Irish Sweeps Chimney Ltd

Feb 2024

Very pleased with the service we received!We needed the cap replaced on the vent running through roof, from our gas wall heater.Joseph assessed the issue, quoted us a fair price, and returned the next morning to complete the job. He was friendly, professional, and a pleasure to work with. Irish Sweeps will be our go-to chimney company for any future issues.

Jan 2019

The work was done two years ago, but I'm still so happy with these guys that I want to review them here. Our longtime heating oil dealer told us that we needed to get the flue cleaned immediately due to insufficient draft. We contacted a local sweep with an excellent reputation. They inspected, and told us that the necessary work was beyond their capability because it would require cutting into the chimney from inside the house to get to the obstruction. They recommended we call Irish Sweeps, who they praised. Irish Sweeps is a small, family company, which has been around for decades. I was happy to see that they are members of the appropriate professional organizations and have an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. Irish Sweeps sent Brian to do the inspection. Brian is smart, very kind and patient, and knows his business. After inspecting everything, he explained that the best way to get into the boiler chimney was through the firebox of our main fireplace, because that could easily be restored to pristine condition, as opposed to cutting though our walls. While he was here, I mentioned that we had had some water infiltration from around an unused chimney, and that a contractor had said that it should be demolished and rebuilt. He had a look, and said that much of the chimney was pretty tight, but it did need to be repointed (replacing the mortar that had fallen away) and that there were obvious defects in the flashing. He proposed to repoint all three chimneys, rebuild the masonry "crowns" on them, and fix the flashing on the one that was leaking. They proposed a price that was totally-fair for high-quality work. On the appointed day, their crew arrived on time - four men in two trucks, led by Brian, and they immediately set to work. I appreciated that Brian made an effort to minimize traffic through the house. He also made a point to prepare the area inside the house with dropcloths all around, and asked first before moving anything. I realized how an experienced company can handle things with minimal involvement by me. I didn't have to point out anything to them in the basement about our boiler and oil-fired hot water heater. They found the cutoff switches for all of that on their own, turning it off before opening the flue and all back on and running as soon as it was safe to do so. They also found the necessary water spigots and electrical sockets outside. Brian and another man cleaned out our main fireplace, and then set to work opening a hole in that fireplace into the adjacent chimney, while the other two men went to work on the roof. On a very hot day, they worked tirelessly to wire-brush the bricks on the chimneys so they looked much nicer, and then repointed everywhere that needed it. Clearly this was necessary: as I was looking at them work, I happened to notice one of the men just pull a brick from one chimney by hand, because there was nothing holding it in place. Despite this, Brian assured me that the chimneys were solid, except for the necessary repointing. (He could have easily told me, as a roofing company did, that one chimney needed to be demolished and rebuilt: that little demonstration with the brick might have convinced me, so I appreciate Brian's honesty.) The chimneys look very nice now, particularly with the new crowns on each. Irish Sweeps spent a long time reworking the flashing on the leaking chimney, which solved that infiltration problem. On the furnace flue, Irish Sweeps removed two huge wet/dry vacuum cleaner bags of crud - probably 30 years of debris -- through the hole they cut in our fireplace, and then restored it so that you literally can't tell they ever cut into it. Our boiler flue now flows perfectly. In short, four guys spent two days of nonstop hard work at the house, were thoughtful, kind and professional, did an outstanding job, left the work areas spotless, didn't try to sell us anything that we didn't need, and charged a fair price. It doesn't get better than that. They are welcome in our home anytime.

Jul 2018

"We were new to the neighbourhood and never had a fireplace, so chimneys were not something we knew about. We asked our friends who to call and we're so glad they said "Call Don at Irish Sweeps!" Mike and Garrett were on time, clean, friendly and professional. They were able to explain what we needed in a way we understood. They did a full inspection of our chimney, swept and cleaned it and were even able to take some extra steps to assure that we would be well set for the coming Winter. The estimate and the price paid were a match, and the work was done very well, and in a timely manner. We will be calling Irish Sweeps for all our future chimney and fireplace needs and will recommend them to neighbours, friends and relatives too. Thanks guys!" ~ Chris T.