How to Choose a Chimney Company You Can Trust

Start with the phone call

Learning how to choose a chimney sweep or repair crew starts with the first phone call, which should be short and practical. These are the questions to ask a chimney sweep or mason before you book. The person on the phone asks what you have noticed, whether the fireplace burns wood or gas and what kind of roof you have. They tell you what the visit includes and roughly how long it takes. If the first thing you hear is a price for a big job nobody has seen yet, be careful.

• Who will come out, and will the same people do the work?
• What does the inspection include, and is there a charge for it?
• Will I get a written estimate with each item priced separately?
• Is the company licensed and insured for this work?

What a fair inspection looks like

The inspector should look at the firebox, damper and flue from inside and the crown, cap, masonry and flashing from the roof when it is safe. Afterwards, they should walk you through what they found in plain words and point to it where they can. A finding you cannot see for yourself, such as a cracked flue tile, deserves a clear explanation of why it matters.

NFPA 211 is the national standard most chimney work refers to. A crew that mentions it, or the maker's instructions for a factory-built fireplace, is usually working from the right rules.

What the estimate should say

A written estimate should name each repair, the part it fixes and why it is needed. Separate lines let you choose what to do now and what can wait. Vague items such as a general chimney restoration with no detail make it hard to compare companies or check the work afterwards.

Ask what happens if a repair waits a season. A careful company will tell you honestly which items are urgent and which are not.

Red flags worth walking away from

Chimney sweep scams do exist, though most companies are honest. The chimney sweep red flags below are the ones worth watching for.

• Pressure to approve a large job on the spot, before you see a written estimate
• Claims that the chimney is dangerous with nothing shown or explained
• A low teaser price for a sweep that grows once the crew is inside
• No company name, phone number or address you can check
• Offers to skip the permit on structural work such as a rebuild

After the work

A finished job should leave the area clean and come with a short account of what was done. Repairs should carry a workmanship warranty, and installed parts such as caps and liners carry the maker's own. Keep the paperwork; it helps the next inspection and is useful when you sell the house.