Vertical Chimney Care

Jim and his assistant were excellent at fixing and explaining what need to be done. I have you this company in the past when we converted from wood to gas and the were excellent and professional.

I hired your company to fix the crown on my chimney. I was told I needed to replace 21 rows of bricks also. You being the professionals, I believed you. I paid you over $3000.00. Fifteen months later my new replaced bricks turned white. You know what that means, yep, water was coming in. Called you out. Turns out your professional didn’t fill in a half inch gap between the crown and the bricks. But wait my story gets better
(See pictures below, you’ve seen them before, but your new clients need to see them) . So several months later I looked up and saw that the top edge of my chimney was lifting. Called you back, you sent out someone to fill it, a band-aid fix. This is not the end of my story. Now the best part. My crown is now cracking on both sides. Spoke with Nick (another professional) your manager. He was going to send someone out to fill the cracks with silicone, I asked if that would fix it? He told me it would be like putting a band-aid on it! He was going to talk to the people above him. That was over ten days ago. He is not returning my call or emailing me. You can’t get a hold of the owner, I wonder why. You all are cowards and don’t stand by your work. Shame on all of you taking advantage of your clients. We work hard for our money too!

We ordered our SunSetter from Vertical. Salesman was nice. We ordered a 20ft. motorized with wind wind sensor awning for $5630. He told us the hood cover wouldn't fit on our awning for the space available on the house. When the installers came out, they put a hood cover on it, which we didn't even realize they put it on. They came back later as they were installing an awning a couple blocks away and then realized the hood was for the other buyer. They had to take it off and install on the other. We said if it fit, we would like the hood and were told someone from Vertical would call us to order it. No one ever called. I called them two days later and talked with Nick. That's when he drops the bomb that he can order the hood and to install it would be $876.99. WHAT? I'm like the sales person told us it would be $500 when he was out at our house. Nick informed me there is no way that price was incorrect. After I tried talking to him, I offered to pay $600 for the hood and to install. (it took the installers 5 minutes to take it down) he said NO. I called SunSetter direct. They said I could buy one for $450.59 and it comes with instructions and anyone who is handy at all, can put it up. They offered technical support as well if we needed it. I ordered from Sunsetter, free shipping and the total with tax was $478.75. This is about half of the original price Nick quoted. I called Nick back and he told me we wouldn't be able to do it without removing the awning and we needed installers. I informed him that SunSetter said we could and they would assist over the phone if needed and that a video is available to watch as well. Then he says, well maybe it has to be removed if it's on the roof. Pressure sales tactics and NO Customer Service. It was their fault in the first place. They should have offered to order the hood and sell it to me at their cost and have the installers do it free. That would have avoided all this! Be Careful When purchasing ANYTHING from this Company. They seem to want the bucks and don't care about ripping off senior citizens. Go somewhere else for your SunSetter Awning.

I was very pleased with the prompt, thorough and professional work done by Ken Kopka, and his coworker Corey. They were efficient, knowledgeable, clearly explaining everything, reasonably priced, and very professional. I would definitely recommend.

Early Times was the best from start to finish. They were quick to respond to my online request; scheduling a chimney inspection was quick & easy. The inspectors (Eric & Nick) were on time, friendly, & professional and explained everything they recommended & why. I was given an immediate quote and was able to schedule the job within a few days. Eric & Anthony installed a new chimney liner and venting from the boiler & hot water heater were completed within 2 hours (including mortar-ing the new chimney cap!) Everything was left clean, and Eric carefully reviewed the work before leaving. I highly recommend this company!

I had Matt B provide an estimate. He reviewed the situation and provided what I considered a good explanation of the work required. I had several previous estimates so a good reference point to judge by. He explained what needed to be done and also presented additional work I should consider. There as no high pressure sales pitch. He arrived on time did all the work discussed and cleaned up well after the work was complete. I would definitely call them back in the event I need additional work.

I had 2 very polite men come in to clean my gas fireplace. I hadn't started a fire for 10 years, and didn't want to start one until it was inspected. He cleaned the chimney and started a fire to make sure everything was working correctly. I am very pleased!!

The service rep came out to clean out my dryer vent from the roof. When he came down he told me that the furnace chimney was not the correct one for furnaces and was missing a piece. That this causes carbon monoxide entering my house.
I’ve had this furnace chimney for 15 years and have carbon monoxide detectors in several rooms. I’ve never once had alarm go off.
Such fear mongering to generate sales is illegal and I will never use this company again

On Tuesday, August 7, 2018, we scheduled and received chimney sweeping and dryer vent cleaning services from Early Times. I have been a customer for several years, and have engaged their services annually, including thousands of dollars in chimney work (a lining) on one occasion. I have become accustomed to the attempts of their representatives to sell additional services at the time the chimney sweep/dryer vent cleaning services are rendered. However, on this occasion, I was not home. My wife was present, and she is not accustomed to these practices, and trusted the business reps that came to provide the services. It is noted that, when I complained about the following, a representative of Early Times indicated that they were only noting maintenance items that needed to be addressed. This can, of course, be a legitimate practice. However, as will be explained in the following paragraphs, this was not what occurred.
The chimney sweep and dryer vent cleaning was reportedly completed. The Early Times reps recommended that my wife address several additional and expensive maintenance items. The first involves the vent cover to the dryer, on the exterior of the home. Our home has an aluminum dryer vent cover with a flap that opens and closes when in use/not in use based on air pressure and gravity. For the past decade plus that we have owned the home, this vent cover has been sufficient to prevent infiltration by rodents or birds. Notwithstanding, the rep took my wife out to the vent, showed her that the flap cover was missing, and recommended she invest in a $79 vent cover to prevent infiltration by "critters." My wife trusted the rep, and agreed as recommended. There are several items of note here that are indicative of business practices that I do not agree with. The first is that Early Times' own reps in the past have told me that such a screen should not be added to the vent cover, as condensation forms on the cover during the winter, freezes, and can clog the vent causing a dangerous exhaust backup (their explanation). My wife was not aware of this prior explanation of Early Times reps. Second, the part installed by Early Times is a plastic cover that can be purchased at a local hardware store for $10.00, and which was installed by the Early Times rep in approximately five minutes. Notwithstanding, this alteration was billed at $79, taking advantage of my wife's naïvete. Third, when the rep showed my wife the vent, the flap was missing. Unknown to the rep, I had inspected the vent in the morning, and the flap cover was in place. I had inspected the vent prior to leaving for work, as I wanted to be certain upon my return that Early Times had performed the vent cleaning that we paid for. After the rep left, I discussed this with my wife by phone, and then made a very agitated complaint call to Early Times. Early Times sent the rep back out to remove the screen they had installed. The rep informed my wife that there was no vent cover; that he had found it on the ground; and that he had thrown it out. Again, the vent cover was there that morning when I inspected it. My wife demanded the cover back, and the rep went through his van, where it was retrieved and returned. No one had given the rep permission to take it, and his story about how it came to be in his possession is suspect given my prior inspection of the vent. It should also be noted that when I returned from work, I inspected the vent to be certain Early Times did no further damage, and I found dryer lint all over the immediate inside of the vent, which one would think would be the first portion cleared in the cleaning process, if the cleaning process actually took place.
The reps had also recommended that my iron chimney covers be replaced (there are two). The cost quoted by the rep to my wife was $220 per cover. He indicated that the covers were rusted. On an annual basis, I remove the covers, scrub the surface rust off, and paint them with a rust resistant paint. They are made of cast iron (which is a quality that is difficult to find today), and are of a higher quality than most steel replacements. Here, the reps recommended pricey replacement of two items that did not require replacement, based upon a cursory inspection that identified only surface rust, and which would have resulted in replacement items that were inferior to the items that are in place.
Finally, the reps recommended chimney brick tuck pointing. I know from experience that such maintenance can escalate in cost into the thousands of dollars. Again unknown to the rep, my father-in-law (who is a mason with 45+ years of experience) and I had erected scaffolding on the chimney two weeks before the Early Times service appointment, and had removed deteriorating bricks and tuck pointed all areas that required attention. In short, the reps were recommending high cost and unnecessary repairs.
We will not be using this business in the future.