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Welcome to the Neighborhood!
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| We would like to be among the first to congratulate you on the purchase of
your new home and welcome
you into the neighborhood! I imagine this might be a hectic time, getting settled,
however, we believe, this is an important part of your
home that we service. Most people know very little about
their chimney. Those who seem to be knowledgeable, i.e., gas and oil servicemen, that
neighbor or relative that knows everything and has fixed it himself! C'mon, we all know
someone like that!! These people, while only having the best of intentions, unfortunately,
may only further confuse or inadvertently mislead you, the general public! What am I
referring to?
PROPERLY AND SAFELY MAINTAINING YOUR
CHIMNEY! |
PRACTICING..."SAFE
CHIMNEY!"
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| Did you know, the Chimney Safety Institute Of America, (CSIA), recommends all chimneys, (heating - oil/gas, fireplace, wood/coal
stove), be cleaned and inspected yearly? The National Fire
Protection Association, (NFPA), (they write the codes and standards for everything,
, which Nassau and Suffolk
Counties adopt as our codes!), recommends every chimney be inspected at least once yearly
and cleaned if necessary! Do
you know about chimney caps? Chimney caps generally, depending on the cap, serve three
purposes. They act as a spark arrester, (they help knock down burning embers so they fall
back down the chimney and not on the roof and start a fire). Secondly, they serve as a
rain shield. Lastly, they keep animals out, (animal guard). Did you know spark
arresters
are supposed to be installed on all chimneys?...that’s the code! Are you aware that
nearly 1/3 of all house fires are related to poorly maintained, damaged, or misused, (and
I’m sure, poorly constructed too!), chimneys?!
Carbon Monoxide, we’re hearing so much
about it now...people being overcome in their homes and or families dying in their
sleep! GUESS WHAT? That’s being caused, predominantly, by deteriorated and or
improperly sized chimney flues, newer/more efficient heating equipment, well insulated
homes, and or any combination of the three! Do you have the appropriate number of smoke or
carbon monoxide detectors in your home? What about fire extinguishers or fire escape
ladders for second floor bedrooms? Do you know the best spots to install or place these
devices? Better yet, have you developed a fire escape
plan? If you have kids, I’m sure they are more
aware of it than most of us are, especially come October, during Fire- Prevention Week in
schools! |
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ABOUT
OUR COMPANY
"DIETERS HAGEN," (dee-ters - hay-gen), has a long legacy that dates back to
1950, (recently found literature dates back to 1939!). To our knowledge, "DIETERS
HAGEN," is the oldest chimney service in Nassau and Suffolk County! Our tradition
continues due to our policy of honestly, integrity, and reliability! Over 75% of our
business is generated by repeat customers, referrals to their friends and family, utility
servicemen / companies, and other related and unrelated professions! Our servicemen are
mechanics NOT SALESMEN!!! THERE ARE NO COMMISSIONS, SCARE TACTICS, OR THE "HARD
SELL!" We believe...IF something is in need of repair, all we have to do
is SHOW YOU! NO...YOU don’t have to go on the roof...we use a SHARP® VIEWCAM™
to capture our inspection on video! You get to see FOR YOURSELF, the condition of your
chimney!! No more having to trust anyone! Next, we educate you! We provide you with trade
articles, CSIA Safety - Bulletins, Newspaper and Magazine clippings, etc.., (samples
enclosed). Now, you don’t have to believe what we tell you, you get the facts from
the same places we do! Thirdly, we recommend, in writing, what we think should be done,
and the rest is up to you! No annoying follow-up phone calls asking if you’ve
made a decision yet! As you can see, we are not a "fly-by-night," company!
We’re just as sick of them as you are, even more so. So much so, we’ve helped
several of our customers prepare legal actions in court and provided expert witness
testimony. We were successful in winning judgments for the full amount of the lawsuit, in
ALL the cases we’ve been involved with!!!!
WE ALSO HAVE A PORTFOLIO OF
PICTURES FROM JOBS WE’VE DONE. SO YOU NOT ONLY SEE WHAT KIND OF WORKMANSHIP
WE’RE FAMOUS FOR BUT, YOU’LL ACTUALLY SEE HOW, IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE
DONE! |
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DO
YOU THINK YOU HAD A PROPER CHIMNEY INSPECTION PRIOR TO BUYING YOUR HOME? |
| Did you have your home
inspected? If so, did the engineer or inspector go on the
roof to inspect the chimney? Did they look down inside the
chimney with a light to inspect the liner? Did they perform a video safety inspection of the chimney or roof so you could view the condition? Did they
go to the boiler/furnace and remove the smoke pipes to view the base of the chimney and check for debris or deterioration?
Are you CONFIDENT you've
received a thorough chimney/roof top inspection? You're probably not too sure anymore! The truth is, 98% of
engineers/inspectors NEVER go to the rooftop and inspect the chimney! Moreover, it's been
our experience, most don't even know what to look for, besides the obvious...is the
chimney leaning, is the brickwork deteriorated, etc. Nor do they have a great
working knowledge of NFPA 211, (the standards for chimneys, vents and fireplaces), so how
can they correctly evaluate a chimneys condition?
Want to know? They visually look up at the
chimney from the ground to detect the obvious. Now look in your report...engineers
are famous for this, go to the chimney section, does it say anything like...chimney
APPEARS to be in good/fair condition, HOWEVER, the flue passage COULD be blocked, causing
toxic fumes to back up into the home. The chimney should be thoroughly inspected by a
qualified contractor/professional. Recently, we've heard, through one of our
customers, their engineer didn't even go that far! They didn't inspect it AT ALL!
...not to mention... he never informed them of this either!!! They were
under the assumption... we had an engineer, who's looking out for our best
interest, EVERYTHING'S BEEN CHECKED OUT!! WRONG!! When they finally
got settled, they read the report and saw it said...the chimney has not been inspected
and, ...a qualified contractor should be hired to inspect it. They were
displeased, to say the least! They couldn't understand why he failed to inform
them of this when he was hired or at least while he was inspecting the home.
Surely, they would have done so! So we were hired to do the inspection. Does
any of this appear in your report, or sound familiar? OH..., did I fail to
mention?,...this usually appears in fine print and or parenthesis! If none of this
appears, one of two things are possible. Either they performed a thorough
inspection, (if this is the case, I WANT THEIR NAME AND NUMBER! )... Or... they
didn't cover their tail! If that's the case, and there is something wrong, they're LIABLE!
We've dealt with this before as well. We made a duplicate video tape of our
inspection for that customer and left detailed documentation, as well as, repairing the
chimney. Our customer submitted this to her attorney, (who recommended this person!
), and the settlement offer came rolling in! Needless to say, her attorney NO
LONGER recommends this person! Another little tidbit, did you know? ...the type, age
or efficiency of your heating system can GREATLY effect your chimneys performance,
safe operation, structural integrity and longevity! So
even if someone properly inspects your chimney and finds nothing wrong at that time,
without having this knowledge, they will not be able to properly educate or inform you of
the proper steps to take to AVOID PROBLEMS AND ADDED EXPENSES IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE!
IF ANYTHING mentioned herein, concerns you or reminds you, how important PRACTICING...SAFE
CHIMNEY, is, please contact us. You can call us with
questions, (THERE'S NEVER A CHARGE FOR THIS! ), or to set up a an appointment,... or...
you can request a copy of our FREE LITERATURE PAK! Remember, the inspection is FREE,
and, your dealing with PROFESSIONALS! You have NO OBLIGATION TO US!
Your only obligation is to yourself, to become informed, educated and to safeguard
your new home and your family!
I wish to thank you in advance for your time,
and hope I've enlightened you in some way! Once again, THANKS and SWEEPS LUCK!!
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