Tuesday, October 30, 2018: Chimney Update; Note to John

Before I left on my European river cruise, I had talked with a referral I had received from the chimney guy (Mirelli), Doug. Doug told me that he would come by and email me an estimate to replace the chimney cap. He said he would consult with Mirelli and get my contact information from him. I sent a note to Mirelli and was told that they would work with Doug and contact him directly if they did not hear anything from him in a day or so.

Well...six weeks later, upon my return, I still had not received anything. I thought perhaps it was lost in my junk email, but before I called Doug again, I asked Morgan if his friend Charlie was still interested in the job. Morgan had suggested Charlie as an option before I left town, but I had already hired Mirelli (who then bailed out on me).

Morgan said he was sure Charlie was interested. That was last week and he would have Charlie call me. This morning I asked Morgan if Charlie was going to call. He said he has been trying to contact Charlie without success and was at the point of concluding Charlie was not interested and I should move on to someone else.

So, this morning I called Doug again. His estimate had not been lost in my email junk mail. He apologized that my project had "fallen through the crack", but he would try to come out and take a look at the job. I gave him the location information and description of the work. He said he was very busy and that, while he would try to drop by, the work might not be worth his time or effort. Nice!!

I sent an email to Mirelli telling them that Doug was not very encouraging and asked if they had another referral. Mirelli was very apologetic and suggested contacting Owen Bricklaying and Tuckpointing. I called Owen. They said they were very busy and they could not commit to any work until sometime next year. I asked if they had any suggestions. They recommended Mirelli (thanks a lot!) and Massey Tuckpointing. I called Massey and they said they don't do that sort of work but suggested I call Holy Smoke Chimney Service and talk to Gary. I called Gary and he assured me he could do the work and would come by later this week to look at the job. I sent another email to Mirelli with an update. They also suggested I contact Porter Tuckpointing. I called them and they said they would have someone come by either today or later this week.

So, in addition to possibly Doug, I have two more companies coming out to look at the job.

I sent an email to John (Landscaping) today asking about the status of the plans he suggested three months ago. He was going to replace the dead beech and replace the boxwoods along the west fence with more yews. He said he had another client who would take the boxwoods which had not died yet.