Charges Filed In LI Chimney Sweep Scam

[Sapo]

Sapo, Let me say that most police and firefighters had other occupations before they got on the job. For myself, I worked part time as a chimney laborer for about 10 years before I started my own company. I have learned from one of the best. I have 20 years under my belt. Of the 20 years, the last 10 have been my own company. I work strictly by recommendation. I do not need to advertise. I work in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens. I also know how to remove flues, and fix smoke problems. I am not saying I know everything,but if I don't know I will find somebody who will get me the answer. I am a good, honest chimney man with a lot of knowledge in fire safety. I am 2ND OPINION CHIMNEY, always get a 2nd opinion.
Yes, I know of you and your company.
I do not pretend to know everything either , I do not think it is possible but being out there as long as we have certainly we've seen and have diagnosed most issues .
It is good to talk to a son or daughter or relative of an elderly customer because a lot of times if you just do the work there without it , you will automatically be labeled a scammer.
A lot of people just do not realize how many different things can be wrong with their chimney.
A lot of people do not even care .
This business is beat up because people think they have to make a million dollars in every single house they walk into or from pressure coming from the bosses to keep the numbers up .
If techs were paid a different pay scale , you would see a lot of them walking away from a lot of jobs that actually need work, so it is hard to pay any differently and this is one of the problems ..
I think .
I don't worry about that stuff though, my boss knows I will only do a job if it really needs work, we go thtat right out of the way day 1.
Some bosses only care about the dollars at the end of the day but fail to realize some of the work you do just by showing up and explaining things honestly to the customer, they fail to realize how this helps gain business from others that have ben told of how you work and how honest you are .
When you hire me or a person like me, I go to the end of the Earth to get the job done the right way, every single one of my customers and my bosses will confirm that.
I take a tremedous amount of pride in my work .

[CSIA Certifid Sweep]

Alex wrote:

<quoted text> I cleaned mine after 25 years, there was nothing in the chimney. We always ran hot fires and sometimes the flames came out of the chimney ^" or so. When we finally cleaned it there was nothing there but slight ash. I think if the fire smolders you will get deposits on the inside but not a hot fire. I'm also curious why is a fire in a chimney a problem? The bricks are meant to handle fire and hot gases so who cares? Can some enlighten me? I can see it's a problem with modern metal chimney which are thin.

I am a certified chimney sweep and on the 3 rd day of clasws the instructors started a chimney fire so we could see the damage caused by the fire. Your chimney is NOT brick and mortar on the interior, instead it is supposed to be lined with clay tiles. these tiles crack and break when that much heat reaches them. If they were already off-set or damaged, the fire can bypass the tiles and enter the home. Not all technicians are scumbags, but there are many out there. Make them prove you have issues with a video scan.

[Sapo]

A correctly built fireplace and chimney should be able to handle a chimney fire , with no problem .

That means correctly insulated, tiles aligned and sealed, when we see fireplaces chimneys with dry stacked flues , meaning "no parging or insulation behind the flues just stacked on on top of the other"
There are always issues with these types of chimenys, those liner sections will always crack and or shift , because when they heat up they're expanding/moving to the point where they crack, if you're having a fire in your fireplace and that tile is no longer there to hold the heat and exhaust, it will look for the next opening usually found between the bricks ,mortar joints that may be missing.

A correctly built fireplace and chimney is built to handle a fire, but it might not handle two fires, that is not to say it will not handle it, but we have a lot of customers that are not willing to gamble their families lives, having said that, we have a lot of customers that obviously are when you see some of the fireplaces they're operating.

When there is a chimney fire you have to remember that the tempurature inside is a lot greater than the regular temps of just the fire in your fireplace, it is gulping up a tremedous amount of oxygen which is feeding the fire .

Not all chimney fires are as spectacular though where the flames shoot out of the top serveral feet into the air, thse just seem to be the most dangerous , especially if that chimney has no spark arrestor/cap because most roofing material is made of Tar based material, cinders coming up through the top could easily catch the roof on fire, it is not always "Will my Chimney handle the fire" So you see, it is best to avoid it completely.

[Sapo]

Jayson, thanks for the call yesterday, was good to hear from you Gladiola :)

Yes this is me it is just a program I am using it routes my IP so it says Port Jeff, LOL I am still in Bayshore.

Also, I like your message on your voicemail :)
Aint your grave already deep enough ?

With credits like that , you're due for a big fat raise man !
Tell your boss to quit being so cheap, quality don't cost , it pays !

I saw an advertisement from your company on Neil Pearts My-Space web page too ,I was like Holy Shit ! Pretty cool, but I think it is just all over My-Space , not just his page .

Call me when ya get a chance and have any of my my Chimney's fell over in Manhattan?:)

I know ...I know That's why you're so damn good,Once ya work there everything else is a cake walk .

[Jabo]

I thought...

[aspen chimney]

after thirty years in the chimney business ive seen and heard it all unfortunatly in these tough economic times people will try the lower priced sweeps my advice is to hire only local registered sweeps check for a.g registration or township licensed ask to speak to the owner never agree to any work to be completed without having a second and third opinion ask questions a good sweep should be able to educate you on your system and you should understand if not he probaly doesnt know it as well as he should.having been certified by the csia thru the years and seeeing first hand the so called talent out there certified does not mean honest it is a 100 question true/false mutiple choice test on basic cleaning skills and methods not a guarantee of craftsmanship or proper repairs or honesty for that matter i offer my customers free second opinions urge them to shop around, i educate them on the system their using.csia is a basic skills test that is now using union like tactics to attempt corner the markets theyve gotten to the point of charging dues now. im all for further education but years of construction and practical field experience are more desirable then a fresh faced kid with a chimney cleaning certification take the time to know who your hiring this is your home your letting people into and your life could be on the line i offer free technical advise feel free to contac me at 1888 pro flue

[bobby]

wow i think im gonna start sweeping chimneys it seems like a hot topic any suggestions on how to start im gonna charge 150 a fireplace 189 for woodstoves and 139 for the gas/oil flue sounds rite on target please help im gonna work suffolk & nassau

[Giants Fan]

aspen chimney wrote:

after thirty years in the chimney business ive seen and heard it all unfortunatly in these tough economic times people will try the lower priced sweeps my advice is to hire only local registered sweeps check for a.g registration or township licensed ask to speak to the owner never agree to any work to be completed without having a second and third opinion ask questions a good sweep should be able to educate you on your system and you should understand if not he probaly doesnt know it as well as he should.having been certified by the csia thru the years and seeeing first hand the so called talent out there certified does not mean honest it is a 100 question true/false mutiple choice test on basic cleaning skills and methods not a guarantee of craftsmanship or proper repairs or honesty for that matter i offer my customers free second opinions urge them to shop around, i educate them on the system their using.csia is a basic skills test that is now using union like tactics to attempt corner the markets theyve gotten to the point of charging dues now. im all for further education but years of construction and practical field experience are more desirable then a fresh faced kid with a chimney cleaning certification take the time to know who your hiring this is your home your letting people into and your life could be on the line i offer free technical advise feel free to contac me at 1888 pro flue

Ever heard of periods, commas, or a spell checker? Your rant was one long incoherent sentence. If you really want to be taken seriously, you need to make an effort to write better than a fourth grader.

[Jeff Bales]

Jeff Bales St. Charles, IL is ChimneyPro13
chimneytechs.com

ChimneyPro13 wrote:

Look, the masons are pissed because the chimney techsnician(trained professional) is taking business from them. Look assholes, the reason we reline boiler flues is because you asses use big 9x13 or 13x13 flues to vent 160,000 btu's. What happens is the water vapors from the appliances deteriorate chimney from the inside. Ever hear of efflervesensce?? You stupid backyard trained idiots on here running your mouths about shit you have no idea about. You spread mortar and set bricks on top of each other, helluva living. Here in Illinois customers want trained professionals. Not the lazy $80 per hour union guy, no craigslist scumbag or shit eating mexican. Stop whining and got to CSIA and get trained assholes.

[FDNY]

Hi Kenny!

[Russian bear]

I guess you were not kidding Sapo.
My wife and I are very glad we decided to go with your estimate even though it was slightly higher than the rest
The house if finally starting to get rid of that sulfer smell and a cleaning crew will be coming over tomorrow to do what they have to do.

For everyone out there who needs any type of chimney work I wish you could hear his explaination for why these things happen and how he will go about fixing it.

He did tell us most everyone would want to undersize the liner to our 8" oil /4" Hot water heater.
He came in and had a horrible day removing the insides of the chimney but he got it done and I can't believe how neatly,for all that had to be removed from the chimney before the liner ever went in.

We will continue to tell our friends and family and even the members of our church about you.