The initial inspection seemed to go well. Dan was late but called from his phone letting us know. He seemed knowledgeable and pleasant. Then, he provided us with an estimate of work he said needed to be done, which would cost several thousand dollars. We knew our chimney needed some work, so we were open to that. However, we needed it formalized with a signed contract to protect all involved.
Contractors who have done significant work on our house have always provided us with a contract. Also, one of us has worked in construction for 30 years and has never seen a project without a contract. However, despite our repeated emailed request for a written contract, Dan refused to produce one and instead "required" via email that we work off his unsigned estimate of the project, including our signing a copy of his unsigned estimate and mailing it to him with a sizable deposit. We still have the emails. This made us feel uncomfortable and uneasy. When we called him, using a phone number he had used to call us and that is on his website, to explain why a contract was needed, he refused to come to the phone. We left a message with the person who answered the phone, but Dan never called us back. This is unfortunate.
Advance Chimney could have had business from us, our friends, and our coworkers. However, after we told our friends, coworkers, and contractors about our experience, their reactions and comments convinced us we dodged a bullet. Also, although we are more than willing to pay good money for needed work, another professional who looked at our chimney told us it needs much less work than we had been given to believe. Onward and upward! read more