Chimney Check Professionals

As mentioned by 4 other reviewers, an inspection was done on my home for buyers and their report came back with a recommendation to tear down and rebuild the chimney at a cost of $ 20k-​$ 25k. Seems like this is their standard MO. A real, non-​biased inspection is turning up very little in repair/​cleaning cost. What a racket! If you are a seller and are ever presented with an inspection from these guys, GET YOUR OWN!

Chimney Check was hired by the buyer of my house to inspect my all of my fireplaces and chimneys. The inspector, John, issued a report saying my chimneys needed almost $ 30,000 in repairs to make them safe. He claimed there many design and installation problems which were not up to manufacturers specifications just like other reviewers have stated. It is hard to believe he would continue to make the same inaccurate claims even after being called out for doing so multiple times by other Unilocalers. All of the fireplaces are the original design and installation from when the house was built and have not been modified in any way. They were all inspected and approved by the city when the house passed final inspection and was issued the Certificate of Occupancy. They have all been used for many years without any problems. I contacted another inspection company who has a much higher 5 Star Unilocal rating. They reviewed the report and did anther inspection and said they chimneys only needed about $ 500 in minor repairs.
Bottom line is if you are a Buyer and want to jack the seller for $ 5,000 to $ 10,000 per chimney hire this guy. If, on the other hand you are a seller, get another opinion and save yourself BIG bucks.

As mentioned by another reviewer, these folks are not licensed by anyone.
We are in the process of selling our house and they were selected by the buyer.
The report had a number of major inaccuricies, supposedly tied to manufacturer’s requirements.
In this case, the manufacturer — who was also the builder and installer — was available to review the report and reject the «defects». In addition, we had archive photos and design documents of the actual build.
The inspector made a number fundamental mistakes in identifying the material used, and therefore tried to justify «necessary corrective work» that had no basis.
Nice long report, quickly produced, with lots of color photos — but major flaws in content.

John Le Baron is a consummate professional who gives every inspection the highest degree of skill and expertise. I deeply respect his knowledge of chimney systems and I trust him implicitly.

We thought they were very helpful in inspecting the chimneys on a property we were going to buy. Our inspector, John, was very thorough. He was there for several hours, climbed on the roof, and used a camera to take pictures down the length of the entire chimney. Afterwards, he issued a comprehensive twenty page report detailing issues with the chimneys, complete with photographic proof. He was quick to issue the report, was thorough in his report, and was friendly to deal with. Highly recommended!

I’m so happy I used Chimney Check. The inspection was great,
The inspector was very professional and easy to talk to and answered all my questions. I would definitely recommend them to everyone and we’ll be using them again. :)

These guys are horrible, the technician did not use a camera he looked up my chimneys with a flash light and condemned both, he told my home buyers that the chimneys were not built correct and need to be replaced and will cost around $ 25,000. Ive been using nth for the past 14 years with not even so much as a hint of a problem, I decided to get a second opinion from a highly recommended certified retired fire chief who trains technicians to perform the inspections, he also trains throughout several states, he looked at both my chimneys with a camera and said one could use a cleaning and they both should have updated spark arrestors, estimated about $ 1200.00 to clean and install spark arrestors, other than that he said they are in great shape, chimney check is a fraud and cost me the sale of my home as they scared off my buyers with their ridiculous $ 25K estimate to repair and condemned them both as non usable, what a joke.

You will want to watch out for these guys. They are unlicensed.
A Clay Aiken look-​a-​like said chimney was a wreck and needed 3−5k worth of repairs. (this is their own response to every house). These guys make so many mistakes, you can just ask for your money back every time. They also tag-​team each other with LaRocca Inspections and go on a error filled report binge with each other.
Clay Aiken stuck his camera up the chimney and said it’s all a big mess and that he could see daylight through a liner half way up. Really Clay? Let me see your videotape.
He shows the videotape and guess what? He said the broken part of the chimney where he could see daylight was right here and he paused the tape. Guess what Unilocalers… the part where he said it was cracked? get this… it WAS THE very TOP OF THE CHIMNEY where the screened cage sits! omfg you’ve GOT to be kidding me.
I KID YOU NOT UnilocalERS!
They immediately refunded the inspection fee because none of the information they provided was correct. Unbelievable.
COMPLETE CLOWNS. PERIOD.

Chimney Check is an AMAZING company! I am so grateful for their diligence and giving me an honest inspection. Their customer service is outstanding.