Friday, November 2, 2018: Chimney Progress

I received the proposal from Gary at Holy Smoke Chimney Services yesterday. He included his recommended replacement cap design. He said it is cast iron. He said he assumed the existing chimney is just open ended and that he could have the new cap prefabricated and get it installed with just one man-lift lift. If the top row of bricks is loose, he would either remove it or re-secure it.

The cost he quoted was very realistic and about the same as that quoted by Mirelli to just reinstall the old cap. Gary said he would use a man-lift for access and that he currently had a three backlog, but the weather might make the schedule change. I told him I might be out of town, but I thought we could coordinate successfully. I asked him for his T&C, insurance and warranty information. He had his insurance company send me a copy of his insurance certificate (general liability expires on November 19). With respect to my other questions, he responded:

Payment is due upon completion.

There is no guarantee because a storm can blow off a chimney cover at any time and the roof. However, we have installed over 2000 caps over 40 year period and have only lost three.

I told him I was expecting another bid this week but would be making a decision by early next week. If we move forward, I will check with Morgan to see if he plans to be in town while the installation is going on to oversee and if necessary, hand Gary the payment upon successful completion.