Chimney Corners

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: We would not have proceeded with the brickwork if it weren't for the leak of water coming down into the fireplaceChimney Corners led us to believe that since the chimney had been painted, it was not waterproof, therefore they recommended a complete chimney rebuild form the roof upOur dispute is not whether the brickwork is in order, but that we wished solely to address the leak issue, and that is why we called them We did not call them because we thought we needed a new chimney, we called them because we had water coming down into the fireplace, and their recommendation to resolve that issue was a rebuild of the chimney from the roof up which then also required a a new cap installed by Chimney Corners , and brand new flashing put up by their recommended roofer Sincerely, [redacted]

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because; It has become obvious that this Revdex.com forum for Chimney Corners is just a vehicle for argument instead of for compromise for a situation that has left us, the consumers, out of pocket thousands of dollars with the exact same situation to deal withChimney Corners did not even have the professional backbone to come out to our home after all the phone calls over a period of months,to speak with us and inspect the situation againThey just pawned it off onto their recommended Roofer/Flasher We will be taking this further Sincerely, [redacted]

We understand your frustration, however, from the very beginning we told you that our recommendations would not necessarily resolve the leakThis was explained to you, as well as described in the proposal that you agreed toWe thought the rebuild and flashing work would help but you were aware that it was not guaranteed and you hired us to do the recommended work, knowing that it may not address the issue you were havingWe have been completely transparent and open with you throughout the entire processI understand that you are frustrated that the issue was not resolved, but we were hired to do work on your property even after telling you it may not resolve your issuePlease remember, we did not build this houseWe did not create this problemWe were simply doing our best to help youThe work that we did for you was done correctlyYou agreed to this work despite knowing that it may not resolve the leakAs we have explained to you several times, leaks are one of the most difficult issues to diagnose, which is why we put a disclaimer in every masonry work proposal that we send out If you think of it like a doctor trying to diagnose an illness, you sometimes have to take multiple steps before finding the correct solutionIf a doctor tells you to take a course of antibiotics because he believes it will help clear up an infection, and that course of antibiotics does not work, you return to the doctor and try the next stepYou still have to pay for the first appointment and the antibiotics With all due respect, we looked at your leak issue and made a recommendationYou decided to proceed with this work despite us informing you that it may not solve the issue you were havingYou were certainly welcome to get another opinion or other recommendations from other contractorsWe do not understand why you agreed to a quote for work on your home if you did not intend to pay for that work unless it solved your problem, when the proposal stated that it was not guaranteed to solve your problemIf you were looking for a guaranteed solution, I'm sure there were other contractors who could have guaranteed the solutionWe do stand by our workWe sent you our masonry warrantyThe fact is we told you we could not guarantee a solution to your leak issue and you still hired usWhen you agreed to our proposal stating "we cannot guarantee that [this work] will eliminate any leaking problem" you hired us on the condition that we were absolved of responsibility for the leakI am very sorry that the issue was not resolved, but you were aware that it might not be resolved before you hired usFrom our perspective, you are responsible to pay for the work that you hired us to do on your home

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me Sincerely, [redacted]

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because;It has become obvious that this Revdex.com forum for Chimney Corners is just a vehicle for argument instead of for compromise for a situation that has left us, the consumers, out of pocket thousands of dollars with the exact same situation to deal with.Chimney Corners did not even have the professional backbone to come out to our home after all the phone calls over a period of months,to speak with us and inspect the situation againThey just pawned it off onto their recommended Roofer/FlasherWe will be taking this further Sincerely, [redacted]

I would like to apologize for the late response, the complaint was received while we were closed for the holidaysWe always close from Christmas Eve to January 2nd to allow our employees to enjoy the holidays at home with their families. Just to review, here is the email that we
sent to *** *** on November 19, "Hello *** *** I just wanted to follow up on my visit to your homeAttached is a picture that I took of the fireplace flueThe fireplace flue tiles transition to smaller tiles part way up the chimney flueThe cored cement block that was used to fill the gap created by the tile transition has open areasThis could allow flames or cinders to penetrate into the area between the flue tiles and the masonry outer casing of the chimneyThis construction does not conform to building codesTherefore we recommend you do not use the fireplaceWe are not comfortable trying to repair the gaps in the cement blockAny patching could fall out later and it might not be apparent to anyone using the fireplace that the holes are open againThere may be another chimney company that would be comfortable trying to close the holes for youWe also noted that because most of the fireplace flue is constructed with 9”x 13” tiles the fireplace will probably not draft wellIt is highly likely that the fireplace will smoke while you are burningRegards,Gavin" When we are inspecting a chimney we are following the guidelines of The National Fire Protection Association This is what our evaluation was based on. We're glad you were able to get a safety sign-off from the Fire Marshal and the building inspectorWe will ask them for a copy of the paperwork for our records. Just for good will we will refund the $inspection fee for the scheduled inspection that took place. Regards,Jan D***

We understand your frustration, however, from the very beginning we told you that our recommendations would not necessarily resolve the leakThis was explained to you, as well as described in the proposal that you agreed toWe thought the rebuild and flashing work would help but you were aware that it was not guaranteed and you hired us to do the recommended work, knowing that it may not address the issue you were havingWe have been completely transparent and open with you throughout the entire processI understand that you are frustrated that the issue was not resolved, but we were hired to do work on your property even after telling you it may not resolve your issuePlease remember, we did not build this houseWe did not create this problemWe were simply doing our best to help youThe work that we did for you was done correctlyYou agreed to this work despite knowing that it may not resolve the leakAs we have explained to you several times, leaks are one of the most difficult issues to diagnose, which is why we put a disclaimer in every masonry work proposal that we send out. If you think of it like a doctor trying to diagnose an illness, you sometimes have to take multiple steps before finding the correct solutionIf a doctor tells you to take a course of antibiotics because he believes it will help clear up an infection, and that course of antibiotics does not work, you return to the doctor and try the next stepYou still have to pay for the first appointment and the antibiotics. With all due respect, we looked at your leak issue and made a recommendationYou decided to proceed with this work despite us informing you that it may not solve the issue you were havingYou were certainly welcome to get another opinion or other recommendations from other contractorsWe do not understand why you agreed to a quote for work on your home if you did not intend to pay for that work unless it solved your problem, when the proposal stated that it was not guaranteed to solve your problemIf you were looking for a guaranteed solution, I'm sure there were other contractors who could have guaranteed the solutionWe do stand by our workWe sent you our masonry warrantyThe fact is we told you we could not guarantee a solution to your leak issue and you still hired usWhen you agreed to our proposal stating "we cannot guarantee that [this work] will eliminate any leaking problem" you hired us on the condition that we were absolved of responsibility for the leakI am very sorry that the issue was not resolved, but you were aware that it might not be resolved before you hired usFrom our perspective, you are responsible to pay for the work that you hired us to do on your home

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:We would not have proceeded with the brickwork if it weren't for the leak of water coming down into the fireplaceChimney Corners led us to believe that since the chimney had been painted, it was not waterproof, therefore they recommended a complete chimney rebuild form the roof up.Our dispute is not whether the brickwork is in order, but that we wished solely to address the leak issue, and that is why we called them .We did not call them because we thought we needed a new chimney, we called them because we had water coming down into the fireplace, and their recommendation to resolve that issue was a rebuild of the chimney from the roof up which then also required a a new cap installed by Chimney Corners , and brand new flashing put up by their recommended roofer
Sincerely,
*** ***

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
We would not have proceeded with the brickwork if it weren't for the leak of water coming down into the fireplace.. Chimney Corners led us to believe that since the chimney had been painted, it was not waterproof, therefore they recommended a complete chimney rebuild form the roof up.
Our dispute is not whether the brickwork is in order, but that we wished solely to address the leak issue, and that is why we called them .
We did not call them because we thought we needed a new chimney, we called them because we had water coming down into the fireplace, and their recommendation to resolve that issue was a rebuild of the chimney from the roof up which then also required a a new cap installed by Chimney Corners , and brand new flashing put up by their recommended roofer.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Leaks are one of the most difficult issues to diagnose because you really cannot know for sure where the water is coming in, and we understand how frustrating that can be for the consumer. We came out to the [redacted] residence to inspect the chimney masonry because they were having water...

infiltration into the house. Based upon our inspection, we noted that the brickwork was deteriorated and needed to be rebuilt, however we were very clear that we were not sure this would eliminate the leak. We do chimney rebuilds very frequently as part of regular chimney maintenance because brickwork does deteriorate over time. Most of the clients for whom we complete masonry rebuild jobs do not have any leak issues; the rebuilds are done because the brickwork has deteriorated and needs to be replaced. Old or deteriorated brickwork can be a source of water infiltration, but there is no way to know for sure that it is the true cause of the leak.  For this reason, we include the following line in every single masonry proposal we send out: "This work will make the chimney sound; however, we cannot guarantee that it will eliminate any leaking problem as the water may not all be coming through the masonry." I have attached the proposal we provided to Mrs. [redacted] and Mr. [redacted], and also Mr. [redacted]'s e-mail confirming his acceptance of said proposal. We did recommend that the flashing be replaced, but because we do not do flashing work, we offered to provide Mr. [redacted] with the name and phone number of a roofer we have known from working in the same area for years. This roofer has done work on countless mutual clients in the past and we have heard nothing but positive reviews about him. Please note that we did not subcontract this roofer, we simply coordinated scheduling with him. We were aware that the leaking issue had not been resolved based on several phone calls from Mrs. [redacted] and Mr. [redacted]. Because we were contacted at the busiest time of the year and did not have any technicians available to return to the home for further inspection, as a professional courtesy, the roofer the Mrs. [redacted] had hired returned to the home multiple times to take a look. We were in close contact with this roofer throughout the entire process. The roofer told me multiple times that the brickwork that our masons rebuilt looked beautiful and that there were no issues with the work that we completed. Last week, Mr. [redacted] called to speak with me because he had another contractor come to the house to inspect the chimney. He informed me that this contractor told him that there were no issues with the brickwork (the work that Chimney Corners had completed) but that they recommended replacing the flashing and some additional roof work, as well as waterproofing the chimney, and that they would guarantee the solution for 10 years. Mr. [redacted] requested that we not only reimburse him for the work that we completed (work which two separate outside contractors both said there were no issues with) but also that we reimburse him for the work that the roofer had completed. Again, we had nothing to do with the work agreed upon by said roofer and Mr. [redacted], other than giving Mr. [redacted] a phone number and coordinating scheduling. I informed Mr. [redacted] that the work we did was completed correctly, with no issues, and reminded him that the contract he agreed to very clearly stated that we could not guarantee the leak would be resolved. Additionally, Mrs. [redacted]'s claim that I refused to allow them contact with the owners of Chimney Corners is false. Mr. [redacted] spoke with Jan D[redacted] one of the owners, yesterday, January 12, 2016, and I believe they may have spoken previously, as I was out of the office due to an illness for several weeks.  In conclusion, we completely understand Mrs. [redacted] and Mr. [redacted]'s frustration, however, we have been completely transparent about our recommendations and the fact that there was no guarantee from the very beginning. The work that we did was necessary because the brickwork was old, porous, and deteriorated. We had hoped that this work would help alleviate the leaking issue, but we both verbally explained and clearly stated in our proposal that there was no guarantee that the leak issue would be solved. Because this was all stated before the work was done, we do not see why we should be responsible for reimbursing Mrs. [redacted] and Mr. [redacted] for the work that we completed on their chimney, and work with which there were no issues.

Leaks are one of the most difficult issues to diagnose because you really cannot know for sure where the water is coming in, and we understand how frustrating that can be for the consumer. We came out to the [redacted] residence to inspect the chimney masonry because they were having water...

infiltration into the house. Based upon our inspection, we noted that the brickwork was deteriorated and needed to be rebuilt, however we were very clear that we were not sure this would eliminate the leak. We do chimney rebuilds very frequently as part of regular chimney maintenance because brickwork does deteriorate over time. Most of the clients for whom we complete masonry rebuild jobs do not have any leak issues; the rebuilds are done because the brickwork has deteriorated and needs to be replaced. Old or deteriorated brickwork can be a source of water infiltration, but there is no way to know for sure that it is the true cause of the leak.  For this reason, we include the following line in every single masonry proposal we send out: "This work will make the chimney sound; however, we cannot guarantee that it will eliminate any leaking problem as the water may not all be coming through the masonry." I have attached the proposal we provided to Mrs. [redacted] and Mr. [redacted], and also Mr. [redacted]'s e-mail confirming his acceptance of said proposal. We did recommend that the flashing be replaced, but because we do not do flashing work, we offered to provide Mr. [redacted] with the name and phone number of a roofer we have known from working in the same area for years. This roofer has done work on countless mutual clients in the past and we have heard nothing but positive reviews about him. Please note that we did not subcontract this roofer, we simply coordinated scheduling with him. 
We were aware that the leaking issue had not been resolved based on several phone calls from Mrs. [redacted] and Mr. [redacted]. Because we were contacted at the busiest time of the year and did not have any technicians available to return to the home for further inspection, as a professional courtesy, the roofer the Mrs. [redacted] had hired returned to the home multiple times to take a look. We were in close contact with this roofer throughout the entire process. The roofer told me multiple times that the brickwork that our masons rebuilt looked beautiful and that there were no issues with the work that we completed. Last week, Mr. [redacted] called to speak with me because he had another contractor come to the house to inspect the chimney. He informed me that this contractor told him that there were no issues with the brickwork (the work that Chimney Corners had completed) but that they recommended replacing the flashing and some additional roof work, as well as waterproofing the chimney, and that they would guarantee the solution for 10 years. Mr. [redacted] requested that we not only reimburse him for the work that we completed (work which two separate outside contractors both said there were no issues with) but also that we reimburse him for the work that the roofer had completed. Again, we had nothing to do with the work agreed upon by said roofer and Mr. [redacted], other than giving Mr. [redacted] a phone number and coordinating scheduling. I informed Mr. [redacted] that the work we did was completed correctly, with no issues, and reminded him that the contract he agreed to very clearly stated that we could not guarantee the leak would be resolved. Additionally, Mrs. [redacted]'s claim that I refused to allow them contact with the owners of Chimney Corners is false. Mr. [redacted] spoke with Jan D[redacted] one of the owners, yesterday, January 12, 2016, and I believe they may have spoken previously, as I was out of the office due to an illness for several weeks.  
In conclusion, we completely understand Mrs. [redacted] and Mr. [redacted]'s frustration, however, we have been completely transparent about our recommendations and the fact that there was no guarantee from the very beginning. The work that we did was necessary because the brickwork was old, porous, and deteriorated. We had hoped that this work would help alleviate the leaking issue, but we both verbally explained and clearly stated in our proposal that there was no guarantee that the leak issue would be solved. Because this was all stated before the work was done, we do not see why we should be responsible for reimbursing Mrs. [redacted] and Mr. [redacted] for the work that we completed on their chimney, and work with which there were no issues.

We understand your frustration, however, from the very beginning we told you that our recommendations would not necessarily resolve the leak. This was explained to you, as well as described in the proposal that you agreed to. We thought the rebuild and flashing work would help but you were aware that it was not guaranteed and you hired us to do the recommended work, knowing that it may not address the issue you were having. We have been completely transparent and open with you throughout the entire process. I understand that you are frustrated that the issue was not resolved, but we were hired to do work on your property even after telling you it may not resolve your issue. Please remember, we did not build this house. We did not create this problem. We were simply doing our best to help you. The work that we did for you was done correctly. You agreed to this work despite knowing that it may not resolve the leak. As we have explained to you several times, leaks are one of the most difficult issues to diagnose, which is why we put a disclaimer in every masonry work proposal that we send out. 
If you think of it like a doctor trying to diagnose an illness, you sometimes have to take multiple steps before finding the correct solution. If a doctor tells you to take a course of antibiotics because he believes it will help clear up an infection, and that course of antibiotics does not work, you return to the doctor and try the next step. You still have to pay for the first appointment and the antibiotics. 
With all due respect, we looked at your leak issue and made a recommendation. You decided to proceed with this work despite us informing you that it may not solve the issue you were having. You were certainly welcome to get another opinion or other recommendations from other contractors. We do not understand why you agreed to a quote for work on your home if you did not intend to pay for that work unless it solved your problem, when the proposal stated that it was not guaranteed to solve your problem. If you were looking for a guaranteed solution, I'm sure there were other contractors who could have guaranteed the solution. We do stand by our work. We sent you our masonry warranty. The fact is we told you we could not guarantee a solution to your leak issue and you still hired us. When you agreed to our proposal stating "we cannot guarantee that [this work] will eliminate any leaking problem" you hired us on the condition that we were absolved of responsibility for the leak. I am very sorry that the issue was not resolved, but you were aware that it might not be resolved before you hired us. From our perspective, you are responsible to pay for the work that you hired us to do on your home.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because;
It has become obvious that this Revdex.com forum for Chimney Corners is just a vehicle for argument  instead of for compromise for a situation that has left us, the consumers, out of pocket thousands of dollars with the exact same situation to deal with.
Chimney Corners did not even have the professional backbone to come out to our home after all the phone calls over a period of months,to speak with us and inspect the situation again. They just pawned it off onto their recommended Roofer/Flasher
We will be taking this further.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because;It has become obvious that this Revdex.com forum for Chimney Corners is just a vehicle for argument  instead of for compromise for a situation that has left us, the consumers, out of pocket thousands of dollars with the exact same situation to deal with.Chimney Corners did not even have the professional backbone to come out to our home after all the phone calls over a period of months,to speak with us and inspect the situation again. They just pawned it off onto their recommended Roofer/FlasherWe will be taking this further.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Review: This past Spring of,2015, we called and paid $159.00 to Chimney Corners to come to our home and assess a problem with water coming down the chimney into our house. They said we needed to rebuild the chimney, have the flashing redone (By the Flasher they recommended) and put on a new custom cap.

We did all of the above. After this drought summer, it poured rain and rain water came down the chimney into the fireplace just as before the work was done. Chimney Corners said their bricks were waterproofed and to call their Flasher and that their contract says it does not guarantee that their work will stop the leak. Chimney Corners did not come back out here to reinspect their work or talk to us except to deny responsibility.

We hired Chimney Corners to assess and address our water problem. They have refused to compensate us in any way and the Flasher has come out 3 times and can't find the problem.

Totally, we paid Chimney Corners $2200 for the chimney and $450 for the custom cap. the bill for the flashing was from the company that Chimney Corners recommended.

We have been calling Chimney Corners since this past September and they refuse to compensate us in any way and say they were out here in 2005 and have notes that say the brick work was old. (This house was built in 1940.)

We know nothing about 2005.. We have only been owners since Sept. 2013. We paid $1,000,000 for this house in [redacted]n and it was inspected prior to purchase..

We have spoken with Chimney Corners Office Manger who is in charge ,at least 4 or 5 times ,over these past months and she refuses to compensate us in any way or let us have contact with the owners.

My husband, [redacted] and I can only come to the conclusion that the work that was done by Chimney Corners was Not Necessary and did not solve the problem in any way.Desired Settlement: We would like our money to be refunded for the work done.$2650.00.

It did not take care of any of the problem.

Business

Response:

Leaks are one of the most difficult issues to diagnose because you really cannot know for sure where the water is coming in, and we understand how frustrating that can be for the consumer. We came out to the [redacted] residence to inspect the chimney masonry because they were having water infiltration into the house. Based upon our inspection, we noted that the brickwork was deteriorated and needed to be rebuilt, however we were very clear that we were not sure this would eliminate the leak. We do chimney rebuilds very frequently as part of regular chimney maintenance because brickwork does deteriorate over time. Most of the clients for whom we complete masonry rebuild jobs do not have any leak issues; the rebuilds are done because the brickwork has deteriorated and needs to be replaced. Old or deteriorated brickwork can be a source of water infiltration, but there is no way to know for sure that it is the true cause of the leak. For this reason, we include the following line in every single masonry proposal we send out: "This work will make the chimney sound; however, we cannot guarantee that it will eliminate any leaking problem as the water may not all be coming through the masonry." I have attached the proposal we provided to Mrs. [redacted] and Mr. [redacted], and also Mr. [redacted]'s e-mail confirming his acceptance of said proposal. We did recommend that the flashing be replaced, but because we do not do flashing work, we offered to provide Mr. [redacted] with the name and phone number of a roofer we have known from working in the same area for years. This roofer has done work on countless mutual clients in the past and we have heard nothing but positive reviews about him. Please note that we did not subcontract this roofer, we simply coordinated scheduling with him.