Quick Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. More details provided below.
A couple weeks ago I shared our plans on hiring a professional for certain maintenance projects (here). In particular, getting our chimney cleaned before using it. I used HomeAdvisor to find a local pro and was not disappointed. The company had amazing reviews on HomeAdvisor's website and I'd have to agree, they were great.
A quick glimpse at the fireplace, as we see it daily right now...closed.
First of all, I rescheduled on him to make sure I could be home - not a problem at all. Then, he comes and quickly realizes our chimney is in dire need of some TLC and the initial, simple cleaning scheduled was just not going to happen yet. Why am I not surprised.....someday, this house will be up to par!
Yikes!
Jay, the chimney guy, cleaned our fireplace (not chimney) of loads of rust left from the old damper the previous owner hadn't replaced in years. He also explained to me that since we have an unused fireplace in our basement (the basement is completely unfinished...) we need to install a much better cap on the outside. Not only are we wasting heat, an empty chimney flu is a breeding ground for animals to nest. Ah! Cap it. Cap it right now.
Lastly, the mortar inside our fireplace is a mess. As he put it nicely, the work was not done by a professional originally. Great....
So, we've scheduled a second appointment with Jay where we'll be having the rusted damper fixed, the mortar fixed, a nice big cap installed outside, and finally, the chimney cleaned. While the initial chimney cleaning was estimated at $160, we're now looking at a much heftier bill of $600. Ouch. But, like I mentioned in my previous post, a clean, properly working chimney is extremely important. So isn't keeping out wildlife! So we need to bite the bullet, suck it up, and take the hit. We had already committed to no Christmas gifts thanks to the bathroom renovation, a million and one weddings, and moving in general. So maybe we say no birthday gifts next year too. A safe home is just a little more important than birthday gifts right now. Just a little...
Because I found it so helpful when looking, I decided to leave my own review on HomeAdvisor's website for Jay's company - Cornerstone Chimney. Like I've mentioned, this site is super easy to use. I love that it remembers what professionals I've looked for to date, which made it soeasy to find the info necessary to leave a review - company name and location.
So, we've scheduled a second appointment with Jay where we'll be having the rusted damper fixed, the mortar fixed, a nice big cap installed outside, and finally, the chimney cleaned. While the initial chimney cleaning was estimated at $160, we're now looking at a much heftier bill of $600. Ouch. But, like I mentioned in my previous post, a clean, properly working chimney is extremely important. So isn't keeping out wildlife! So we need to bite the bullet, suck it up, and take the hit. We had already committed to no Christmas gifts thanks to the bathroom renovation, a million and one weddings, and moving in general. So maybe we say no birthday gifts next year too. A safe home is just a little more important than birthday gifts right now. Just a little...
Because I found it so helpful when looking, I decided to leave my own review on HomeAdvisor's website for Jay's company - Cornerstone Chimney. Like I've mentioned, this site is super easy to use. I love that it remembers what professionals I've looked for to date, which made it soeasy to find the info necessary to leave a review - company name and location.
And then on to the review
Note the number of 5 star reviews this company has....if you're local to me, I definitely recommend them! And if you're not local, here's the link to find your own professional in your area.
Looking forward to our first clean, safe fire later this fall!
Disclaimer: I've teamed up with HomeAdvisor this month as part of their Blog Ambassador Program. Although this post is sponsored by HomeAdvisor, all opinions expressed are my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment! I try to respond to all comments by e-mail.