9 Tips for Choosing Chimney Inspection and Repair Services
As much as people enjoy their fireplaces, there is no denying that maintaining them can be a serious chore. That is why so many rely on professional chimney inspection and repair services to take care of their fireplaces. In fact, there is more than $518 million worth of demand for fireplace services in the United States each year.
On the other hand, the size of this market suggests that you may have a lot of chimney and fireplace services near you to choose from. Since you are not an expert in the fireplace industry, how are you supposed to know which service is the right choice for your home fireplace needs?
In this article, we will review several steps you can take to help you assess your chimney and fireplace service options. Read on to learn all about the top tips that can help you find the right chimney inspection and repair services for your unique situation!
1. Know What Kind of Chimney Maintenance You Want
If you have a lot of fireplace services to assess, it is easy to spend hours comparing their pros and cons without ever figuring out which one is the right choice for you.
However, it is often inefficient to jump straight to learning about the pros and cons of some of the options near you. Instead, start your selection process by sitting down and taking some time to reflect. The clearer the idea you have of the kind of chimney services you need, the easier it will be to recognize the right company for you when you see it.
The right company for one situation may not be the right choice for another situation. For example, you might only need some minor chimney maintenance. In such cases, you might not want to hire the most prestigious and expensive fireplace company in your city.
Spend a few minutes writing down exactly what services you want for your chimney and fireplace. Then, you can add some of the qualities you hope to find in your chosen chimney service company.
You might also want to set a budget around this time. Having a firm budget number is one of the best ways to help you speed through your selection process faster.
With a firm budget number already set, the first thing you should check for in companies near you is whether or not they are in your price range. If they are not, you can save time by only focusing on the ones that are.
It can also be helpful to think about any related services you might be interested in. If you are thinking of having a new fireplace installed at some point, it might be helpful to work with a business with a lot of fireplace installation experience.
2. Consider Many Chimney Services
Once you have a crystal clear idea of what kind of help you want with maintaining your chimney, you can start to compile a list of services you can hire.
Keep in mind that the more services you consider, the better the chance you will include the right choice for you on your list of candidates.
If you only look at one or two options, you might get lucky and happen to choose a great company. However, this strategy runs the risk that you will never even consider the business in your area that would provide you with the best service.
To create a list of chimney service candidates, consider using a search engine. This is often a good way to find every option available in your area. However, it does come with a downside.
None of the options you compile this way will be recommended based on your unique situation. So how can you create the best list of chimney service candidates possible?
3. Ask Friends for Chimney Care Recommendations
The great thing about looking for a chimney service is that many of the people you know have gone through a similar process before. Your neighbors, friends, and family members might be able to provide you with helpful advice. Consider the people near you who might be able to recommend their own fireplace business for your needs.
You can even consider speaking with people who are more distant. Although they may not be able to give you the number of a specific company, they might be able to tell you about how they managed to choose their own fireplace services in the past.
When you do ask someone for advice, make sure to tell them all about your preferences. After all, it might turn out that the right company for one of your neighbors is not the right choice for your specific needs.
If you do receive some fireplace service recommendations from people you know, you might want to put those candidates on the top of your list.
4. Look For Experienced Chimney Sweep Options
Now that you have a list of fireplace service options to consider, start by checking how much experience each of them has. The longer a business has been helping people near you with their fireplaces, the better the chance they will know what they are doing when they help you.
At the same time, remember to distinguish between different kinds of experience.
A company website might mention both fireplace installation and repair services. But its actual experience might be mostly with installation. How are you supposed to know if a business has a lot of experience with the specific services you need?
Once you know how long each company has been around, it can help to call your top candidates up and ask about what kind of work they do the most.
5. Check Out Chimney Care Reviews Online
Another great way to assess your chimney service candidates is by looking at ratings online. If it turns out that some of the candidates on your list have low ratings, it is up to you to determine whether or not you think it is worth the time to investigate them. It might be faster for you to focus only on the candidates whose overall ratings are above a certain level you designate.
This can be a great strategy if your list is long and you are in a rush to make a choice.
You can also save time by reading through chimney service reviews. Consider reading about three reviews for each of your remaining candidates. Then, take note of which of them seem like the top choice for your situation.
After that, you can go back through your top choices and read several more reviews for each of them. Remember not just to look for how happy customer reviews seem. Look for reviews that mention the quality of the specific services you want to receive.
6. Find the Fastest Fireplace Services
You might think that you have found the right company for you, only to discover that it will not be available for weeks. Make sure to ask your top candidates when they would be able to take care of your chimney if you were to hire them. Once you have asked several businesses this question, you will get a sense of how fast you might be able to get the help you want.
7. Find Chimney Services With Great Customer Service
When you reach out to different chimney services, make sure to remember how friendly they were on the phone. Although you may want quality chimney service above all else, it is also worth finding a company that provides great customer service. If you find it difficult to get in touch with a company at all, it might not be the right choice for your needs.
8. Hire Chimney Services With Insurance
Make sure to find chimney services that have invested in insurance. That way, if anything goes wrong, you will not have to pay for any expensive mistakes yourself.
Insurance is a good sign that a chimney service is doing its due diligence. Companies that neglect to get insurance may be playing fast and loose in other ways as well.
9. Compare Prices Before Hiring Chimney Services
It can be worth spending a little bit extra to make sure that you receive the best chimney services possible. However, you might find that a few different businesses you have considered seem like they would be able to do great work for you.
If you find yourself in this situation, it can make sense for you to go with whichever of your top options charges the least for their services.
Find the Best Chimney Inspection and Repair Services
You will live with the results of your choice for chimney inspection and repair services for months or years to come. If you are unlucky, you might need to hire a second chimney service if the first option you choose doesn't get the job done right. Make sure to put in the necessary time to find the best chimney inspection and repair services for your needs.
To learn more about how you can find the best chimney and fireplace services for your needs, contact us here at any time!