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

Mr. Steve O'Mara was very good. Was on time, knowledge, and professional. I am very happy with his work.

I was dissatisfied with the service provided for the price I paid. I met him at the Home Show in Del Mar. He scared me into believing my fireplace was a potential hazard, although I stated I rarely ever used it. He said the "deal" price was $89 and would take approx 45 mins. Since I was planning to re-tile the outside look, I made an apt. He arrived early and set up. He did put his brush in the chimney but after less than 10 mins he said it was in perfect condition. While he did take 3 mins to explain I needed a better hearth and wire screens if we decide to burn real wood- that was it. 15 mins including the set up and take down back to his car. When he brought out the credit card charger, I said what's the price for 15 mins? He said "the same of course!" I feel ripped off. I'm not even sure I trust his "inspection " since he spent so little time doing anything at all. I'm dissatisfied. If he had lowered his rate to $40 or down something at all, I would not be writing this poor review, but the fact that it now all seems premeditated and part of his business to rip off easy clients, I have a bad sooty taste in my mouth. read more

The worst example of opportunistic fraud. Stay away. I met these characters at a trade show. They misrepresented their product, charged me much to much money for what was delivered, and got angry in my home which intimidated me. I don't even believe they fully cleaned the chimney. There are other reputable firms so look elsewhere. read more

We have used him in the past and were satisfied so we used him again without hesitation. Never again. In the course of cleaning our fireplace he pointed out several cracks that he said made the fireplace hazardous. He quoted us $40 to repair the cracks, and $240 for a heat deflector that would protect the back of the fireplace while enhancing its efficiency. We wanted to shop around for the deflector so we told him we would pay for the repair and find the deflector on our own. Wrong answer. He informed us that he would only repair the cracks if we also bought the deflector. So bottom line, he warned us that our fireplace was a fire hazard, and then left without fixing it even though we asked for the repair. Just wow! read more

I met Steve at the Escondido Street Fair, and liked is energy and enthusiasm. He was on-time and efficient. He explained what was needed and then graciously re-explained it to mom when she came in to the living room. I can't wait to cuddle with my husband by firelight! If there are any issues, I will post a follow-up, but for now - I am a satisfied customer! read more

Slick upselling dirtbag. Have had remorse ever sense he was here. Felt like we were being handled by a used car salesman. Sadly fell for some of his tactics as he painted a sad and not all true picture of the state of our chimney and fireplace. Felt he way overcharged for his work and since we didn't supervise fear he didn't truly sweep the chimney...the reason we agreed to him coming out in the first place. Shop around and read his other reviews.. Avoid!!! read more

Met Steve at the Avocado Festival in Fallbrook. I just purchased a home with a fire place that I wanted checked out. Had a propane log and was a mess. I wanted to know what my options were, and have it cleaned. Told the $89 for cleaning, and he showed up 1 hour late. After running the brush a few times, told me that I (Can Not) put a wood burning insert into my fireplace. I should buy his stainless heat shield for $240 which will reflect the heat into the room. Real cost for shield is $55 online to anyone. Also charged me another $89 for removing the old propane set up and putting his shield in. 3 min later he was done, paid over $400 and he was dead wrong about the insert, and the heat shield DOES NOT WORK AT ALL. We tried it last night, and it is not even cold now. I am now going to the insert and never having this guy show up again. read more

Steve was excellent. He was referred to us by my sister and brother-in-law, who had used him for their chimney cleaning and repair. He was professional, came initially to examine and give us a quote. When he cam back to repair our chimney, it took less time than he had originally quotes and left the place cleaner than when he arrived. He is very professional. read more

Steve did an excellent job. He cleaned the chimney and showed me where things were hazardous and fixed the problem safely. The fireplace works and looks great! Thanks. read more

Steve O'Mara swept our chimney today. He was on time, pleasant and efficient. He didn't try to sell me on any additional services. In fact he said the chimney looks good. When he was already on his way I had the bright idea to check Yelp. After reading the poor reviews I decided that if he recommended anything additional beyond sweeping I would say no, then check it out further. Anyway maybe he's toned things down. I can't really complain about anything. read more

I'm surprised seeing the bad reviews but didn't check until almost a year after using this company. I honestly have nothing to dock him even one star for. We bought an old house with a nonfunctional chimney. It was illegally set up even, as a gas fireplace with the on/off switch inside the fireplace (no idea how they worked that without burning themselves, but an SDG&E inspector capped it.) We really really wanted the chimney but seller didn't agree to deal with it (it had been nonfunctional for over a decade) so we moved on with the sale. I met him at a street fair and explained the situation but we had an active nest in the chimney and didn't want to disturb it. We saw him again later and booked a time. The guy did exactly what we asked: clean, cover and make it a functional wood-burning fireplace. He was done very quickly too. (Like, "Should we do it? Yes, we should. Oh look, he's almost done.") We've now used our fireplace with zero issues all winter, so again, I can't complain at all. We're one of a very few houses in our old neighborhood that can actually use the fireplace now. read more

If every service provider, in every line of work, were as responsive, prompt, honest, hard-working, reasonable, efficient, knowledgable, friendly, and skilled as Steve O'Mara, what a wonderful world this would be. My wife and I met Steve a couple of years ago when he had a booth at a Home Improvement Show at the SD Convention Center. We knew that our decades-old fireplaces and chimneys needed cleaning and reparative work, and after talking with Steve, we decided to hire him. Having used fireplaces for decades, and having hired capable chimney sweeps in the past, I thought I knew something about the subject. I soon learned that I know very little. Steve's patient, comprehensive explanations provided much useful information and also solved a couple of long-standing mysteries about some chimney/fireplace mishaps we'd experienced in the past. Steve scrubbed both chimneys of accumulated dry soot; recoated the concrete-looking "crown" on top of the chimney (which had cracks that were allowing rain to seep in and affect the integrity of the chimney structure); replaced the "Portland cement" patches applied over the years to the exposed part of the chimneys; installed new caps on top of the chimneys (the old ones weren't up to California code in terms of allowing glowing ashes to escape and possibly starting fires, and they weren't adequately protecting the chimney from rain and moisture); installed a new ash-trap door and a heat shield in the upstairs fireplace to protect the back wall from heat damage and to project more heat into the room; cleaned out years of accumulated ash and charcoal from the hidden receptacle/vault; installed a new door on the ash trap downstairs; and even put a chimney cap on a stand-alone fireplace in the patio. He was done in a few hours and our cool-weather living has been so much more enjoyable and trouble-free ever since. More recently, Steve came out to install great a new damper in the downstairs fireplace. If you have fireplace/chimney needs, issues, or questions, don't even bother calling anyone else --- call Steve. Now if I can just talk Steve into becoming a computer tech, car mechanic, stonemason, tax preparer, handyman, landscaper, carpenter, plumber, and electrician, life would be so beautiful! read more

I had an appointment for 12 noon. I left to run some errands. I gave my keys to a friend in case he came early. I got back home at 11:30 am & he was parked in front of my place. I was told that he came at 10:30 am. So I missed the entire cleaning of the downstairs fireplace. I was told that he could not open the fireplace upstairs as it was sealed in glass. It has a sliding glass window in front of it. If I had been there when he came I could have told him that. I did tell him that at 11:30 am. I guess like a plumber I should have cleared the large plant pots in front of the fireplace. Maybe I would have thought of that and moved them before he got up there. He does not move anything so my female friend moved the things. I asked him if he would move the grate with the pine cones on it. He said yes, but then I walked in to see him attempting to vacuum under it. I was very surprised that it seemed to take him only 10 minutes or less to clean the fireplace. I asked him about it & was told that it put a brush up it. I wondered about that. Is it round so that the brush just touched the sides of the flue and so it was actually cleaned? Did he go up and down a few times to make sure he got everything? I had stepped out of the room and when I got back he was done. I am not sure what to make of that. He needs to tell people that they need to clear a space so that he can roll the huge shop vacuum to the area. He bumped into an antiques piece of furniture and attempted to keep bumping it to get past it. I said that is an antique and I don't want it damaged so he then lifted the shop vacuum over it. I pushed the furniture away to create a work space for him. He said that he cleaned it from below. He did not go on the roof to clean it from up above as his website states is part of the cleaning process. He did not move the grate and pine-cones so all the debris most have fallen on them and the grate. So it was still there when he was finished. I said to him " I thought you said you were going to move the grate?" He said that the pine cones would fall through so he did not move it. (We could have done it for him if he had told us that to begin with.) He did not use a brush to clean up with the vacuum only the end of the hose. So is there still soot in there? I had someone clean up after he left. The website on his business card is incorrect. So I googled & searched for the correct info. I printed out the pdf on the description of the sweep process. It states that a 12 x 10 metal brush in an up & down motion connected to 5 foot fiberglass poles are used to sweep the flue liner. That was not done. So is the fireplace flue clean or not? My eye is starting to twitch writing this review. He told me that I was not up to code and gave me an estimate which he had me sign. Is that a contract? We set up a date. I have emailed him to cancel. I am not sure that he gave me a copy of it as I cannot find it today and do not remember if he gave me a copy of it or not. If he did not do the details in the cleaning of the chimney can I trust him to do the details in the repair of the crown of the fireplace on the roof? Did I sign a contract without us going over it? I sent him an email to cancel the appointment that I made to have the top of the chimney. I have no idea if the estimate was fair or not. It was over $1700 for repairing cracks in the cement around the chimney outside & the metal stainless steel chimney covers x 2. I am going to contact some other chimney sweep services to find out. I woke up this morning with a bad feeling about having signed something with him. I would like my $100 deposit back. The website address listed on his business card is incorrect. read more

This guy only swept the chimney from the flue up. Past services used, tape off whole area and sweep from the top of the chimney down and from the flue up to insure the whole chimney is clean. After his cleaning he tell me that the chimney will not pass his inspection because the firebricks do not meet code. Told him that the original fireplace brick was still there (we didn't like the looks of it), so we had a fireplace mason put another layer of firebrick in front of it. Also explained to him and showed him that a contracted inspector had already cleared the fireplace but recommended that it be swept. This guy wanted nothing to do with it. I think he was wanting to up sell services but by then I wanted nothing to do with him. WARNING !!! Read recent comments about this guy, HE IS NOT RECOMMENDED !!! read more

If you are looking for Chimney repairs or simply just a sweep, I highly recommend using So Cal Chimney. Honestly, I can't say enough great things about So Cal Chimney. When we needed our Chimney cleaned and inspected, Steve went above and beyond our expectations. Not only was he affordable, he was professional, kind, prompt, skilled, knowledgeable and passionate about his job (you could see it in his work). I definitely give this company 5 stars and will continue to recommended them to others. Thank you again! read more

Well, it seems as though I've been duped by Steve O'Mara as well. First of all, if he's unlicensed in CA, as I have read, then I'm an idiot. We had an appt set up for January to make all the repairs he highly recommended "because everything was really unsafe and didn't meet code, blah, blah". I gave him a $100 deposit for the parts that he would need. I just had a gut feeling that I should call someone else, and like others here, was told that he was a con and was charging me for things I didn't need as well as charging double than normal for other parts. When I cancelled the job last week, we were more than 2 weeks away from our repair appointment. He refused to return my deposit for the parts, which he said were ordered right away after our chimney sweep appt. The appoint is 2 weeks away and there is absolutely NO reason that I shouldn't get my deposit back. The check was cashed and I couldn't put a stop payment on it. I need to check his paperwork to see if there is in writing about that. I better not find out that he didn't actually sweep our chimney. Out of the blue, I just had a gut feeling that I should call someone else, and like others here, was told that he was a con and was charging me for things I didn't need as well as charging double than normal for other parts. What bugs me the most is that on his outgoing message, and anytime you speak to him he says "God Bless". Well, Mr. O'Mara, I don't think God would be very happy with your business practices. This guy even hugged me after learning about a tragedy in our family and again said "God Bless", which btw I'm completely fine with. But ICK if you're saying that and then ripping me off. Not happy. If I can find a license #, I will be reporting him to the BBB and the and whatever else I can report him to. It's Christmas, and he ripped me off. Gross. You should be ashamed of yourself Mr. O'Mara. Really. read more

I got a flyer from Steve at the Escondido street faire,got the $89 chimney cleaning,he seemed grouchy , and like he didn't want to do anything else,other than do the cleaning job.Poor attitude and not too friendly.I later realized he didn't check top of chimney.Seemed like he was in a hurry. Quoted me $1000 to repair the tiles in fireplace, and off he went! I'm in the service industry too, and I couldn't treat customers like that! I wouldn't recommend this guy to anyone. read more

Steve is fantastic! Last year he came out and cleaned our chimney. He covered the floors and kept everything neat and tidy. He was friendly and efficient. We had recently moved in to our house and the chimney hadn't been cleaned in a while. He worked for over 2 hours getting things clean and safe. We knew that we had some damage to the floor panel that needed to be repaired and we wanted to convert from wood to gas. He offered us an estimate, explained the safety reasons for it, and offered a suggestions for gas logs that were more efficient than the ones we were considering. It took us a year to finally get around to fixing the floor panel and make the conversion to gas. He honored his original quote, was able to come out quickly, and did great work. He again left the house nice and clean. The fireplace looks wonderful and works great. We recommend him to all of our friends and family. Thanks Steve! read more

Steve O'Mara is the owner/worker who advertises $89 chimney sweep and inspections. HE IS A CON ARTIST. He came to my house to sweep my chimney and before he did so performed is inspection. He told me I needed to make repairs to prevent water damage and to seep my chimney to prevent fire damage. He charged me $898 because he said I needed a new damper, repair work on my flashing and chimney cap/crown and needed to sweep my chimney. After he left I had a feeling he over charged. So I called a few highly reputable chimney experts in San Diego and all have heard of Steve's unscrupulous activities. One came over and looked at my chimney and showed me he NEVER even sweep my chimney and overcharged me and never even replaced all of the damper. Furthermore I found out he is unlicensed and in Calif. it is illegal for an unlicensed contractor to charge over $500. AVOID SO CAL CHIMNEYS AT ALL COSTS. read more

We met Steve at the Del Mar Home & Landscape show. As our 22 yr old house had never had the chimney swept, I thought it would be a good idea. I also described how poor the heat output was from our fireplace. He explained the difference btwn concrete logs (like you get from Home Depot, etc) vs ceramic. He also recommended a heat shield to reflect the heat back into the room. He was an hour earlier, but called, so I met him at our house. Here inspected and cleaned the chimney, and said it was in great shape with no damage, because we had never overdone it by using real wood in a gas only fp. He then removed the old logs and "litter" on the bottom and installed our new logset. It looks much more realistic than the old, and we could feel the difference in heat output immediately. Not sure how much is due to the ceramic logs, or the heat shield, but it certainly works. He was in and out in less than an hour, and didn't leave a trace of dirt or evidence he'd been there. He also pointed out a code violation in our mantle, which I shared with my wife that night, and she was already aware of it. We're planning on replacing the mantle and tile to get it out of the 90's, but I appreciated his insight. Highly recommended. read more