It's Cynthia Cherbok on Forman in Toluca Lake. I just wanted to thank you guys for an excellent job! Job well done!! Thank you so very much!

I just wanted to let you know your guys just came out and did our chimney and they just did an absolute wonderful job! I believe your technician's name is Bill. I wanted to let you know how impressed we were and how nice they were and what a great job they did! Thank you very, very much. We'll see you next year.

Sincerely,

I was very impressed with your professional manner and I would like you to service the chimneys at appropriate intervals. I should still be managing and maintaining the house on Coldwater Cyn., Studio City, CA, but please mail any notices to me at the West Hills address above. I also intend to service the three fire extinguishers every two years.

Please also thank Cindy for the initial conversation in which she inspired confidence, gave a huge amount of information and was compassionate as well.

P.S. Thanks for getting the dead squirrel out of the chimney! 

Using the Internet yellow pages as a reference, I called around to a number of chimney sweep companies before I came across Chimney Sweep and Fire Protection. I had encountered price quotes for a simple sweeping that were all over the map and I was becoming discouraged. When I spoke to Sindee, she told me that, while they were not the cheapest, Mike had been in the business for over 27 years and had experience that was unrivaled in the area. That made me feel much better and I made an appointment for an inspection and cleaning.

When Dave and Bill came to inspect the fireplace, I told them that I had never owned or rented a home with a fireplace and had no idea what to do and what not to do. They were very helpful in explaining how the chimney worked and about the things that can be done to keep it working properly and, above all, safely. They even provided me with very informative printed material to keep on hand for future reference.

I found out that the fireplace in our new home had not been cleaned in over five years and that there had even been evidence of a chimney fire inside the flue. David and Bill explained that this was a very dangerous condition which could cause a house fire. I learned that the chimney fire was caused by a build up of creosote inside the flue and that this build up had been baked on to the sides of the chimney flue (a condition called “glazing”). Dave and Bill were able to remove most of the glazing with brushes and later removed the rest with chemicals. I also learned that, without a spark arrester mounted on the top of the chimney, rain water can enter the flue and mix with the creosote to create an acid that will breakdown the mortar, not only in the firebox, but also in the flue as well. I worried that correcting these problems would cost thousands of dollars or that my fireplace would need to be rebuilt. Neither was the case. After their inspection, Dave and Bill produced a detailed “condition report” to show me where the problems were, what steps needed to be taken to repair them, and the cost for each item. (Incidentally, every time they came they were very careful to not let anything from the fireplace get onto the floor or anywhere else.)

To insure that there was not any damage to the internal workings of the fireplace, the owner of the company (Mike) came to do a video inspection. He created a video record of the condition of the fireplace and flue in case any future work needed to be done.

I can tell you that my experience with Chimney Sweep and Fire Protection was an excellent one. Everyone was extremely professional, honest and, above all, they did a great job in making me feel comfortable that my fireplace was in great hands and safe for my family and me to use for many years to come.

Because I had acquired a lot of dry wood, I felt I had better have my chimney cleaned for the fireplace season. I had read about you, know of your reputation and decided to use your company this time.

I had never before seen anyone inspect and clean a fireplace the way you did! It was obvious I had never had the work done properly, by anyone, until you. I cannot adequately express how impressed I am with you and your service. You used your professional video equipment to inspect all areas of my chimney from the fireplace inside to the roof opening, after you had properly clean it. (Until then, I had not known there were different stages of "clean" for a fireplace.)

Because of this thorough inspection with your video equipment, I found out that my chimney was not safe to use until extensive structural repair or rebuilding done. I'm so thankful no harm has been done prior to your discovering this. Again, I really wish I had known of you six year ago!