Chicagoland Fireplace & Chimney Restoration

Stay as far away from this company if you can - they will try to fleece you for some wild sums of money if given the opportunity

I called to have two gas fireplaces inspected just to make sure the top of the chimney wasn't blocked, not too much old buildup, etc. The main goal of my call though was to actually get the main fireplace working and measure/install for a log set.

The guy who came here accomplished neither of those two things and then told me I needed just under $20k in repairs to "get up to code." This is my first time owning a home so I'm fortunate I had others to run this by, and a recommendation for a local company to come give a second opinion. The other company's second opinion said I needed to spend roughly $100 to fix a tile and he felt so bad for how this company try to con me, he didn't even charge, because there was almost nothing wrong. He also got the fireplace working

For the useless, possibly bordering on fraudulent(?) inspection Chicagoland fireplace and restoration charged me almost $600. Run don't walk to another company

I had contacted Chicago Fireplace due to water was trickling down my fireplace.
Rey (Reynaldo) came out, from the minute I met Rey I felt comfortable. Rey
was honest and cared about his work which is what I look for in regards to
a first impression. Rey took his time, the issue did not show itself at first
when Rey conducted the water test, it took quite some time but Rey kept
at it and finally the problem did show itself. Rey then provided a quote
and resolved the issue. I never have left a comment concerning any
company but I felt compelled to do so because I was so impressed with
Rey. You just don't see what I saw in Rey. Rey in a complete professional.
Rey will not give up until the problem is identified and resolved and Rey ensures
you this problem with be resolved and the work will be done well.

All of the above is true.... Chicago Fireplace is fortunate to have a technician
with Rey's high standards. Very impressive! Excellent work! A job well done!

Kim D.
Westchester,IL

We had this company replace our chimney liner 6 years ago. Ever since then, we've experienced major smoke problems. It forced us to not even have fires the last couple of years. We finally just today had another company come out to do a thorough inspection (not just cleaning like we did the previous years) and their review was not good. Not only was the liner apparently far too small, but he also described the job as being only half done. There were a lot of things that just weren't done. And worst of all, apparently something with the smoke chamber wasn't done to code (a code that has been in place for over 20 years) risking safety. I think it was something like it wasn't sealed with refractory mortar.

Long story short, this company did a complete botched job that will cost us thousands to fix with a competent company. Avoid.

Called to set up an appointment with Chicago Fireplace and Chimney Restoration, waited 10 days to get someone to come out to look at our broken built-in fireplace. Initial tech took a look at it but indicated they had an electrician specialist who should come out to see the job. Called the office to schedule and he came the following week.

Thank goodness- Johnny their next tech was super nice and very educated about our system and within a short time I had a roaring fireplace again! It had been broken for over 18 years and I finally wanted to see it work again. Johnny thank you so much! We love it! We will definitely refer him to others!

Really great experience for both a cleaning and also a gas log install. Would highly recommend!

"Serviced Wrong Chimney, Owner Became Arrogant & Defensive."

We had contracted Chicagoland Fireplace to add a crown & cap to our back chimney. Their reviews seemed genuine and we wanted the job done right. The cost quote from their man Nick was rather high considering we had this type of work done in Michigan a few years before for about a 1/4 of the price. But Nick explained that due to the location in the back of the house (which is slanted) a special scaffolding would have to be erected and cement would need to be poured at top inside a form to create the crown. A complex situation indeed. To this we agreed. We paid half of the total amount due ($1,089.50) and waited. Nobody contacted us for over two weeks so we called to touch base. We were told the mason worked on his own schedule and would arrive when he was available, usually several (4-6) weeks out.

The repair day came suddenly while we were out of town and the crew in error built a scaffold around the wrong chimney in front of the house and serviced it instead. We discovered this error upon returning home later that day and called the company immediately (left a message).

When the crew returned the next day to remove the scaffolding we pointed out the mistake and asked if they got our message from their office (they did not). After more calls back and forth they said they'd return the next day (on a Sunday now) to do the proper job as originally estimated. But instead of building the scaffolding in back as spelled out in the work order they merely used the still-standing front house scaffolding from the wrong chimney and WALKED OVER THE LENGTH OF THE ROOF with a pre-cast (not poured) crown and bucket of cement. It took them less than one hour to complete this work to the correct chimney, at a price of over $2,000.

Our roofer later noted a few tiles were indeed damaged in the area they used as a pathway. Having just purchased the house we have have a recent inspection report noting the roof was in good condition previous to Chicagoland's work.

Back to the phone we went, calling Chicagoland Fireplace with more messages of concern they did not return. Ultimately our perseverance in calling them paid off and we finally got through to a man named Vince, who instead of listening to our concerns kept arrogantly talking over us and mentioning we got a free "bonus" chimney crown on the front of the house (which replaced a perfectly good crown that was already there according to a previous inspection by another company and Nick's OWN initial assessment) and that we should feel GRATEFUL for this.

Now, it is always difficult to discuss, reason or otherwise "talk" to someone whose sole objective is seemingly to deflect a serious issue at hand and not let the other party have their say, much like a playground spat with a grade school bully that never resolves according to Robert's Rules of Order. Nonetheless when we tried to point out our concerns and why we were upset (the unauthorized walking over the length of the roof, no back scaffolding as agreed, no poured crown, no communication, etc.) Vince kept talking over us, getting louder and louder in tone and attitude...at which point I could only interject "would you like me to bring this up in a small claims court?" Vince jocularly replied "Go ahead...you'll lose". His exact words.

You can't win an argument on the playground...

So let's cut to the final resolution: no court was convened, Vince came down in price (slightly) and agreed to not darken our doorstep ever again, leaving the cheaper back chimney crown in place. No apologies were offered, little professionalism was displayed (apart from the professional "looking" truck they drove). And the very easy conclusion we can draw from this debacle is not, with any moral conscience, to ever recommend Chicagoland Fireplace and Chimney Restoration to anyone. There are dozens of better qualified, more courteous contractors out there in Chicagoland that certainly would welcome a chance to prove their craftsmanship and communication skills.

Caveat emptor.

We have been really disappointed with our experience with Chicagoland Fireplace and Chimney Restoration. I reached out to them to inspect our wood burning fireplace and help us transition it into a gas fireplace. Our new condo already had the gas line run to the fireplace, but we needed a log set and burner, and wanted to confirm that everything was in working order. Scheduling the inspection appointment was easy, but everything went downhill from there.

The tech arrived on time and took a very quick look inside the fireplace. He answered all of our questions about our fireplace. He offered to look at the top of the chimney up on the roof, but another owner in our building had just had it looked at.

The tech then showed us a couple of log sets, gave us a flyer with photos, and said to reach out to the office with the set we wanted and to ask about their current stock. After our appointment he emailed a very basic estimate. So that evening we looked up the log sets from their recommended brand and sent an email to the office with the one we liked, asking for more detailed pricing and availability.

Two days passed and we didn't hear anything, so I called. Jenny wrote down my information and said she'd email the manager with my questions. She also told me it typically takes 3-6 weeks for the logs to come in, and another week or so for the install. This was longer than we'd hoped, so I wanted to get this process rolling.

Two more days passed, and I still hadn't heard from anyone. I called again and Jenny said she would take my information again and have the manager call me when he got in. Five more days passed and I called again. This was my last attempt. Jenny gave me the manager's cell phone number. I called him, and his voicemail was full. I was getting really frustrated. Vince (the manager) finally called me back and said that our chosen set was discontinued, and that our original tech should have called us back to tell us that. He also said that we could only choose from a limited amount of log sets called the "builders series" with the base price we were quoted, and that all other log sets would be double the price. Nowhere on our estimate did it mention anything about the "builders series."

The entire purpose for trying to get this project taken care of in early September was to beat the cold weather rush, and now we've lost two weeks in the process. Between the lack of communication, their disorganization, and their pricing inconsistencies, we've decided to move on. I really wish we'd had a better experience.

So we decided to install a new fireplace in an addition that I currently built on my home. Having had a great experience last time with Chicagoland Fireplace I hired them to do the job. One of their sales reps came out to measure the location I wanted to put the gas fireplace. Although it was not the same technician I had out last time I was very pleased with the fellow who came out! (Nick) Nick ran me through all of the different options I had for a gas fireplace application. There were hundreds of fire places to choose from and he got me to narrow it down to one that fit my budget.

A few weeks later after making the final decision I contacted their office to get the job scheduled. I was informed from the beginning that it was Fireplace busy season and The process would take a little bit longer than if I were to plan this during summer months! (My fault for snoozing but great advice for someone who is looking for work done fast! CALL IN SUMMER! ) I was still pleased with the upfront honesty of the company.

To make a long story short we got the job done and I am very happy with the fireplace we chose. It is very efficient it heats up the room well, sometimes even too much. Very pleased on how the whole procedure went. I recommend this company to anybody. Great to work with and very friendly people. Also The installer was extremely neat and a perfectionist!

Unfortunately I can no longer suggest this company .Was quoted 199.00 for cleaning and scheduled the cleaning .A week later after the cleaning I receive a coupon via ValuePak for the same service @139.00 cleaning price. Looking on Groupon, I see the same cleaning advertised by other companies for $75.00.This does not reflect on the scheduling staff or the tech`s

We recently bought our home that had a wood burning fireplace with a gas starter. We had Chicagoland Fireplace and Chimney come out to give us a tuneup and make sure the fireplace was safe to use and also provide us with a quote to turn our fireplace into just a gas fireplace. They could have not made the process easier!! Our service tech was very timely and answered all of our questions and made us feel comfortable moving forward with some beautiful gas logs and we couldn't be happier. Thank you so much!! I would definitely recommend this company to any friend or family member.