They never came back and finished my job. I was very disappointed in them because they were so…read morenice

Misleading information, not customer friendly. Not knowledgable and unreliable. Came over,…read morediagnosed problem with chimney, charged over 150. an hour and never got back to us with the solution they proposed. Made appointment and cancelled it at the last minute for the installation.

Jay and Andrique came to my house for the first time yesterday. With their relaxed demeanor,…read morepleasant smiles, and senses of humor it was like welcoming good friends to our home. They treated my home with the utmost care and respect - inquiring about pets that may "make a run" for an open door, giving my children a heads up before switching on the vacuums, and even inspecting the work area for stray soot that may have somehow escaped their drop cloths. They left my home clean and ensured it was safe for the wood burning season ahead. Billy Sweet's team was incredibly knowledgeable and took time to impart that expertise to me. Initially, they reviewed how we used the fireplace, asked about problems we were having with the draft, discussed the impact our home's layout has on the efficiency of our fireplace, as well as confirming how our oil heater was vented from the home. After a thorough conversation, Jay gave me a range of options to solve the issues we were having with the fireplace smoking - ranging from simple (and free!) solutions like lowering our fireplace grate and centering it to DIY possibilities like installing glass doors. Only after further conversation and analysis of our home did we discuss the possibility of installing a fireplace insert and bricking up the back of our double-faced fireplace. Our discussion also helped me prioritize what "needed" to be done from a safety perspective vs. what could wait. All conversation regarding installing an insert was zero pressure -as if Jay and I were brainstorming solutions together. (As a woman, it can sometimes be challenging to have service providers treat you as an equal - at no time did I feel like I was being talked down to or "man-splained"). This type of collaborative experience was possible only because Jay and Andrique were incredibly knowledgeable, took time to discuss all options, and weigh the pros and cons of each. Their goal was to make our fireplace and home more useable and comfortable - while ultimately ensuring its safety. I have no hesitation in recommending Billy Sweets Chimney Sweep and his crew. They are courteous, experienced, knowledgeable, efficient, and low pressure. We will continue to have them clean and inspect our chimney as well as install a new chimney cap and fireplace insert.

I engaged Billy Chimney Sweep for a clean chimney and an honest safety assessment for my 1760 home…read more Instead, I received an inaccurate lecture on modern building codes, which an unaltered 1760 Colonial inherently cannot meet. The service focused on bureaucratic liability and upselling rather than a professional evaluation of historic masonry. The lead technician, John ("Jay"), asserted prior to any inspection that all five fireplaces were non-compliant and unusable based entirely on modern clearance rules regarding decorative wood trim within six inches of the masonry firebox opening. Under the Massachusetts State Fire Code (527 CMR 1.00/NFPA 1) and the Building Code for historic structures (780 CMR/IEBC), unaltered, grandfathered chimneys are entirely legal for continued use unless an imminent safety threat or "distinct hazard" exists. The code defines this as severe structural failure, like a collapsing flue, active fire, or carbon monoxide venting. My inspection confirmed that zero structural defects or hazards exist. Yet, Jay still declared them unsafe based solely on decorative clearances, stating "you cannot grandfather safety hazards." Based on his numerous anecdotes, this company successfully dissuades consumers from using legal, sound fireplaces because they do not meet new construction thresholds. Instead of evaluating structural integrity, Jay required a signed report acknowledging his assessment. He stated this form relieves him and his employer of liability, noting he can "overlook twenty-five structural issues but remain legally protected as long as the homeowner signs the form regarding the indifferent woodwork clearance." He also refuses to perform maintenance or repairs unless the chimney is brought to modern compliance. This misrepresents Massachusetts law; standard maintenance and component repairs are expressly permitted under 780 CMR without triggering a whole-system retrofit. Jay related multiple accounts of customers who disputed his code interpretations, citing a Vietnam veteran engineer in Boston and the President of the Marblehead Historical Society, who both told him his assessments were incorrect. He also mentioned a customer who ordered him to stop cleaning and refused to pay due to these code disputes, stating he compelled them to pay by threatening a contractor's lien on the home. The company charges a base rate of $375 per chimney. Jay declined to clean four of the five fireplaces at this rate, claiming one was too dirty for a standard sweep and the money for two others was better spent on a $2,000 "non-traditional sweep" for the dirty one. This required containment tenting and a temporary fan placed via bucket truck on the stack. Jay explained this policy followed an incident at a $15M Boston apartment where he failed to recommend this service, resulting in ruined furniture and a $7,000 insurance claim, stating he no longer tries to "be a hero" and mandates the higher price whenever he encounters heavy soot. The apprentice, Ian, who has cleaned for seven months, performed most of the physical cleaning. He was courteous and uninvolved in policy. However, on the first fireplace, I discovered he missed a corner of the stack, which he re-cleaned after I pointed it out. When Jay observed me taking photos and video of Ian, he specifically requested I not post them online. The number of local sweeps is limited, so I am not advising against them for standard cleanings. However, consumers should beware of unwarranted non-use recommendations, expensive upselling, and becoming another narrative added to their stories of dissatisfied customers who question their practices.

To begin with I don't write many reviews. But I had to because of how amazing this experience was…read morewith William. It is long but you will see shy he saved us from the very reak threat of a chimney fire.... My wife and I had him come out to clean our fireplace because a bit of smoke was coming back in when we were burning. After a quick 10 minutes, I could tell how knowledgeable he was. I asked him to take a look at the chimney from top down and tell us what he thought since we know we're gonna be in this house for at least 20 years. I also had lingering feelings the work done by prior sweeps was not adequate. He showed me what he found and answered every question I had: -outside top chimney needed some re-pointing on the bricks. -concrete wash on top had some cracks needing to be patched -concrete around brick at the base of chimney needed to be replaced. The concrete was the incorrect kind and was breaking down the brick overtime instead of reinforcing it. Through throughout all of this, he was also taking pictures to show me what I couldn't see such as when he was up on the roof with the gaps in the brick mortar. He then gave us an incredibly fair price for each of these items and laid out what his priority would be. We ended up having him do all of the work. He showed up on time, worked hard, cleaned afterward. Unfortunately, we still had an issue where some smoke was coming in. He came back the next day and took another look..... If you are not familiar... chimney sweeps clean from the bottom usually. So there didn't seem to be any need to look from the top. However, when took things off, he saw a level 3 creosote buildup. THIS IS THE STUFF THAT BURNS HOUSE DOWN. He removed it. ********* He saved our house and here's why...... We've been in this house for eight years, had two other chimney sweeps who created half of the problems he had to fix: 1) previous sweep repointed the chimney poorly and didn't seal it. Within 3 years, mortar was bbreaking up. 2) the cement around the base of the chimney that was the wrong kind --- put on by another sweep. This wrong kind of cemnent- $15 /bag/. The right kind William used, $50/ bag. I doublecheced all of this and he was correct. 3) before our buying the houyse, a line was put into the entire chimney, EXCEPT THE TOP 4 FEET. This is where the creosote kept building up and building up. It was such a siolid mass, William thought from the bottom he had reached the damper. It is such a relief to know we now have a safe chimney. And it is so frustrating those other sweeps did such shoddy work. William Britt should be the only chimney sweep you ever go to.

I had a hard time getting a chimney sweep or chimney repair contractor come to remove a bird's nest…read morefrom my chimney cap. After about 3 weeks of calling people, I was able to get 2 companies to come out only to be charged for estimates and told to call to schedule the work at a future date. The estimates were ridiculously high. Will Britt, on the other hand, come out quickly and promptly removed the nest, cleaned the flue, and showed me pictures of the flue, all in about an hour and a half. His fee was more than reasonable. I only wish I had found him sooner and called him first.

We are beyond impressed with Duffy Roofing!!! They just finished our very tall, steep, large roof…read morein Jamaica Plain -- for a home built in 1890 that is tightly sandwiched between multiple other homes. When we were asking around about the best roofers for projects that involve doing a roof on a big old house that is tricky because it is so close to other homes, Duffy came up time and again. After working with them, I can see why! Let me break this review down in a few sections, all of which are equally important: Quality of job One word: impeccable. The Duffy team knows their roofs! Their consultation on how to approach the roof, what materials to use, etc. were all spot on. The day of job was executed flawlessly. Communication Garrett and the Duffy team really stood out in their area. They let us know when the roof would be done, how long it would take, how they would protect our plants and house, and much more. For a huge project like this, it's great to know what's going on. Neighbor relations Again, our house is SUPER close to our neighbors' houses. I felt like the Duffy team spent a level of time and attention addressing neighbor concerns, and protecting their homes, as if they were their own neighbors. Pricing I won't quote their pricing since every roof is different, but I felt it was more than fair given the materials they used and attention to detail they gave to the project. I highly doubt you could get better value for your money anywhere else. The Duffy team was an absolute delight to work with, and I'd recommend them in a heartbeat!

Duffy was extremely easy to work with, got the job done quickly, and at a competitive price. No…read moresurprises, no complications. Definitely recommended!

Huge shoutout to Bob our project manager - easy to get ahold of, responsive, empathetic, great guy…read more Dave was also awesome to work with. Don in sales patiently walked us through our options for shingles, ice water shield, skylights, venting, and gutters. Was very thorough and was not pushy. Cost was in similar reasonable range to some others but with better materials and an all star team. Team came in and completed a 2nd and 3rd story roof with gables, skylights, venting, flashing, gutters, etc in a day. After an unfortunate ice dam that they helped remove, they went above and beyond by redoing the area with new vent, ice water shield, and shingles to ensure they did all they could to prevent reoccurrence. Highly recommend for any roofing needs!

Ranch Roofing installed a skylight for us in 2016, and ice damming had created a small leak at one…read morecorner. Dave, owner of the company, spontaneously came over one Monday, called in two guys to work on it, and they did the repair at no charge in about 2 hours. Amazing! I kept saying, if you need to send me a bill...but no! Owner is incredibly thorough and stands by his work, and work is excellent. I cannot recommend them enough for quality and decades of service. When we need to replace the whole roof, they are who we will call!

I got a same day response from Todd when I noticed issues with my furnace exhaust. He had a member…read moreof his team out the next morning to do an inspection. He showed me that the lining was completely deteriorated and got me an estimate for a replacement before the end of the day. Less than week from contacting him I have a brand new chimney lining and my problems are resolved. The cost of the inspection was deducted from the overall price, which was great. I can't comment on overall pricing for chimney work, but it was less than I feared, so I'm happy.

Todd is fantastic…read more He showed up at the appointed time and did a fantastic job. You might wonder what makes one chimney sweeping company better than another. The answer is that they clean the chimney thoroughly AND that they are honest. Chimney sweeper/repair companies are like general contractors and house painting companies: the less likely you can do something yourself, the more likely they are to overcharge you for a service. Trust me, I used to work for a couple, and I saw it happen all the time. And Todd easily could have charged me for the three chimneys I had him look at. But he didn't. He said two of them were okay for this winter and only one needed to be seriously serviced. And I asked him about a problem I've noticed with the one he serviced, and he could easily have told me that he will fix it, but he said it wasn't an issue yet and so there was no need to do anything. That's honesty. I totally recommend his company.

Cronin Roofing did a partial roof replacement for me on my commercial building for a great price! I…read morehad several companies come in and quote me for a full roof telling me that's what I needed. Cronin was the only one that came in and said that half of the roof was completely fine and had no leaks saving me $20,000! Andrew Cronin was incredibly professional when dealing with a difficult tenant and went above and beyond what would normally be expected of a roofing company in order to make this tenant happy. The job was completed in one day and everything was left neat and clean when they were done. After having this fabulous experience with Cronin I wouldn't go anywhere else for a roof repair or a replacement!!!

Drew came to my house to perform multiple tasks as I prepare to sell. From painting to repairs to…read morecleaning out my gutters. He did an exceptional job at everything he tackled and his quote stayed in line with the ultimate cost which was very reasonable. Great quality for a great value. He is also very nice... I will be sure to call Drew when I find a new home if it needs any work! He is a Jack of All Trades!

Reached out to LaPorte Masonry by telephone and email for a quote and on site review of the job. I…read morewas recommended to the company from a contractor I typically work with. Did not hear back. I can't speak on behalf of their work because I did not get to that point in the project. I recommend getting back to people and if you are too busy just let them know. There is lots of talk about the economy not doing well due to the pandemic, so it's good to see a company being very busy and that also allows me to give my business to other companies that need the work. I say this in a very non-sarcastic manner. This overall score is not based on the workmanship of the company, but on the customer service, which is a big part of any business whether you like it or not.

Consider this as glowing of a review as one can get. Rich was absolutely great…read more I moved into my new home at the end of August with two masonry projects on tap: patching up a crack in the basement wall and giving our outside retaining wall some real TLC. Not only did Rich take the time to explain to me what was happening behind the surface of both areas, he patiently answered all of my uneducated questions regarding what he was planning on doing. By the time all my questions were answered, I knew he would do an awesome job. The kicker to all of this, is out of the four different quotes I received, he was the lowest by a good margin. And what an awesome job it was. The retaining wall looks practically new and it was built in the 50s! Even my father-in-law gave it his stamp of approval...and I'm still working on getting mine... If you need any masonry work done, Rich is definitely the guy you need to call. Guaranteed you'll love his work as much as I did.