Steve did a thorough cleaning of the chimney and installed a heat reflector and connected the dormant gas line to a new pipe that allows us to run our fireplace with gas now. He also explained that Duralame logs are not a good idea to use in the fireplace because they are petroleum based and can lead to major problems with residue. I had always used a door flame log as a fire starter because they are so easy to light compared to a bare log and kindling or newspaper. Now that we have gas, the fire lights instantly every time and we only have to run the gas for about 10 minutes after which the wood burns on its own. You can have the cheapest or you can have the best, Steve seems to be the latter. read more

So Cal Chimney - a man working on a fireplace - General Contractors Near Me

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They are very open with the fact they are christian-owned, but then try to scam you for three times the price of other chimney services. The quotes I received were outrageous and I had other services tell me that's a scam and they've only heard bad things about this company. I can see why he wears that red hat. read more

Do not hire this company. We had our chimney sweeped and the entire experience was awful. The man left a huge mess of ash all over the home, did not clean up after himself, was irritable, sat on our table, and arrived when he felt like it. He also tried to scam us into more services. Our experience seems to be consistent with others. Just do yourself a favor and go elsewhere. read more

Charged me over $1700 to inspect and clean the fireplace, replace the gas burners, paint and put in fire glass. $675 according to the receipt was for 45 pounds of fire glass but he only put in 3 10-pounds containers, which you can buy on Amazon for $50 per 10-pound bag. The guy painted the fire box after pouring in the glass (duh!), and the cheap heat radiating plate he put in the back flaked off on the first burn. In hind site I would have only paid them to clean and change the burners. You can buy an iron plate and pour the glass in yourself and save half the cost. Over $1700 for $300 in parts and less than 2 hours of work is a rip off. read more

Ugh! I usually review vendors before using them, and I didn't with this guy. Typical flim flam man. How many of us are familiar with chimney's and fireplaces so you think you're getting some guy there to help and provide expertise, when all he's trying to do is upsell stuff. His inspection is nothing but vacuuming your fireplace and leaving a mess then telling you you need to upgrade everything. Which of course he can do at over inflated prices for everything. His $129 special is for him to come to your house and rip you off. read more

The owner showed up on a muddy morning in Ramona and asked to come in my house. I asked him to remove or cover his shoes. He said he cant remove his shoe for safety reasons and had did not use shoe covers, so I had to send him away without being able to do the job! He had the nerve to tell me while standing in the mud he would not track mud into my house! I laughed and told him that was no way to do business and sent him on his way. read more

I received So Cal Chimney info from The Del Mar home show told for cleaning it would be $84. Steve came and told me there were so many things that needed fixing. My $84 turned into $1000. SUCKER is what was written on my forehead. He's a crook and liar. I just got around to wanting to start the fireplace and since he changed out the firebox and told me it was the wrong pipe he needed to change it out. Well, he never left a gas key for it and when I called him he said he doesn't have keys for it. I told him they don't sell the size he changed out. He then argued that I had the wrong company and he didn't do the work. I sent him a picture and my copy of the check ai wrote to his company. DO NOT use this company. They will lie to upswell and change things out and charge you a fortune. read more

So Cal Chimney - He made a second hole for his key but didn't leave a key for me to turn on the gas. - General Contractors Near Me

I can't remember ever getting ripped off so badly as I did with Steve at So Cal Chimney. I was stupid to agree to the charges that I paid. Chimney sweeping (15-20 minutes)- he charged me $129, which is fair for coming to my house. Sealing three or four cracks with a caulking gun (3-5 minutes)- he charged me $160! Cutting two small clips holding my rack in place (5 minutes)- he charged me $60! Replacing the perforated gas line (5-7 minutes) (pipe cost at fireplace store- $30)- he charged me $149! Placing a free-standing rear heat reflector in the back (1 minute) (costs $196 at fireplace store)- he charged me $489! After i texted him my with my discontent (a waste of time, I know) Steve responded. . . "Maybe I should've just let you burn your house down". read more

Several of my neighbors had used Steve. I called Steve and he took care of my specific chimney needs by doing a thorough inspection of the inside and outside of the chimney. He made recommendations and listed all the possible solutions with the estimated quotes. He was on time, thorough, friendly and honest. He followed through with all I had expected. My home is 40 years old with a real wood burning fireplace. Steve installed a metal backsplash in the firebox because our fire block mortar was separated. He also installed a chimney cap to bring our home up to fire code. He repaired two large cracks at the top of our chimney to keep the rain out of our chimney. Job well done. Thank you Steve Sincerely, Steve and Janet Blevins read more

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I wish I had read the reviews before using his services. Left a mess in my white fireplace, he cleaned up after I pointed to him 4 times to clean the ares that he left very dirty. Never again. read more

Steve was supposed to come to my house today for an appointment at 11am. My girlfriend text him after noon when he hadn't shown up, to see if he was running late or if we needed to reschedule. He claims he came to the house and knocked and left a business card. We have 2 cameras out front and he never showed up or left a card like he claims he did. He left me a voicemail yesterday so I know he has my phone number, but he made zero attempts to call me when he "knocked but no one answered". That is extremely unprofessional and I will not be using his services. He also said that the service would be $149 instead of the quoted $89 if he came back to the house. read more

So Cal Chimney - a text message from a customer - General Contractors Near Me

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I wish I would have read Yelp reviews before hiring Steve for helping with the bee hive in our chimney. We met him at the Santee street fair and he seemed trustworthy and professional. He is Con man and liar. We had a pest control company kill the bees so he could clean the chimney and install a cap. He came out and said there were still active bees so he left. We had a second treatment to make sure they were dead. He came out again and said they were still active. Both times they were dead he was just seeing some random bees from the yard. Both times I went on the roof and poked at the hive with no issues. So we had another pest control company come out and remove the hive. Steve charged us $289 for the 2 times he came out and did nothing. He charged $988 for cap and damper, I looked online and its $432. He said we need a heat shield $462 something he just sat in the firebox no install required, online its $188. He cut out the old damper $300. Over all we paid him $2834 for 3 trips and about 2 hours work. I feel stupid and embarrassed for not doing my research first. read more

I bought a condo with a fireplace, and the seller said she would fix the fireplace. The person she hired did such a terrible job, and I didn't feel safe using my fireplace. My realtor put me in touch with Steve, and he cleaned and inspected my fireplace and chimney right away, and he fixed everything. He explained where all the damages were and what needed to be fixed for my fireplace to be safe for use, and showed me how to use my gas starter for wood burning safely moving forward. He even gave me a new grate for wood at no extra charge, because the one the seller left me was destroyed. Thank you so much, Steve! read more

So Cal Chimney - General Contractors Near Me

I don't know why people driving a company car would drive like careless ego maniacs. Today 1/23/19 leaving pacific beach. A almost got side swiped as an operator of their company transit vehicle cut into the parking lane and passed me and 4 other cars. Then while still in sight got into the center turning lane and tried to pass some more people. But got a little to close to call I guess and cut someone else off. It's 12:15 lunch time in PB there is going to be traffic. Please slow down. Owner of the company may want to look Into who's representing their company. read more

Wow, I have NEVER had such a negative experience with any contractor EVER! This should be a ZERO Star review. Steve worked up a quote on site that came to $8,500 for relining the chimney, plus some other work he deemed necessary. He asked me to sign the quote on the line that said "work has been completed according to the descriptions in this document." I was not ready to commit as this was my first bid. I said Im not signing anything. At that point he got very agitated and he refused to give me a copy of his quote. Who does that? I asked him to leave and he started insulting me, saying I was a waste of his time. I told him he was unprofessional and he started cussing me out. I had enough by that point and and gladly dropped some expletives of my own. I should have looked at all the one star reviews before I set up the appointment. Do yourself a favor and look elsewhere. This guys not who you,re looking for. read more

A driver driving their company vehicle almost caused an accident for not turning left when he was supposed and instead changed suddenly into my lane going straight without a signal. I honked but the driver still kept going not caring if he hits me, it was a very close call putting his life, my life, and my baby's life in danger for being so careless! Called the company and the guy who answered didn't seem to care. read more

Horrible experience! Do not let them into your home. Quoted for brick replacement and ended up with a bondo job? Owner promised me a quality job yet served me a joke of a service. read more

We met Steve at a festival and he was very knowledgeable and pleasant to chat with! Ended up not needing services this year but will certainly revisit next year! read more

Like many others herein, I met Steve at a home show and subsequently invited him into my home to check our three fireplaces. As I suspected, Steve confirmed that only one of the three needed sweeping. He also confirmed that all three were in tip-top shape. Before leaving he charged me only for the chimney that required sweeping. I found Steve to be upfront, punctual, and pleasant. I would use him again and recommend him, and am somewhat surprised by the negative comments. read more

Met Steve at the home show in Del Mar. it is my first home with a fireplace. He came the house and took 10 minutes to inspect and clean the fireplace. I didn't know what to expect but was very surprised that took Steve 10 minutes to do the job. But then I just brought the place so my thought is that previous owner had it cleaned before put on the market. 5 months later, Cold weather kicks in so I get a chance to my fireplace for the first time, after 5 minutes the whole house filled with smoke and all the alarms went off. Call Steve and asked him the problem, he won't come out unless I paid him again. I wish I read his reviews before paid him for the job. I will also call organizer at Del Mar home show that before allow vendors participating to take money of innocent consumers. If you go to his website the review page is not on so you can't leave a review. I am wondering why read more

WARNING DISHONEST CONTRACTOR... ALL I ASKED FOR WAS AN ESTIMATE! DO NOT CONTACT HIM OR LET HIM IN YOUR HOME... Guy said he would come for a repair estimate scheduled a time with him. I tried contacting him to reschedule but he wouldn't respond. So he does this sweep and inspection thing knowing I do not have a working fireplace which I need fixed. Says some BS about 4000 earthquakes a year so the chimney liner could be damaged, which it is not. Then at the end charges me $89??? What for only here for 10 minutes??? Didn't expect this and told him it would have been good to mention this before and the cost. Unfortunately, contractors like this still exist. I do not recommend this business or service and will not use this company and I contacted Warm Hearth (store than recommended him) in La Mesa about his tactics. This slick scamming dirt merchant that could have received the contract if he used a different business approach, really don't think he cared because all he was trying to do was make a quick buck off me. Has no demeanor. His CA contractor license needs to be reviewed. DO NOT CONTACT HIM OR LET HIM IN YOUR HOME... YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !!!!! read more

This character's M.O. is to exhibit at a home show and hook you with a price something like $89 for cleaning your chimney. Then watch out. He breezes through the work and begins the hard sell upsell. My God, what he wanted to sell me some replacement parts! I think Steve perches at the home shows because he doesn't have word-of-mouth referrals. The whole experience was just plain creepy. read more

Met Steve at the home show. I explained I had a pot belly insert. He told me he could clean it at the show. When he showed up to the house he told us he could not clean potbelly inserts charged us $49.00 and left. Was only there 2 mins. I got some really bad info at show. read more

Steve was great with fixing our fireplace and his quote was lower than the first quote that we got. He ordered the needed parts quickly and showed up when he said he would. He fixed our fireplace in shorter time than he said it would take. We are very happy with Steve's work and would contact him again if ever needed. read more

Well if you cannot say anything nice, don't say anthing...I will say the nice stuff. At least Steve only left his sooty hand prints on one of the white sliding doors....at least he used MY ladder, I brought around to the back of the house, instead of using the roofers ladder in the front of the house, and walking on and breaking more of the roof tiles, which is what he did the first time and broke several tile...YES Steve I hear them break....At least I got him OUT OF THE house shorty after saying NO to the fire box repair, NO to the crown repair, and NO to the new spark arrester/ Damper. At least he did not put back the ladder so I could use it to put back the spark arrester he removed and refused to return to where he got it. and finally he will NEVER be back in my home as long as I am alive. SO THIS IS ALL VERY POSITIVE STUFF..it was also nice that I was able to see him leaving one of the paper bags filled with soot in the storm drain just down the street. read more

So Cal Chimney - cleaning lady was her Monday....Steve's prints on Tuesday - General Contractors Near Me

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While having my chimney repaired and cleaned by another, very thorough company, they advised that the flashing around the chimney needed attention. I called So Cal Chimney and they said they could do it, probably for around $150. I made an appointment. They sent out Steve O'Mara. He politely met me at the door, checked the fireplace, and checked the outside of the chimney from the ground. Then he went out to his truck and started gathering things. At this point, I was wondering what was going on, so I stated that all that was needed was to fix the flashing, not to clean the chimney (which had not been used since the last cleaning/maintenance). He responded that they don't fix flashing and also that he doesn't walk on roofs with tiles because they can break. Meanwhile, of course, the other company had done this carefully with no problems and I don't think you can effectively sweep a chimney from the ground floor. What a waste of both of our time. Why agree to do a job that you don't do? And why offer to clean a chimney that needed no attention. read more

What a con artist. I saw him at the Rolando street fare , talked to him about have him clean my chimney ,so he sold me on the fare special ($89.00) which I just noticed its his everyday price. He was on time for the appointment but did nothing other than vacuum clean the visible inside of the fireplace . When I asked him what about the inside walls, he lied to me and said he did them . Don't you see these poles ? I said of course I do and I didn't see use use them . He lied again and insisted he did even though I was there next to him all the time and didn't see him do it. He moved to try to sell me another lies and that's when I said thank , let me pay you so I would not ruin the rest of my day. Be aware people. read more

I contracted to get my chimney cleaned and inspected. After a quick 20 minute cleaning I was told that I needed $725 in repairs. I told him I would discuss it with my husband later that night. After some high pressure to do it that day he left. When my husband got home he looked up in the chimney and noticed a hole in the lentil area that Steve completely missed. While inspecting further we could see that the chimney wasn't even very clean. Soot feel into the fireplace while we were inspecting. I sent a picture to Steve and he admitted he should have seen that. It makes me wonder what else he missed. I feel uncomfortable using my fireplace without having someone else come out and redo what I already paid for. Steve was unwilling to return any of the payment we made and only offered to give us a discount on the cleaning if we hired him to do the $725 repairs he was pushing. This didn't even include the "hole" we found. I would not recommend this company! Took my money and now I'm back where I started. read more

So Cal Chimney - Hole (split seam) inside chimney - General Contractors Near Me

Excellent. We already got quotes. His work was in line with others. His knowledge and explanation were great. He did all work in a few hours on old fireplace and chimney. Great job. Very pleasant, professional. Great! We saw him at Santee street fair. read more

Steve did a good job cleaning our fireplace and he seemed quite nice and professional. Our fireplace had the back wall blown out to make it double-sided, and he was quick to point out issues with how it was done improperly. When he suggested repairs, I got a bit afraid, though. We wanted to close in the back side and seal it up so no fumes could escape out the back. He suggested a metal heat shield and putting in artificial logs to burn only gas, as he thought that would be more safe than burning wood. Ummm...really? I think I'd rather have the option to see and smell smoke to let me know where it's going than have an invisible gas (with some scent added by SDGE) slowly poison us. According to the CSLB as of 9/19/11 he has a D34 License (Prefabricated Equipment Contractor) , which includes factory built fireplaces and accessories (no masonry facing); major appliance installations and ventilating hoods in connection with existing fuel and energy lines which are installed by others. After talking to other chimney experts, they confirmed that what he suggested was absolutely ridiculous and unsafe. My $.02, if you just want you chimney swept, then look no further. If your fireplace/chimney need more, keep looking. It would be the equivalent of having Jiffy Lube rebuild your engine; they're great at changing oil, but would you trust them with a big job? read more

As some of you I didn't do my homework. Over the phone friendly but as soon as he was in my door, not so much. Tried to ask some questions very short and then would disappear outside. I was thinking he would use that huge brush and clean it from the outside but I didn't see that, used the brush from inside but this brush was like 4 feet long how high up the chimney can you go with that ?? I could of done that and just used my shop vac. He didn't even get one speck up soot on him !! Then the upsales and all the Fire codes that I was breaking. So like an idiot I fell for one but then said No to everything else. So, would I use or refer no I wouldn't and I feel like I need to get someone else to really clean now. Well my fault but just don't want anyone else using him and wasting their money. read more

In short - watch for the up-sell, Steve O'Mara was at the recent Del Mar Home show and we needed a Chimney Sweep and asked him to come out to our home. We also asked that he install a chimney cap. He came out and swept the chimney and did a good job. He was more interested in replacing our log set and worked the up-sell big time. We didn't get a chimney cap installed - We have a tall chimney and rather than get a ladder and go up from the outside, he wanted to climb on the roof and have us take irresponsibility for broken tiles. This was lame - you either are a contractor or you aren't. He also offered to install a $3.00 cap on the gas line and decommission our fireplace logs - for $40.00. What a hack. read more

DO NOT USE! I can not state enough what a bad experience it was to use this man/company. His booth at the various street fairs and county fairs look impressive, DO NOT BE FOOLED! He was on time, I will give him that but from then on it went down hill. First off, he didn't seal the area and I had soot on my walls, draperies, furniture both my leather couches and tables, all over the floor. Since he didn't seal the area he was working in the soot just overtook the house. You could see it in the air and feel in when you breathed. He never wore a mask to protect himself. He did however cover his shoes with booties when walking on the carpet. He was very quick, preceded to tell me all that he thought was wrong with our fireplace and how much it would cost to repair, and he just happened to have all the fixing parts in his truck (approx. $400!). I can not tell you how unhappy I was because it was beyond words, it took me two days to clean my house afterwords. You could run your finger down the wall, or across my furniture and see the soot. PLEASE BEWARE!!!! DO NOT USE!!! By the way, I have my fireplace cleaned every other year and have never had this type of experience. BEWARE! read more

Excellent service and reliability. The ONLY company I trust to service and repair my fireplace. Thanks Steve!

Steve O'Mara was very helpful and has a great knowledge about the working of fireplaces. He was very pleasant, cleaned up and professional.

I wish I would have looked at reviews before paying for Steve to sweep my chimney. He was in and out in 5 mins. He was rude and tried to upsell me. Now I am afraid he barely did anything to clean my chimney and debating whether to bring out someone else and pay more money. Don't use him!! read more

Was recommended to me by Warm Harth. Wanted my fireplace fixed but he said he needed to clean it first. Came with a shop vac and not the brush I was expecting. Cleaned it in about 15 minutes and didn't even go on the roof. Then wanted to charge $400 for what I wanted done in the first place. When he left he cleaned out his shop vac at the top of my driveway. Would NOT recommend him to anyone. read more

I wish I would have checked their reviews prior to making the appointment. I used them cause I saw the truck at my neighbors house. LITERALLY, he was in my house MAYBE 10-15 mins and half that time was spent critiquing my fireplace which had just been repaired with Fireplace patch. Mine you, we also ordered a backplate and he didn't see it (was coming in the next day) and he was RUDE about me ordering one! I'm guessing it's because he couldn't sell me anything up & above the cleaning! But he literally put the brush up my flu and pulled it back out. No scrubbing, no checking, no ANYTHING! Nothing even came out to vacuum up!! He didn't check my roof! Didn't check the cap, NOTHING! And then after he left, I read the receipt where he scribbled "cap ok"! What! He didn't even check if I had a cap or if it was ok!! And then when I went to pay with Debit card, he grumbled and asked if I had a check or cash instead!!! I will tell EVERYONE I KNOW NOT TO USE THIS COMPANY!!!!!! Rude dude and NOT WORTH $84! He did nothing to clean my fireplace!!! read more

STEVEN was advertising at the home and Garden show so I looked him up and had him come out and clean our chimney stack and saw some other problems. He fix the problems replace the whole interior panels of the chimney. The panels had to be cut outside on my sidewalk and after he completed the whole job he did a great job of cleaning inside the house but outside the house where he cut the panels he left a whole bunch of chips on the sidewalk and in the gutter along with the powder on my artificial grass. Before I paid him I went out and told him you need to pick up all these little pieces that he swept into the gutter and clean up all the white dust on my grass. Had I not said anything he probably would've just left the mess on the ground. His company is very very very expensive for the hour and a half it took to do the work. I think next time I will look for a different chimney company to get my chimney cleaned or repaired. read more

Lik everyone else, I should have checked here first. He was early, nice guy and did a great job cleaning the fire box up to the damper. That was it...I wanted the chimney swept, and that simply didn't happen. From the damper to the roof is still covered in soot and creasote. Do yourself a favor and find another company. read more