The stucco on my chimney had fallen into disrepair over the years. I had been putting off getting the work done, dreading the chore of contacting contractors and hoping to end up choosing someone who could do the job right, reliably, and priced reasonably. I knew no one who had similar work done and hence had no referrals to go on. I was left to luck and intuition, hoping that alone would yield the results desired.
As I began to identify chimney specialists, it appeared that some companies were largely in the chimney sweeping business yet my job required masonry expertise. Thus, my first criterion became to find a firm qualified to do the masonry work. With my second criterion being to hopefully find a local firm, I did a near-me search and phoned up a couple of candidates. One didn't respond to my voice messages and another wanted a sizable amount just to come out for a proposal, refundable if I awarded them the job. Continuing my search, the next call was to Warrington Chimney and Fireplace. I got to speak to a human voice straight away and an appointment was made with Dean to assess the job the next day.
Dean came out as promised and readily explained what the job would entail, including a description of their multi-step process to effectively, properly, rebuild my chimney, culminating with the overall end goal of stucco replacement. In a few hours, I had Dean's proposal in my inbox. While I typically would get several bids on a job of this nature, the conversation I had with Dean and the written description of the work came across presenting Warrington Chimney and Fireplace as capable, sincere, and transparent. The work as discussed was well summarized and itemized, reflecting our earlier conversation. I felt good about Warrington Chimney and Fireplace and saw no need to gather additional proposals. Since I only sought this one quote, I can't say how their pricing compares with other firms but, for the thorough approach to the work, professionally presented, it seemed reasonable enough.
I gave Dean the green light to proceed. The job was scheduled for 10 days out. In the interim, I spoke to Dean Jr. to discuss stucco colors and a color chart was immediately emailed. The following week, Eric came out to take measurements for a replacement chase cover, as included in the proposal. Throughout the process, I received text and emails messages detailing the next steps.
The job was started as scheduled. A crew came out to begin the job but determined that there was underlying carpentry needed to replace wooden sections of the chimney structure that had rotted or weakened. Dean came out on day one to assess the additional work and assured me that the job could still proceed with perhaps an additional day required for completion. Owing to the versatility of the crew, capable of addressing the prerequisite woodworking, the repair work was underway, seamlessly with no loss of time despite this finding. I continued to receive updates each day as to what work would take place the next day, and at what time to expect the crew to arrive.
From this point, the work was managed under the qualified supervision of Marlon, who led a crew that varied in number on each day of the project, dependent on the skill sets required on a given day. The crew proceeded to do beautiful work on all aspects of the multi-step process, making substantial progress each day. The weather throughout the project week was intermittently rainy yet the crew stayed on the job until the brink of sunset to make up for any lost time, which also included the unexpected task of restoring the plywood frame. Marlon and the crew went above and beyond to complete the work in one calendar week, with no need to extend into the weekend or the following week. Nonetheless, the quality of the job never felt rushed and the outcome was beautiful, leaving me with a perfectly textured stucco exterior atop a better structured chimney than the one that my house was built with.
The only deviation from the original proposal was for the carpentry work that was unanticipated. At that, the cost was nominal for the extent of carpentry required and it seemed that Dean priced the materials and labor at close to cost, respecting my concern to stay within the budget established by the original proposal.
All of my initial concerns and reluctance to address my chimney and stucco repairs were allayed by Dean, Eric, Marlon, and a highly qualified crew that was professional, respectful, and communicative throughout the entire process. I would heartily recommend Warrington Chimney and Fireplace to anyone in need of their services, particularly the specialized artisanal work involved with exterior masonry. Their proposal was the only one that I considered and, once the job was completed with the utmost in quality and satisfaction, I came away feeling that I made the right call in choosing Warrington Chimney and Fireplace. read more