SMOKE STACKS INC

I did not end up having my chimney repair work done by this company but was very impressed with the professionalism and information that Kurt provided when he came to give me an estimate.

Smoke Stacks and in particular the owner, Kurt did a fantastic job on our chimney. Total professionals, in fact it was a significant job and amount of money and Kurt was more than patient as we secured other estimates - but in the end their price was the best, but more importantly Kurt/Smoke Stakes educated us and fell in line with with impartial home inspectors were telling us about our chimney needs. Follow up was great too, making sure we were satisfied. I would highly recommend Smoke Stacks (and have) to any body in need of chimney/fire place work.

I had called Kurt for an estimate a year before on repairing my leaking chimney. Of the 3 quotes I received, he was the only one who was honest enough to let me know that the best route for me to go would be to replace aging water heaters and furnaces in my duplex, vent out of the side of the building, and tear down the chimney. Because of his honesty, there was no question that I would use him when it came time to tear down the chimney. Kurt was timely with a quote and follow-up. He arrived with crew on time, and finished the work. He inspected the basement, and made sure that the small opening to the chimney was closed to prevent dust and rubble from filtering down. He also warned me the week ahead of his scheduled work to remove anything in the attic that was was stored close to the chimney in the event of deteriorating brick filtering down and hitting it. I also had a slight whole in the stone of my foundation. I had asked him if he could repair that also. He was able to concrete patch it for me. Working with Smoke Stacks was a great experience.

They were really good. They were on time and did what they said they would do. We were really happy with them; the price was exactly what they said it would be. I will use them again in the future.

It went absolutely excellently. This company is incredibly trustworthy and honest. They were also very thorough.

I was very impressed with him. He was the only one that rather than quote on a new chimney, he told me I had the option to replace the furnace and water heater and tear down the chimney for better energy efficiency.

He was professional, friendly, NEAT, fast, conscientious, receptive and a sheer delight to work with. Kurt was recommended to me from my supervisor. It was the single best home project I've experienced because he made it all REALLY SIMPLE AND EASY. Where do you find that? He is the best business man I have worked with (we have had a kitchen remodel and full basement foundation repair in addition to other minor projects). The business of home improvement/repair would have a far better reputation with people of his business acumen behind it. Kudos to you Kurt. It has been many years, but no one has topped your style yet. Keep up the fabulous way your TREAT PEOPLE and handle business.

I heard of the company via word of mouth. I am looking at upgrading our fireplace/chimney and wanted to get and idea of what it would cost. I also had some water problems with the existing chimney. The quote I got was very reasonable compared to others I received. I have seen the finished product so I know the quality of the work is very good. The thing that really impressed me was that when I mentioned the water problems in passing to the owner, he took extra time to ask about it. It was not even my main concern. After discussing it he suggested a inexpensive and easy fix that solved that issue. If we move forward with the project I will use them.

The fireplace in our house was small and broken. The old dark brick was cracked and smoke stained and the damper inside rusted out. It looked bad and never added any heat to the house. Kurt from Smoke Stacks, Inc. replaced it with a beautiful, floor to ceiling, stone fireplace. He also installed an insert that keeps most of the heat in the house and that saves us a lot on heating bills. He did a great job, we love our fireplace, it looks great and it is very comfortable in the winter. This job was done as part of a larger remodel project so it was important that it be completed on time. He got the job done in one week just like he said he would. We have recommended Kurt to other friends and family because he does great work.

It went terrific as it has when Smokestacks has done work for me in the past. Anyone I've referred Kurt to has called me back to say thanks and recognize what a great guy he is to do business with. He's prompt, honest, professional and explains all your options. His craftsmanship is impeccable and he cleans up when he's done. What more can you expect from someone. I feel like I got value for every penny I spent with him and will work with his company as long as I have a chimney/fireplace that needs service.

We contracted with Smoke Stacks to do standard chimney cleaning and were very pleased with the attention to detail and professionalism. We had always wanted an outdoor fireplace to create great memories with our children (and one day our grand children) and in Smoke Stacks we found a company we could trust and had confidence in. Once again our experience was rock solid from beginning to completion! We ended up with a better plan for the fireplace by collaborating with Smoke Stacks and the finished product is outstanding. I wish I had $10 for every time a neighbor or simply someone walking past our home has stopped to ask questions and comment on our fireplace. It's a treasured part of our home. Our free standing fireplace can be seen on the company's website at http://www.smokestacks.net/ What makes Smoke Stacks stand out in today's age are the values of honesty, craftsmanship, and the work ethic to do a job "right". I will continue to recommend their services and am proud to be a customer. You may reach me for further information at

I had Kurt from Smokestacks give me an estimate to repair my chimney. A few months have gone by and I decided to hire him so I called him to let him know he was going to be performing the work and he said he would honor his price with out coming to look at it to make sure the price was accurate. He said he prides himself on accurate estimates. I signed his contract and he told me he would be out in 2 1/2 weeks. That would mean he would be there sometime this week (5/17). He called me on last Friday (5/14) and said he now needs $4000 more to do the job. I mentioned to him that I signed the contract after he said his estimate is correct. His fault for not estimating correctly. I did sign his contract. I was even generous enough to offer to meet him half way and he said "I will not do the job unless you give me $4000 more". Since when is a contract to be broken? If the rolls were reversed, he would hold me to the contract. I now have roofers coming out that I coordinated with the timing of Smokestacks and now I need to change that around. Kurt has put me in a bad position and his practices are very unethical. I would not recommend him to anyone.

It looks much better than it did and it functions great. He actually tried to talk me out of going with stainless steel in my exhaust chimney because it was more expensive. I wouldn’t have needed one until I got a super efficient furnace but I thought I might as well be done with it and get it done now so he agreed to do it. They are knowledgeable, professional, and timely. They kept a clean work area, showed up when he said he would, and took care of everything he said he would. The finish product is excellent.

I had called two other people for quotes and he came in at the best quote. They had the lowest price and in one case it was about $4000 less. He was prompt, very professional and didn't try to tell me I needed to take my inside of the chimney apart. He said he thought it was adequate the way it was and did not need to be replaced. He showed up on time, he was polite and the work he did was good. He seems to have fixed the problems. Obviously, his quote was reasonable. He cleaned up after himself so it was just a very nice experience. I would absolutely use him again in future.

Kurt and a helper arrived at the agreed upon time and got right to work. They were fast and efficient and did excellent work. They finished much quicker than I expected and completely cleaned up after themselves. I highly recommend Smoke Stacks and would use them again in an instant.

They have done an excellent job. We had told the person who came out that we were going to paint the bricks after he was finished, but we changed our mind after we saw how nice the bricks looked after the job was done. We told him that we would not be painting the bricks, and he said that he would have to do sealing in that case, but he did not charge us extra for the sealing. I give them high ratings on all counts and would certainly use their services again if required.

So far the experience has been good. It was fairly easy to get hold of the workers. They were very nice and very thorough. I think the owner himself came for work.

Kurt came out in June, showed me what needed to be done, and gave me a proposal for the work. I got some other proposals (most higher), and decided to go with Kurt based on both price and professionalism (not that other contractors I contacted from the list weren't professional). In late August, I sent Kurt a signed proposal and a deposit. A few days later, Kurt gave me a call and said they had an opening in their schedule, and could they start the next day? I said, "Sure." Kurt and another employee arrived promptly the following morning when they said they would and got right to work. They got the fireplace flue tiles broken out, lined the chimney, connected the firebox to the liner, and got the concrete crown poured, all by about 2:00 to 3:00pm. Since there was nothing more they could do until the concrete dried, they packed up and went on to finish another job. I should probably also mention that they were very clean as they went about their work and everything was immaculate before they left. Kurt told me that they'd be back at 7:00am the following morning, and once again they were prompt. They finished caulking around the new concrete fireplace chimney crown, installed the stainless liner in the furnace and water heater chimney, connected the appliances, and caulked around the concrete crown on top. They finished up mid-morning, packed up, and you'd never know they'd been here.

We had problems with leakage in and around the chimney and it turned out our chimney was falling apart! Kurt Soens came and gave an estimate (we were really a little out of his service area, but he agreed to work for us anyway), told us about when he would be able to do the work when we agreed to the price (he was busy for several weeks and we had a vacation planned). He explained why we wouldn't be able to use the existing caps. He called when he had a cancellation and he was able to do the work before we originally thought he could. He arrived at 7:00 AM on both days and proceeded to work. He and his helpers cleaned up after themselves and the chimney looks great!

I called this company (Kurt) for an chimney repair estimate approximately 2-3 weeks ago and have not yet received a call back. At the same time I had called three other companies also for an estimate. Those companies were here and have given estimates within less than 2 weeks. If a company cannot even return a call about an estimate, I am concerned how responsibly they may or may not take the quality of their work. I can understand that the company may have been busy - we all are! But a return phone call is a sign of professionalism and good customer service and if a company cannot extend that service, I would consider it a potential "hire".

It was great. They did a tremendous job. It was a bad winter, so they had to take a break for awhile. There were two guys who were polite and on time.

Quote price was in the middle of all quotes received, but the cheapest when comparing to the quotes of the same suggested work. Worked very quickly and efficiently, and did not charge me for additional issue that was found during the job. Explained everything they did, and cleaned up after themselves. Scheduled and completed within a week of calling. Would recommend.

KURT SOENS OF SMOKESTACKS WAS RESPONSIVE IN COMMUNICATIONS, TIMELY WITH HIS WORK AND REMAINED ACCURATE TO HIS ORIGINAL ESTIMATE. WOULD DEFINITELY USE SMOKE STACKS AGAIN.

WE INTERVIEWED 6 COMPANIES. GIVEN THE EXPENSIVE PROJECT WE HAD AND DECIDED TO HIRE SMOKE STACKS. WE WERE ABLE TO NEGOTIATE THE PRICE GIVEN OUR OTHER ESTIMATES. WE LIKED THE FACT THAT WE DEALT DIRECTLY WITH THE OWNER AND HE DID THE WORK WITH THE HELP OF ANOTHER WORKER. HE SEEMED VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE AND PROFESSIONAL WHEN HE PRESENTED HIS PROPOSAL. WE WERE VERY PLEASED WITH THE WORKMANSHIP AND DETAIL WORK DONE. THE JOB WAS COMPLETED IN 2 1/2 DAYS AND THEY LEFT THE JOB SITE VERY NEAT. WE WOULD RECOMMEND SMOKE STACKS FOR CHIMNEY REPAIR WORK.

KURT GAVE US AN ESTIMATE THE DAY AFTER WE CALLED. WHEN WE CALLED HIM TO DO THE WORK HE TOLD US EXACTLY WHEN HE COULD HAVE THE JOB COMPLETED. HE IS FRIENDLY, KNOWLEDGEABLE AND HONEST. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND SMOKE STACKS.