Excel Chimney & Fireplace Service

I got four quotes for tuckpointing on my chimney, all from licensed and bonded masonry companies with good reviews. Three of the quotes ranged from $ 1,400-$ 1,600. Excel’s quote was $ 3,575. In other words, they exceeded the next-​highest quote by over $ 2,000; or to put it another way, their cost was 230% of market rate.
I’m giving 2 stars instead of 1 because the estimator showed up on time and was friendly; and more importantly, when I responded to the quote by saying that it was so high as to be actually insulting, the owner responded and assured me that any insult was not intentional. He also assured me that he bid this job at his usual rate. But I must say that given how absurdly far outside of market rate this is, I have a very hard time believing that.
Whether because I am a woman, or because I look young for my age, or for some other reason, I really can’t say. But I do feel obligated to warn others when I experience something like this. Homeowners beware: if you’re getting a project bid from Excel, make sure you get several other quotes as well.

Called twice in two weeks and left messages. Still no response. Not very helpful.

Dick from Excel Chimney is great to work with. I called him for a last-​minute chimney consultation on a home my clients were preparing to purchase and he was able to work within our tight time constraints and come out the next morning. He was very professional and communicated promptly which I really appreciated.

I have to agree with the reviewer below who received the extremely high bid on the chimney work. I supplied this firm with both the chimney cap and the ceramic insert, and the chimney (small) required some repointing and the insert seated and cemented in with a crown. The work took no more than 40 minutes, and I paid $ 500! To top it off, I went up on the roof a month or so later and rubbed my hand along the crown, and the cement was flaking off. Dick sent his foreman out to re-​seal the chimney cap, but all in all, the job was sub par, and no better than a DIY. There was no re-​pointing, just filling in the cracks and missing mortar, without cleaning the joints out and such. I would not recommend them, nor use them again.

I called Dick at Excel and he was out within a day to give me a bid to rebuild my chimney. We scheduled the work and his workers were out exactly when they said they would be there! They did a wonderful job, cleaned up daily and now I have a chimney that will be good for years to come. I highly recommend Excel. It was a pleasure to work with such a professional company.

Dick runs a professional operation. They gave the bid and did the work in a timely manner. We thought the price was reasonable but didn’t shop around. Most of all, after working on the outside masonary on our house for three days, it looked great and there was no mess. They were so courteous to cover things in plastic, more our outside furniture out of the way, etc. Very happy with our experience and will use them again!

Dick and his crew responded to our request quickly and efficiently. Plus each one was clear and gracious in answering our questions. The finished products are well-​crafted.

Dick’s crew did a very good job rebuilding our chimney to cure leakage problems that had plagued us for years. They were very good about clean up and took care of our landscapes. The crew was responsive to questions I had and explained what they were doing.

Dick responded very quickly to my email about my deteriorating chimney, came out, gave me an estimate and had it fixed in no time. His workers were really nice – they even paid attention to my deaf dog to make her happy – and they were neat. Excel Chimney & Fireplace Service was recommended to me by my neighbor and I will recommend him to my clients – or anyone who needs chimney work.