I've used James Ball Chimney for a number of years. Mostly for my annual/bi-annual fireplace/chimney sweeps. Just this past week Richie & Charlie needed to use some extra elbow grease and really work at the creosote build up I had after apparently burning bad wood this past winter. They were fantastic from start to finish. Clean, on-time, friendly & educational as well. They even inspected my wood pile and gave me some do's & don'ts going forward. 15 years ago James "Jimmy" installed a gas furnace liner. It's still working very well & with proper specs to what the furnace requires vs what was before. This was verified with my regular furnace guy as well. Thank again Jimmy and the crew!!! read more

James, Just want to tell you how professional, courteous and friendly your team of Richard and Charles was today. They inspected our chimney (including the steel liner they installed several years ago) and heating system. They gave me the peace of mind that we could use the fireplace for wood fires this winter. All was in good order. Thank you to your wonderful team. Elizabeth read more

We are extremely satisfied with our experience with JamesBall and his team. We initially had them come out to do an inspection of our chimneys, and Rich and Charles were great. We needed to add chimney caps since we had an issue with birds the prior summer, and they came back yesterday to install four caps. The work was done quickly and professionally. We also needed a lift to reach one of the chimneys and Huber, who brought and operated the lift was also extremely professional and easy to work with. Bottom line, I highly recommend James Ball. Wayne M read more

I should have been suspicious when I called and the owner answered the phone, he wasn't busy because all he does is send people out to do an inspection, which most chimney businesses do for free. The guys who came said the fireplace flue was pretty clean. I just wanted a screen to keep the animals out. $3700. seems really expensive. read more

Great, quick, and fair pricing. We have two fireplaces in our home, one we use & one we don't. they were honest that the one we don't use didn't need a cleaning, I feel other places might've taken advantage and done both just for the $$$. They showed us before and after pictures which made me confident in them doing their due diligence. Will use these guys every time moving forward! read more

We had them come for an inspection including video review for a home purchase. The guys were professional, on time, and excellent communicators. We received documentation and a quote for work to be done VERY promptly and James was available and great to work with in explaining the home and discussing the quote. We certainly recommend them for their inspection services and plan to work with them going forward for our chimney service needs. At the very least, do yourself the service of seeing all of the information listed on James Ball's website and rest assured knowing they are knowledgeable and professional to work with. read more

Made up problems to overcharge us. Couldn't understand how the gas line was supposed to work and told us the entire fireplace was unsafe to use, and the whole chimney needed to be replaced. Then had someone else come in who said the exact opposite and fixed the issue at a fraction of the price. read more

I have been using James Ball for years re my chimney. He has been there when it was log buring and now that it's gas with fake logs. We have had to repair things and make adjustments. He is so knowledgeable, upfront, and honest and does top quality work. He is also super quick to respond to emails. read more

On time. Professional and thorough and honestly great guys. They explained everything before they even started. Inspection first just to make sure they knew every detail before making suggestions. Super neat and that is hard to do with chimneys. Actually left it clear than before they got there. read more

Such a nice company to work with. Got here exactly on time. Rich and Charles were so respectful of our home. They both wore masks and booties. Explained everything about the dryer vent and were able to do the work they recommended on the same day which is not always the case. Highly recommend! read more

Poor Customer Service. Arrogant. Money-hungry. I scheduled an appointment with Mr. Ball on 9/16 for his next available appointment....which was 10/26 (over a month away). He immediately sent a confirmation email saying that someone would be there between 8:30 and 9:30 on that day and there was a $75 missed appointment feel if I wasn't there. I waited over a month for the appointment to come around. On the day prior to the appointment, I emailed to say that I would be dropping my son off at school and may be a minute or two late. His response...."if you are not home we do not wait... and there is a $75 fee." Nothing more (such as "I'll let the guy know") On the day of the appointment I arrived at 8:37. I saw the van driving down the street. I tried to flag it down. No luck. I ran inside and called James Ball explaining the situation and asking for him to tell his guy to come back. No answer. I called a second time. No answer. I emailed twice. No response until 12:16 in the afternoon. When he emailed me, he stated that his person arrived at 8:25 (5 minutes early) and left at 8:36 (6 minutes after the scheduled 1 hour window). He then said that if I wanted to reschedule, I would have to pay $79.76 first, and then maybe can can squeeze me in. He wrote about how busy he was, all the emails and calls he gets, and how it's 1st come-1st served, and to call him to give him my credit card number. No "sorry", "let's talk", "these things happen"...nothing. Just....you owe me money....I'm busy....call me to pay. I called Mr. Ball. I said I was willing to pay the fee and needed the appointment asap. He said that his next appointments were into next year! Obviously, I was surprised and while I was getting my credit card, I pointed out that his person was early for the appointment and waited only 6 MINUTES for me to show up from the beginning of the 1 hour appointment window before he left (and I arrived 1 minute later). I said that I tried to call several times and sent emails to try to get him to come back and how I this felt like this was a little unfair. Clearly Mr. Ball did not want to hear my thoughts and was unwilling to be understanding of the situation because he only response was, "I have a bad feeling about you." I said "What? Why?" He then said that he did not want to work with me and hung up. I was floored. It is clear that Mr. Ball is a very busy man who can pick-and-choose his clients and is more than willing to tell you this. He is self-important, cares little about his customers or their circumstances, is looking to monopolize on both, and his sole focus is to make money. He is inconsiderate, has poor customer service, and fails to have any compassion. I would never treat customers like this! I would never recommend someone who treats people like this! If you hire him, you too will eventually see this... so don't hire him. I'll restate it: 6 minutes for an appointment made over a month ago. No consideration or compassion. I do not recommend. read more

I searched for a chimney sweep on Yelp and after reading his reviews I called James Ball LLC, I left a message and my call was returned with in 5 minutes with James joking "sorry it took so long", the appointment was easy to make, he even offered to check the cloths dryer, and the Email confirmation covered every detail of the appointment very clearly, inspection fee, arrival time and scope of work they could do, cancelation requirements and so on, and the name of the Certified Chimney Sweep (I never knew they could be certified) who was coming, very through. Rich and Charles showed up on time and are very knowledgeable and pointed out several issues that the last sweep missed over the last several years they serviced the chimney and showed me how to use the damper properly and offered an estimate to correct them. Nice to find real personal service from a contractor today, thanks James read more

We just moved into our brand new house and had no clue that our chimney was in such bad shape. James and his team worked to help us understand all of the issues, from design flaws to lack of previous maintenance to a very poorly installed oil flue. They cleaned and repaired everything and helped us understand options for making our fireplaces work SAFELY. Totally professional and lovely guys. I would recommend in a heartbeat! read more

These guys take pride in their work. They want to do it right, and would rather turn down the work than cut corners. Sometimes that level of dedication comes at a big price premium, but I found them to be very fair on the estimate versus some other companies. What's not to like? Great price for great service! read more

I had 2 fireplaces and a dryer vent inspected and cleaned and repaired. The crew was on time, polite, professional and very neat. They completed all 3 jobs and explained each one to me and my husband. We highly recommend this service. read more

Timely, responsive, fair prices for the area, and high quality work. I strongly recommend them. Frankly If I knew it would be this easy I would have had the work I needed done months ago. read more

James Ball Chimney sent a tech out to my home to clean my chimney and dryer vent. The chimney cleaning seemed to be fine. The dryer vent was a problem. The technician disconnected the vent and did not reconnect it which I only figured out later on. When I called the company a few weeks after my initial appointment to complain that my laundry room was getting very humid I was told I had waited too long and they would not come out and service it again without an additional fee. read more

I hired 'We Kick Ash' to do both a chimney inspection and cleaning. The inspection found a couple of problems which while unexpected, we're not surprising for my early 1900s home. The team of two men were very professional and focused on their job at hand. James Ball, the person with whom I initially spoke and had several conversations with throughout the process, was very knowledgeable and explained everything to me in detail. I was very impressed with everyone's professionalism and attention to detail. I would highly recommend this company to anyone who wants a high quality, positive experience. read more

We have been using James Ball Chimney service for some time now for our 1930's home. I cannot say enough about their professionalism, knowledge and commonsense wisdom. Beyond their excellent chimney cleaning skills they recommended/installed a much needed chimney liner and they parged our wood burning fireplace. They also checked our furnace vent pipe and showed us where it was in disrepair. They reinstalled it at the correct angle and recemented it to the chimney. This is a very professional company. If James tells you something needs to be fixed, believe him. He's not trying to sell u something u don't need, he's trying to keep you and your home safe. read more

Hi James: Rich and Curtis were professional and no-nonsense type guys . Straightforward and honest, and completely respectful of my home (they used towels from their van to wipe their feet without me even having to ask) and CO-VID precautions (masks worn the entire time while in the home). Appreciate the way you conduct business and you gained a lifelong customer. read more

If there was zero stars to give I would give zero. This is my first Yelp review but I'm so incensed by what James Ball created with his outlandish estimate that, according to him, is because he provides "value" In doing a home inspection - granted he was recommended by the home inspector - and that was also questioned - he came back with a very high estimate for curing two chimneys. Lots of danger warnings etc After literally four other inspections came to learn not only was he way off in his costs but also was the only inspector to charge a fee for inspection This firm created unnecessary stress in a property transaction. He is outlandish in his costs and estimates. Steer clear read more

Terrific service! Our technician, Rick, arrived on time, was very professional and neat in his work. He also explained in understandable detail his findings and recommendations. Prior to the service, it was very easy to schedule and confirm our appointment with the office. read more

I would highly recommend James and his services. His installer, Rich was extremely polite, very knowledgeable as well as personable. I appreciated how they walked me through the how and what of my chimney maintenance, extremely helpful. Excellent job! Julie S. read more

Rich and his assistant showed up on time and performed a thorough inspection of our fireplace and chimney, dryer vent, and boiler exhaust. James and Rich have been responsive, helpful, and professional. I absolutely recommend James Ball. read more

Have an old chimney? Having any sort of flue issues or other chimney concerns? Do not hesitate to reach out to James Ball LLC, it is the best 80 dollars you will ever spend...James Ball Chimney Services is absolutely amazing. Very communicative & flexible to set up an appointment. Rich & Charles promptly arrived right on time. Incredibly friendly & honest. They were legitimately excited to help me. My chimney is very old & original and Rich walked me through all of the issues and what makes the most sense to prioritize & fix first regarding my situation. They know what they are comfortable of fixing and are experts about everything WITHIN your chimney from your boiler to your flue & smoke chamber. They also noted issues with the brick exterior of chimney & referred to a solid mason craftsmen to get a second opinion. The best part, the 80 dollars for the inspection gets credited back if you do work with them. All around - I was extremely impressed. I highly recommend them for all of your chimney concerns. read more

James and Richard consistently provide professional and exceptional service. They are experts in their trade and proud practitioners of their craft. I recommend them without reservation. read more

Further to my earlier review, I have now learned that the piping used 9 years ago was 30 gauge. for air..not thicker 24 gauge for furnace..hence it failed. Also, tape was used..again for air..not furnace and have lowered my 2 stars to 1 . read more

Just got my consultation with James Ball and wad extremely impressed! His stepson had come over and was extremely professional, patient, explained everything he was doing and educated me as well. He was very knowledgeable and gave his honest opinion on the services that would be needed for our home. This reflects very well on this company and I have already scheduled my appt for work to be done which was very reasonable. They return the $79 consultation fee if you book within 2 weeks, but after that visit, I didn't need to wait that long or look anyone else up. Highly recommend! read more

Incredibly thorough inspection, and made sure I, as the homeowner, understood everything in his inspection. Knowledgable and very friendly!! Rich from James Ball was great...we will definitely use them for the necessary work. And, the initial inspection fee is refunded once you use the company for work. read more

Be forewarned, paying to have someone look at your chimney as a condition for cleaning is not 'market'. In our case, we were charged for an inspection that stated we had third degree creosote and that we needed spend $850 for a chemical clean. The quote also included $250 for an ash pit door. I got a second opinion from a chimney sweep with over 20 years experience. No 3rd degree Creosote. I mentioned the inspection. He said, "Was that James Ball?". Hmmm. We got a standard cleaning for under $200. Oh and the ash pit door was $25. The inspection comes with threats of litigation etc. We paid it and learned our lesson. read more

I was very happy with the chimney cleaning I received. The chimney had not been cleaned in many years and was a fire hazard, They did a very good job of not creating a mess and were very curtious/friendly. The price was very reasonable and I was very satisfied. I will be asking them to come back for yearly cleaning. read more

If you are in the northern fairfield county area, and have a high chimney, I would not bother using James Ball. They apparently will not bring any lift equipment to the area mentioned and will require you to bring in an outside company to help reach your chimney. This should have been stated from the start and they probably should have referred us to another chimney sweep. It is almost like a painter not coming with a paint brush. Further they will charge you $50 just to inspect your chimney if you do not decide to use them. Any company who will charge just to give you a proposal is not worth dealing with imo. read more

I am very happy with the chimney inspection and cleaning service that James' Technicians performed for us today. From setting up the appointment to signing the invoice, the experience was convenient, painless and, in the end, a tremendous value. The website was very informative and it was reassuring to see their extensive set of credentials. Setting up the appointment was very easy and James sent a follow-up e-mail confirming the appointment, listing the potential services and outlining his business policies which was very helpful - communication is key to a positive experience. The technicians showed up right on time - that barely ever happens with other services. Despite the messy nature of the work, they were meticulous in ensuring that the house was left spotless. I found it particularly helpful that they shared the before and after pictures of the flue. I never would have believed so much build-up could have occurred in such a short period of time. Overall, they were very courteous and professional. We frequently see stories about folks getting scammed by fly-by-night companies and, in fact, in the last three weeks alone, I have received three separate unsolicited calls from "chimney cleaning companies". I politely declined each one, did my research and found James Ball, LLC. It is great to know that they are the "real deal". I will definitely be using them in the future. read more