Chimney’s Dun-Rite

WATCH OUT FOR Chimneys Dun-​Rite, Dun-​Rite Management LLC, Kenneth J Dunne of the above address in Chelmsford. He is a scammer and has a long history starting in the early 1990’s of unlicensed contracting, theft by check, 3^rd degree felony etc etc etc. Check him out in Broward County Florida arrests and the Florida Dept of Corrections. He has in fact spent many years in prison. He scammed me out of $ 1,000 and you will find approximately 10 small claims cases in Lowell District Court vs him. He does not ever show up and judgments go against him. If you seek a small claims judgment familiarize yourself with Mass Chapter 93A and seek triple damages.
Check with the Mass Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulations (OCABR) who oversees contractors… he is NOT a registered contractor and check with the Mass office of Professional licensure… he is NOT a licensed plumber, NOT a licensed electrician and NOT a licensed gas fitter. All a chimney sweep is allowed to do by law is to CLEAN/​SWEEP the chimney… any other work including a cap or masonry work requires a HIC or home improvement contractor registration.
If you have any doubts check with the state or contact Detective Walsh at the Chelmsford MA PD.
You’ve been warned!

I contracted with Kenny Dunne, doing business as Chimney’s Dun-​Rite, to have a chimney cap replaced. He gave me a verbal estimate of $ 200 and I told him to proceed.

Upon viewing the chimney, he stated that the chimney crown was in need of repair. I agreed to the additional $ 575 and subsequently paid him the contracted price $ 775. I have had masonry work done and know it can be time consuming and expensive; therefore, I did not consider his price to be exorbitant.
However, part way through the job he informed me that he needed to install an extension to the clay flue liner and that would cost an additional $ 200. I told him that should have been part of the original estimate. After considerable discussion he finally agreed and took about 10 minutes to install the $ 10 part.
In less than 2 hours, with parts costing less than $ 150, he said the job was done and he left. By my calculation he made over $ 300/​hour (after parts) which is excessive for contractor services.
That said, I wouldn’t have had a problem if he had actually completed the work. Although he showed me phone pictures of a repaired crown, I later found on closer inspection (binoculars) that he failed to complete repair on at least the side of the chimney away from the roof.
Because the cracked and missing mortar leaves the chimney subject to damage, I contacted Kenny to arrange for him to complete the repair. Many weeks and a multitude of phone calls later, the work is still not done even though he stated at one point that it would only take about 30 minutes. My many calls have yielded nothing more than excuses and unfulfilled promises to both call back and to complete the work by a given date. He even hung up a couple of times. I don’t expect him to ever complete the work and I wouldn’t trust his work even if he came back.
In summary, I believe Kenny Dunne wanted to increase his profit by adding charges for work that either was and/​or should have been in his estimate and our contracted price. Furthermore, his hourly rate was excessive, he lied about having done the work, he failed to honor commitments to complete the work, and he was rude. All of which amounts to highly unprofessional conduct!
I am an informed consumer having been responsible for major facilities for 20 years at a renowned university. I got taken. I would never hire him to do another job for me and would certainly NOT recommend him to anyone.
Al B