Get matched with top chimney cap installers and replacers in Santa Barbara, CA

"We've had a problem with birds and a squirrel coming down our chimney. One chimney is in the kitchen for an indoor grill, and there is our fireplace in the den. We have rarely used either the grill or fireplace in the mid-century home we inherited from our parents. We decided to get the chimneys capped to prevent animal invasion. Luna's Chimney Sweep had very good reviews, so I called and was informed by Violet what the process is and that they offer a free estimate. I made an appointment and Pedro Luna and his assistant, Chris, arrived promptly on the appointed day and time. Mr. Luna explained their service and also gave us good information about the operation and mechanisms of fireplaces. He did the inspection and told us the problem areas that he found and gave us the option of how much work we would want to have done on the fireplaces. He said they could start work that day if we accept the estimated price, or make an appointment for them to come back another day. We decided to have the recommended repairs done that day, with cleaning and capping of both fireplaces. The work was completed in a little under three hours. Mr. Luna and Chris were thorough, efficient, and neat. He reviewed the work done with us and made sure we were satisfied with everything. They were careful to clean up afterward and the work areas were left spotless. We are pleased with the work done, the price seemed fair, and Mr. Luna was careful to explain everything and to make sure we understood the hows and whys of what he was recommending and doing. I would not hesitate to use his service again or give a referral to others."

"I received 5 quotes on my kitchen remodel and LA Expert Builders gave me unbeatable offer so it was an easy decision to go with them. Nir and his team showed up on time, were professional, quick, efficient and very honest. Nir was there for any help, available for a contact all the time and helped me to choose most suitable materials. He and his team finished this project in a timely manner and my new kitchen looks top notch!"

"I am reviewing Embers West's installation of a Mendota FV44 sealed combustion gas insert (combustion air comes from outside & fumes vent to the outside). The product has a remote with a thermostat & ability to control the flame height, circulating blower speed & a dimmable halogen light. There is electric ignition (no standing pilot flame) & a battery-pack to light the flame in case of a power outage. If you're in the market for a gas fireplace, look no further. Save your time and come here first. You'll be glad you did. We chose Embers West because they had the highest Yelp rating of the several local fireplace businesses (well-deserved - with over 3 dozen reviews). My wife & I had researched gas fireplace inserts online before calling EW & were partial to the Mendota brand. When we met with Francois Tiab (owner & chief technical person), I provided photos & measurements of our 1955 brick fireplace; he agreed that Mendota was our best choice. Francois impressed us enough that we saw no need to check out any other businesses (so I can't comment on his pricing versus others). He was personable, professional & extremely knowledgeable & we enjoyed working with him. Francois made it clear at the start that our project needed several visits from them but I did not ask for a schedule; the project took 3 months & cost a bit over $8k (actually $500 less than the quote- Serryn (office manager) emailed us to say Mendota was having a sale- we would not have known otherwise). If your project needs to be completed quickly - then you should discuss that with Francois up-front. A few times, I had to call to find out the status - Serryn got us an answer right away each time (also when I had tech questions). The installation encountered a snag & Francois quickly resolved it. This is all normal for custom work. The gas line & electrical connection were installed before EW started. Mario was the installer & he was great (friendly, punctual, took time to do things right, brought tarps to protect the carpet & wore protective booties over his shoes). He used a "sniffer" to check for gas leaks. Payments were easily handled online via their website. Their showroom had sample installations to help select finishes & the artificial logs. The finished job looks great & I'm very happy with the results. I definitely recommend Embers West."

"Shai and his team recently designed and developed our garage into an ADU. I could not be happier with their professionalism, the quality of the work and Karmas working style. Shai and his team made the entire experience from start to completion enjoyable. At the start of the project, Shai provided a detailed budget which was considerably less than other bids. They worked for three months and came in on-time and on-budget. The Karma team is honest, transparent and always willing to accommodate changes and additional requests where possible, which we are incredibly grateful. I HIGHLY recommend working with Karma. I feel blessed to have found these guys... 5 Stars!!!!!"

"Really courteous and friendly. Fixed the problem quickly and did a complete inspection of my fireplace along with reasonable rates. Would use again."

"He provided the name of the engineer he would use for the structural considerations and the draftsman for the submission of plans to the City of LA for all permit requirements. As soon as the permits were issued he began work immediately. I was on site for the entire project and was extremely well pleased with the workers used, from framers to drywaller, all were excellent.  He kept me informed of all details and progress of the job.  The city inspections went smoothly.  Adam also offered decorating suggestions and referrals for flooring.  I will certainly use Adam for any future projects. <br />"

"We where having a problem with our shower steamer and Erick came out and was able to figure out the problem when no one else could. Turned out we had a bad circuit breaker. He replaced the breaker for us. Next time we have a problem we are calling Erick first!"

"Apart from the actual work, one of the most important things to me in having people enter the home is trust, honesty and respect for the property. Brian is a boy scout who leaves things better than he found them when he arrived. He even filled two huge pot holes in the street in front of our house while working here. He is the only contractor I have ever felt comfortable with handing over the key to my house. I have two large dogs and he even retrieved one from the neighbor for me when I wasn't home and a different contractor doing separate work on the exterior of the house left the gate to my yard open allowing the dog to escape. He comes up with simple and creative solutions to things I am ready to tear apart to fix saving a lot of money. He even alerted me to the fact that the contractor who did my flooring (I found them not through him) was at fault for the pipe that burst after the flooring guys put a nail through it while installing baseboards. I wasn't aware of the standard building codes the flooring guys had violated and was able to be reimbursed over $9,000 with this information in hand, for the cost of repairing the bathroom it flooded below. Another of my BIGGEST complaints with other contractors is that they never show up when they say they will. In all of the work Brian has done over the years he or his guys have never simply failed to show up. They stick with the job and never leave to do other work if there are things that can be done to keep the project moving along."

"I had a wonderful experience with Avalin. As soon as we bought our 1916 craftsman we began getting quotes for a seismic retrofit. The house was not bolted and during the inspection we were told the concrete foundation wasn't in super shape. The bidding process was confusing. Alpha told us we needed to spend 60k to replace the whole foundation, Golden did a hasty bid and missed an important feature. Fred (owner of Avalin) came down somewhere in the middle in terms of what we needed and distinguished himself by his level of customer care. At the other companies the jobs are basically bid by sales people, so it is a huge plus to have the owner/engineer bid the job in the case of Avalin. We were so confused by the three vastly different bids that we hired our own independent structural engineer to come tell us what we needed. Lo and behold his advice matched Fred's most closely, so we hired Avalin. Our experience from there was as easy as could be. Fred got the job permitted, his workmen were professional, neat and courteous. During bidding it seemed like there was a brick masonry wall on the front side of the house meaning we couldn't retrofit that wall but could opt to replace (which we didn't based on the advice of the structural engineer). During the job it became apparent that the wall was actually in front of the foundation so that there was no brick foundation and we could actually do a total retrofit on all four sides of the foundation. Even though our quote was for 3 sides, Fred did the last quarter of the job without hesitation and without charging us a penny extra. After they were done everything on the outside of the house looked as it had before, ie there was no mess. The inspector passed the work with no issue. Compared to a lot of the bigger retrofit companies, Avalin is a little guy in this business. But that was exactly why we had such a good experience. Friends have had nightmares with the bigger companies that have dozens of crews and thus low quality control. With Fred, he has guys who have been with him for years and he as an owner/engineer oversees the work. I can't recommend him and his team highly enough."

"<strong>David took action when noticing repairs I needed and created my trust.</strong> <br /> David of A-1 Chimney came to my door and told me he was doing work in the area and noticed that my chimney needed repairs. I was told this when I had my chimney swept and the cap replaced years ago, and couldn't afford it at the time. I said I don't deal with people who come to my door because of unpleasant experiences, just go by friends' recommendations and Angie's List. When he said he's on Angie's List, I dashed to my computer to check him out. He had excellent reviews, so I decided to go with it. I am SO glad! <br /> <strong>Professional - Excellent at what he does - Fair and honest pricing</strong> <br /> We went outside and he pointed out what needed fixing and why. He explained very clearly what had to be done to make the repairs and how much each part would cost. He did the repairs right then; it was great not to have to schedule another time. When he swept the chimney, he thoroughly taped off the fireplace so there would be no soot in the house, totally cleaned out the fireplace, made sure there was no dirt left after cleaning up - and fixed the stuck damper without charging. Not only did he stick to his quoted prices, which I found quite reasonable, when I asked about replacing the cap because I thought it was large and unattractive, he said it was of good quality and I shouldn't change it. When he tried to re-cement the door at the base of the chimney for removing ashes and that didn't work because it would be more complex to repair, he told me what I could obtain to fix it another way. <br /> <strong>Efficient follow-up</strong> <br /> He said he'd be back in the area in a few days and would check the concrete work he'd done on top of the chimney to make sure it hadn't cracked, so he could do repairs if required. He did come by and it was still perfect. <br /> <strong>Not only is he thorough, courteous and professional, when I was ready to have him do more, he was honest rather than take advantage of my open wallet!</strong> <br /> <br /> <br />"