the situation. Luckily he decided to come himself. He showed up early and spent a long time going over the whole project, re-doing areas that were not up to his standards. He showed us and explained what he had done, started a trial fire to make sure the chimney was drawing correctly, and cleaned up thoroughly. By the time he left we were completely satisfied.

They left a flier on my door offering a 21 point inspection and cleaning for $75. The last time I had the chimney sweep come out, he took a flashlight and looked up through the fireplace; said it did not need to be cleaned and that was it. When I scheduled this appointment, I tell them I got their flier on my door, and to inspect and clean if necessary. First, the guy is about 30 minutes late. He comes in, sticks his brush up the chimney and swishes it around a few times while he runs the shop vac, washes his hands and leaves. He was here 10 minutes at the most. I think he spent more time washing his hands than he did with my chimney. He never once looked up the chimney. He said he could tell by feel that there "isn't anything up there". So, why did he clean it if it was not necessary? He also forgot his receipt book, said he would email the receipt within a couple of hours. That was 3 hours ago. I need the receipt for proof to the HOA that I had this done. There could not possibly have been a 21 point inspection.

We were not too surprised when he found a variety of other problems with the chimney. He was professional. The prices seemed reasonable and he was quick to complete the work.

Friendly "mad hatter" showed up right on time, and quickly and efficiently performed the chimney sweep. He left no mess whatsoever, and recommended that we consider a chimney cap. He did not pressure us to have him do the service, although he helpfully mentioned they were able to perform the service if/when we decided to do it. He was great!