Jack Pixley Sweeps & Masonry

We purchased our home in November 2008, and at that time our home inspector noted a cracked chimney cap that should be replaced. We called JPS, who provided a quote over the phone, and was able to come out and complete the work as soon as we took possession of the home. The repair was fast, easy, and matched the estimate. We were pleased. Fast forward to today, and we are now selling our home. The buyer’s inspector noted the same issue: a cracked chimney cap that was causing water to leak into our boiler/​water heater chimney. But didn’t we have this fixed 7 years ago? As it turns out, both inspectors used the wrong language: we didn’t and don’t have a cracked chimney cap, we have a cracked chimney crown, which is the concrete ledge on which the metal cap sits. After speaking with another chimney repair professional, this mix-​up is common with home inspectors, which is a shame. However, I’m disappointed that when JPS came out to do the «repair» initially, nobody mentioned that the «repair» they completed was not necessary or complete. The crack in the masonry was obvious then, looking back. Both us and the inspector were using the wrong language, but I’m surprised and disappointed that when the Jack Pixley person was up there they didn’t take note or mention the cracked concrete. This led to another 7 years of leakage and damage that could have been prevented. Again, we used the wrong language as novice homeowners forwarding information from our inspector, but I would hope that a professional would have noticed the actual problem and explained and repaired it then, especially when it was in plain sight.

I just bought a new home and thought I would have this company come out and do a sweep. They put their camera up the chimney and found that I had some areas where the masonry had come off. I asked if they could just re-​mason it. They stated that they do not do that due to it not working out right on previous jobs. They needed upwards of 8,000.00 to insert a new steel liner. I told them I would think about it and get back to them. I called 4 different companies to see if just fixing the Masonry would take care of this. I called the first company and stated that I had been given a very high quote. They asked right away if it was Pixley. They said Pixley is the highest in town. They stated that if the ceramic liners were good that there was no reason to not fix the mason. The next 3 told me that fixing the masonry is all I needed. I had them all come out and they all confirmed the same thing. They all also said that my problem was so minor that I did not need to even fix it at this time. I as a precaution fixed it any for 1600.00. I’m not sure what to think. I have read similar reviews. I would recommend calling around and getting a few different quotes before using them.

Thank you Aaron (and Laura!) of Jack Pixley Chimney Sweep. I wish I could give more stars! I live in San Francisco but own a wonderful duplex in the heart of Uptown. This past summer, my new tenant asked if she could use the fireplace. No problem, but I need to get it cleaned and inspected first. I hired a fairly well known ‘competitor’ of Jack Pixley and I was told in July after the cleaning and inspection for $ 187.50 that all is great and your tenant is good to go… Most recently, tenant decided to have a fire and smoke started wafting into the first floor. Not a good sign! Keep in mind, she also bought a cord of wood… Long story short, Aaron with Pixley was out to the apartment today with his chimney camera and spotted quite a bunch of sticks and branches toward the top of the chimney when he ran camera up there. It is a mystery as to how the sticks/​nest got in there because there is metal mesh on the top of the chimney. Just the same, Aaron did a great job of snaking it out and the debris came right on down. He did a check of the draft and it was pulling upward just perfect! He cleaned up beautifully and off he went. I am just thrilled with this company and their fee of only $ 209. I now have peace of mind and my tenant is sooo happy. The ‘other’ chimney company did refund me after I made several calls to them in late November. And they should have because their inspection work/​service was substandard!

Aaron tackled the ivy covering our chimney and got most of it off, despite our very steep and high roof. Then he helped me bag the ivy for removal. He only charged for the time up on the roof. Above and beyond — thanks!!!

We hired Jack Pixley Sweeps to clean our wood burning stove. It was the first time we’d had it done. Kurt was professional and friendly and provided us valuable information on maintenance and upkeep. The work was well done and there was no mess or dust left behind when he was finished.

We were getting crazy, outrageous estimates from Jack Pixley Chimney Sweeps to replace the chimney liner and add a new Chimilator to the top of our chimney. We had this company clean our chimney last year and the cost was around $ 300 when I learned later from other companies that this should cost around $ 100. I tried to contat the company this year with multiple attempts for estimates and they were around $ 6,000 and the owner was too involved with the MN State Fair booth to return calls or transact core cash business.
We ended up using another company at ¹⁄₃^rd the amount quoted by Jack Pixley Chimney Sweeps.