October 4, 2025 • 47 mins
Full show from the Donovan & Jorgenson Heating & Cooling Studio: Saturday, October 4th, 2025
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, welcome to the Creative Construction Wisconsin Home improvement show
(00:03):
as always on Fox Sports ninet twenty and your iHeart
Radio app coming live from the Donovan and Jorgensen Heating
and COOLID Studios. Doesn't feel like it today. You're gonna
have to turn that furnace on sometime, and when you do,
you want to make sure it kicks in correctly. Any
issues or to make sure there aren't any isses. Aren't
(00:23):
any issues? Go to Donovan Jorgenson dot com, the largest
employee owned HVAC company in the state of Wisconsin. I
Mike be given alongside my co host this week. He
is Ray Hoffman, representing Creative Construction Wisconsin. Raymond, what's going on?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
How you doing? I'm looking forward to a great show.
This is actually one that's very near and dear to
my heart being a fireman, okay, and all these chimneys
fires I've been to and stuff. Yeah, so these guys
are going to be able to help to prevent that
for well.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
The amount of work that they're walking out of the
just the studio with we have a polish Pipeoine jeff Orlowsky,
our producer today sitting then we're all Hey, can you
come over and can you do this? Can you do that?
And Jake's like call me, I'll take care of you.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Yeah, we all have his cards in front of our
our face.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Right now. Well, we are in studio our special guest,
Howard and Jake rawl from Royal Chimney. Royal Chimney dot
Com is where you're gonna want to go, and right
now we're going to give you a couple of phone
numbers or give you a phone number. And Kim is
there taking live appointments right now if you want to
book these guys. And I found out and first question
(01:30):
I had for these guys was a year ago. They
came out and and our gas fireplace and our condo
and Pelwaukee not working, and Royal Chimney Service came out
and fixed it and got my wife all happy again.
And then Ray's like, hey, I think I need you guys.
Then Jeff is like, hey, can I ask you a
couple of questions? I have two fireplaces and I need
some help. So if nothing else, boys, you're getting some
(01:51):
work here in studio. Howard, how have you been? I
haven't seen you in a bit.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
I've been alive and kicking and a on the rooftops. Yeah,
you're still up there. Huh, still up there. That's how
I get my exercise. I don't join a health club
or anything. I get plenty of exercise during the day.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
So if people want to work out and work, they
can come to Roylativity Service. It's all in one right,
you get paid and you get a good moll. Absolutely,
you're always looking for a few good people. That's still
you know, because we have ten certified sweeps on staff,
but we're always looking for more. So if you like
to be outside and you're not afraid of heights and
(02:32):
like physical activity, give me a call. Hey, when we
talk about Kim being in the office right now taking appointments,
do people ask you about the two thousand dollars tax
credit on certified biofuel inserts. Is that something that is
well known out there or is that something we need
to make sure we highlight and promote.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
It is something that we need to promote out there,
it's buried in the weeds and big energy bills and
things like that. The most important thing to remember is
that disappears December thirty first of this this year. So
now is the time if you're looking to take advantage
of that two thousand dollars tax credit. Absolutely, you want
(03:13):
to give us a call.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Do they need to have it, Do they need to
have the appointment before the end of the year, or
have it done?
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Have the work got to be invoiced by December thirty.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Got to be invoiced. Yes, And let's talk really quickly again.
It's a two thousand dollars tax credit that is going
away at the end of December, and it's on certified
biofuel inserts.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Correct, that's correct. That's wood burning.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
And okay, wood burning and eighty percent efficient or better.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Correct, And that's what the government's trying to promote. So
contrary to popular belief, Ol Bernie, burning wood is that bad? Hey,
the government is getting behind this and they're saying please
do this, Yeah, do this. It's a good thing. These
are EPA certified stoves by replace inserts and by all
(04:01):
means upgrade because what you're using right now is old
technology and a dirty or burn.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Hey, Jake, how you doing. It's good to see, good
good to bed, Thank you again for your service. Got
a couple of bush in studio of us today when
when when I was asking you the work that Terry
and I had done last year that you guys came
our fireplace was it didn't work. And I can tell
you that my wife has her routine every morning and
(04:29):
she's starting at like this week with turns the fireplace on,
and she she gets up in the morning and gets
yourself ready and and gets in her kN James version
Bible and reads her Bible and has a cup of
coffee before she goes into her office and works. And
I can tell you that the ten days she was
without her fireplace last winter, she was different. Oh yeah,
(04:50):
she was. She's so used to that routine. Probably made
your life real fun. I'll tell you about that during
the break because if she happened to be listening, I'm
not because you gotta be nice to be today my
birthday to day. Oh's got to be very nice to
me today. But tomorrow she can stop. But I asked you, listen,
(05:10):
if we had this fixed last year, and we want
to make sure that this year we don't have that hiccup,
And you said, yeah, you probably want to call us
when when you have a gas fireplace that you use
once twice sometimes three times a day once again to
little cooler to have the maintenance side of it, to
have you guys come out and just make sure you're
(05:32):
ready to go. It's probably a smart mode.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
Yeah, there's a lot of electronics, thermal couples, thermal piles,
pilot assemblies, igniters, things like that that can just corrode
over time. There's always going to be some type of
condensation in there. It's kind of like calling donovand Jorgenson.
Sure you know you're doing that preventative maintenance. So do
you know the Jake? They come up and we can
use that with this as well. And I came up
(05:56):
with this for them, but they they they find small
issues before they come to meet your problems. And you
want to save yourself some money in the long run.
Have you guys come out and people say, well, my
fireplace is working great? Right, it's not a Howard said
during the break before it went on there. He said,
you understand your fireplace is going to work great until
(06:17):
Christmas morning?
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Correct? And then you know we're not coming out of
Christmas morning? Maybe Yeah, I look, I would I've got
kim cell member, so I'll call her and get you
guys out there. But I don't have Kim cell member.
But I can get it. One of you guys can
give it to me. But that's that's what we're trying
to avoid. To look, you want to make sure that
you find out that there's a small issue that you
(06:39):
guys can fix, yes, rather than major problems like we
had before.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
Yes, a lot of it is preventative maintenance. Just like
you have your wood burning fireplace swept out on an
annual basis, things like that. It's the same scenario where
well you want this. It's like not taking your car
and for an oil change. That's that's how quick it
can just back up on you and all of a sudden, Well,
what would have been a couple hundred dollars service call
(07:04):
now turned into fourteen hundred dollars because it hasn't gone
checked for so long, right.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
And I just it just makes so much sense to me.
So trust me, I'm calling the office on Monday and
going to have you come out because I want my
wife to be able to We.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
Want you to n We want you to have that
piece of mind.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
You're a good man. You're like a marriage counselor you
are like a marriage I know how fireplaces act within
communities and things like that, and how important they are
to people. So if one person.
Speaker 4 (07:36):
Really relies on that fireplace and the other one, well
they could live without it for a little while, it
could cause some turmoil.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
It really is her, that's that is her deal. Ray,
what's going on with your fireplace that you need them
to come out?
Speaker 2 (07:50):
I'm not sure. I think it's just a but we're
going to have to.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Take the glass off the light edge. Yeah, it's not
the safest thing I've ever heard. Jake knows what I'm
talking about. Talk called to some kind of sealed unit
or something. I have no clue. I'm a fireman.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I put out fires, I don't normally start them, so
I don't know how to fix it.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
I'm surprised and have me come out look at I.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Will call you anything. It's your birthday. I'm not going
to bother you on your birthday. I would what a
birthday gift for me to come out and fish. Jake,
what are you doing later today? Because yeah, you know what,
you would have to be my work WiFi. I split
my own wood today for getting ready for my burn season.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
There you go, you know, On that same note, Mike,
a little bit of the science behind it.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Yes, Gas fireplaces.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
We're all familiar back in high school, at least when
I went to high school chemistry class, Bunsen burners, and
if you had the orange flame going and all of
that suck coming up, you know, a teacher was on
you to get it to blue flame, blue flame, blue plane,
And it's just the opposite with gas fireplaces. Nobody wants
(08:59):
to look at them little blue flame and high efficiency.
They want the dancing harm Beyonce of the orange flame.
So it's a dirty or burn, so you get more
carbon build up on the electronic components that are in there.
Keep in mind also that for every cubic foot of
gas that you're burning, you're producing three cubic feet of steam.
(09:19):
That's a lot of moisture laden condensity that happens in
place havoc with the electronics on these units. And on
that same note, electronics, a lot of people they know,
maybe not, you got to replace the batteries in these
(09:40):
remote controls, and if you're not doing it correctly and
you're accidentally hitting the wrong buttons because you got to
flipped over kind of let your TV remote, it'll put
it into lockout mode. And then all of a sudden
you can't get it going. Did you ever get your
TV locked up? Or you're like, I I got to
call the cable company. I don't know what happened. I
just put batteries in and we get those kind of
(10:01):
calls all the time. There's also batteries in the unit itself.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Hey Howard, how often should people chimney be cleaned? And
when's the best time to do that?
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Best time is right now. Why do I say that,
Because as the nights get colder, which they will over
the next couple of weeks, everybody's gonna call all at
the same time. Even though we have ten certified sweeps
to service the Metro Milwaukee area five county area, everybody's
(10:33):
gonna want it done yesterday. So now is the time
to call, because if we do find something that needs
attention now, that's going to be a follow up visit,
and so you want to get in there on the
schedule early and get that done.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Do you the gas inserts and logs need annual service
as well.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
Yes, yep, just like the gas fireplace inserts. You have
the same thing as far as safety pilots that go
on there, and if the safety pilots are getting clouded
up and sitted up. It's the signal to the gas
supply line. Hey, we do have a pilot here, send gas.
(11:16):
If it's not sensing that it is going to shut
that vlove down and say don't send gas. Yeah, don't
send gas. We don't have pilot going on here.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Guys, when you listen to this show, if you were thinking, hey,
look i've got you know, I've got another month or
two before you even need to worry about it, call
now and get this looked at so that you don't
have to wait, because if you if you wait another
six weeks, it might be four or five days before
you guys be able to get out and see them right.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Yeah, it's not unusual during the busy season October, November
and halfway into December, it's not unusual to be running
a two two and a half week back log, even
with ten sweeps out there.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Yeah, so look, guys, this is the time to do it.
And that's why we've got these guys in study today
to remind you. If you're going to fire up your fireplace,
you remember last you know, last winter, when it was
getting to be spring and you thought, well, my fireplace's
not working. I'll worry about it next time. Worry about it,
you know in the fall. Well, now here it is,
(12:19):
so have these guys come out? And again I love
the fact that that whenever these guys come in. Kim,
Sorry about that, Kim. If you're listening, you got to
be in the office to take any calls and set
up any appointments. Let me give you that number. It's
four one four seven seven one two two eight two
seven seven one two two eight two. And uh, make
(12:42):
sure that you tell Kim that you heard here and
she'll get you on the schedule for next week. Uh.
Four one four seven seven one two two eight two. Hey,
what how long does it normally take? If if I
can't Jake, let me go to you. How long does
it normally take to clean somebody's chimney? And what do
they need to Is it a full day? Is it
half day? Is it depending on the amount of work
(13:03):
that once you get there? But is there an average
and how much time it takes?
Speaker 4 (13:07):
Yeah, an average would typically be about an hour to
an hour and a half. That includes us coming in
the house. We lay down tarps and runners all the
way up to the fireplace. We sweep everything from where
you start the fire all the way to the top
of the chimney flu system. Then we have internal video
scanners that we will send inside the chimney to make
sure there's no cracks, defects, dislodged pipes, anything like that
(13:31):
that can be a safety hazard or risk. We're gonna
check the basement. A lot of chimneys share the furnace
and water heater going up through the same chimney chase,
so we're making sure those are venting properly. We don't
work on the appliances down there, but we are venting specialists,
so we're able to make sure that you know, there's
no risk of carbon dioxide poisoning, carbon monoxide poisoning, things
(13:55):
like that. And then if it's safe to do so,
we will get on the roof to an exterior check
for potential water leaks or cracking masonry or damage siding,
anything like that, and that typically takes about an I
would say about an hour to an hour and a half,
depending on if you had a one story or a
three story home, and how dirty it is. If we
(14:16):
haven't been out there in you know, eight years, it
might take a little bit longer to get all the
soot out of this chimney.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Hey, if somebody says, what is the average cost? Is
that very depending on how much work there is or
what needs to be done. If they just want their chimney,
just have a chimney sweep, come out and clean it
is you're an average cost on that?
Speaker 4 (14:38):
Yeah, right now, our fall rate is three forty nine,
which includes everything that I just talked about. There is
a check discount which would bring it down to three
thirty nine. And that is the full service. And if
you do need any repairs, we'll be able to provide
an estimate repair quote for you right away and we
can go ahead and get you up and running. All
(14:59):
of our repairs are down in house by us, so
we don't subcontract any of this work. It's all done
by Royal Chimney our by our boys over ear Man.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Three thirty nine is a really reasonable price, I think
to to to give yourself peace of mind that this
thing is going to work. And you're looking at your
saying I deserve a raise, I I well, again, I
get present of whatever race I can get for you.
But you got to talk to the guy that you're
right on that on that one. But three thirty nine
(15:29):
to have that peace of mind that not only do
I feel like this thing is going to work now
for the winner, to just to make sure that I
don't have that Christmas morning nightmare.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
That's what we're really doing out there, is we're providing
the peace of mind service that you know you're not
at the gambling table run wondering the next time I
strike this match is something bad gonna happen, or the
video scan inspections everything like that. That's really the service
we're providing is that you know your family can sleep
sleep safe that night and you've got a clean health
(16:01):
on that fireplace and chimney system.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Yeah, Howard, you you know that's a really good rate
for a guy like me, and I think anybody listening
to make sure that that we are good to go
on this thing.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
Yes, an important thing to remember and we run into
this all the time, have since the beginning of time,
almost for forty five years, has been doing this. And
people price shopping. You've got to be very very careful nowadays.
Did there are companies traveling from out of state? That's
(16:34):
how I was going there next, Howard, And you know
the problem with that, And here's the moo of them,
low price, get in and then up sell the heck
out of them. You know, once you're in there, don't
come back until you got a three thousand dollars ticket.
And that's not our game. No, we're out there to
(16:54):
provide peace and safety. By the way, this is fire
Prevention Week. You know there's no better time top mind awareness,
not only your smoke alarms, but preventive maintenance for the chimneys. Kreosote,
we talk about creosot. That's really what we're doing is
removing the creosote inside of that chimney. What is creosote?
(17:15):
That's the flammable substance looks like pulverized charcoal that lines
the inside of your chimney. And when that kindles and
it starts a chimney fire. There's a lot of chimney
fires that happened twenty three thousand annually.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Might happen unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
And the problem with that is not only you know,
are you tying up the fire departments doing something that
you know they may have something more significant they need
to be running out to. This is something that is preventable.
It's within your enhance, but you got to call and
make that appointment.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
As Jake said, look, it's like getting your oil change
in your car. If you if you go twenty five
thousand miles thirty thousand miles without getting your oil change,
then you're surprised that your engine it goes like it
doesn't make any sense to me. This is and that's
a perfect analogy. I think Jake that look, get it done.
That the three forty nine that you guys charge to
(18:11):
have that peace of mind is I think is really
reasonable when people go, look there are companies that are
willing to do this for ninety nine dollars. Trust me,
you're going to reason there is a reason. And we've
had this conversation, you and I on this show for
years of these companies that come in from other states
(18:32):
and they set up and they put out some print
ads or some radio ads saying hey, we're here and
we'll do this for ninety nine bucks. And then you
could you call Royal Chimney and they like, oh what
three forty nine And you're like, well, I'm gonna go
with the ninety nine dollars. Trust me when you say
that sales guy's not leaving your house until he's got
a three thousand dollars order. Those are the phone calls
that I get or the people that I meet that
(18:54):
go you do that home of Provtual. Let me tell
you what happened this company and they all had Iowa plates,
but I didn't think anything of it, and I couldn't
get them out of my house, and they ended up
charging this three thousand dollars for a ninety nine dollars thing.
And I think, Howard that that's what people have to understand.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
Yeah, points, what're very well taken, especially in your coupon
flyers that you get. Watch on that bottom left hand
corner where that coupon originated from. If it's originating from
a mega company from out of state that's sending people,
(19:33):
We've seen them all the way from Illinois, Tennessee, New Jersey.
I mean they are really regional. They're kind of like
the storm chasers that you got to be wary of.
What's the big problem? You know, most people think, well,
I'll have the you know, intestinal fortitude where I'll just
(19:53):
tell them, no, what's the big deal? Because when you
try and call that a company, God forbid that you
have a hiccup or something. They're cost crickets they're gone,
they're gone. Call and if you want to know Royal
Chimney Service.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Look if they're really they got a great reputation here.
But for thirty three years, these guys have been cleaning
the chimneys at the White House. And it doesn't matter
left right, who's ever in the White House. These are
the guys going in to clean it. And trust me,
they wouldn't keep getting hired year after year to be
the leaders of that team. How many chimneys in the
(20:31):
White House? Thirty five?
Speaker 3 (20:33):
Wood burning fireplaces in the People's House do they use any?
They do depending on the administration. The last administration wasn't
unusual for them to have four or five fires all
going at the same time on a daily basis.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Really, so one guy's job was to just go and
make sure the fireplaces were.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
Exactly they you know, they call the usher's office and say, hey,
like a you know, so it's not like important people
are actually lighting the fires. They just you know, they's
just phone call away and say, hey, come in to
light this fire, police place.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Get it fired, get it fired up. How many is it?
Once a year, once every other year. How often do
you go into the White House.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
That's once a year, once once a year that happens,
and they get it that this is important. That is
not someplace where you want to trigger a chimney fire
and have the media and fire trucks and people trying
to get in there and passing security by that time,
you know, and it has happened.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
A long time ago where for the.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Presidents at Meg in the nineteen thirties had a chimney
fire going on and it was the bucket Brigade as
far as you know, literally for the president all the
way down buckets of water trying to put put this out.
So they're very much aware of maintaining those fireplaces and
making sure that doesn't happen.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
So you guys, don't don't get with any of these
that you're gonna see. They're coming here in the next
couple of weeks. You're gonna hear them, you're gonna see
them on TV and see him in print where it's hey,
we'll clean your chimney for ninety nine dollars, do yourself
a favor. I do not get caught doing that. And
if this is something that you think that you probably
(22:19):
need to do, call Kim today and she will set
you up for next week? Can they get get in
next week? Do you think, Jake?
Speaker 4 (22:27):
Next week, well, I think we're a little booked up.
But the following week we definitely have openings, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
And that will very quickly turn into a two and
a half week back loss.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
Very temperature drops. We're still in that warm phase where
everybody's still all barbecuing right now.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
And I'm looking. I always look ahead of time because
I want to know what the sideline reporting is going
to be like the following week. Last night was hot,
it was warm out there. Yeah, next week's going to
be much cooler, and the following week looks way cooler.
You can give Kim a call right now four one
four seven seven one two two eight two seven seven
one two two a two, or go to Royal Chimney
(23:02):
dot com. Take a look at their website. You got
a lot of answers any of the questions that you have,
and certainly these guys are willing and Kim can answer
a lot of questions for you and get you on
their calendar. Let's get you a break. Other side of
the break. Ray Hoffman, representing Creative Construction, Wisconsin, who is
my co host today, got a lot of questions when
it comes to uh, the chimneys, don't Hey, you're a firefighter,
(23:25):
don't be taking the glass off and lighting that thing.
Have j come out.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
I didn't say it was safe. No, that's why I
may have Jake come out and fix this thing.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
There you go. And he did not call me to
come fix it. Now.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
I just did it to test out the fireplace to
see if it was gonna if it still worked and
if it was an igniter. And I think it's yeah.
They're starting right up.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Jake and I will be out there next week. We'll
figure out what the problem is. This is the the
Creative Construction Wisconsin home improvement show. I'm Fox Sports nine
twenty and your iHeartRadio app. Welcome back to the Creative
Construction Wiscon. It's a home improvement show on Fox Sports
nine twenty in your iHeartRadio app. It's always coming live
(24:05):
from the Donovan and Jorgensen Heating and Coolian Studios. I
Mike McGivern alongside Ray Hoffman. He is my co host.
Is week representing the fine people at Creative Construction of Wisconsin.
Very fine people, and our special guests in studio, Howard
and Jake Rowl from Royal Chimney Services. Go to Royal
chimney dot com. A couple of text messages I got
(24:28):
during the break guys uh, friend Mike Carrie from Waterford,
what type of wood is the best wood to use
in my fireplace?
Speaker 3 (24:37):
That's very good question around southeastern Wisconsin your firewood chops.
We have for years recommended Wisconsin firewood because it's kiln
dried wood. So what you want to do is you
want to make sure that you're getting dry wood something.
And what we mean by dry it's been chopped and
(24:58):
it's been split, and it's and sitting for one year
before using it. Because you know, when you look at
it this way, if you're trying to burn wood that's
just been chopped down, it's going to be a very
smoky fire. That's where all the crease, so it's contained
in the smoke of the fire. It would be the
equivalent of having wood in your fireplace. And now let's
(25:22):
try and just throw a bucket of water on there
and see what happens. Well, you're going to get a
lot of smoke in a very dirty burn. You're not
helping the environment, and neighbors probably hate you, and so
mixed hardwoods is what you're going to find that that's available,
and the main thing is to make sure that it's
something that's well seasoned. We's got some firewood, they have
(25:43):
kiln dried wood.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
So that's where you should. And if you're driving and
you see firewood for sale on the side of the
road and I see that quite a bit, do you
ask them that or buy? Call? I'll tell you fieryware.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
An easy way that took because I can tell you
what that that uh, that person is going to tell you, Oh, yeah, yeah,
it's been sitting for a while. Well once a while,
you know, pick up that wood. Something that's been seasoned
compared to something that's just been freshly cut. It is
a world of difference. You're looking at three times the
(26:21):
weight of that wood. It's going to be like, wow,
is this petrified? No, that's how much moister is in there,
and that's that's not been sitting long enough. You can
check the ends of the wood too. If it's weather check,
meaning that you have cracks in the in the lugs.
That's also a good indicator that it's been sitting and
drying in season.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
A couple of years ago, we had you in and
there was a shortage on goodwood to burn in the fireplace.
Do you have any idea this year if it's going
to be a lot, If it's going to be a shortage,
we're gonna be just fine.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Right now they have woody, everybody has wood. But it
is going to go because everybody has this hot weather
pattern that we're struggling through for a fault to finally
get here, and then all of a sudden, it is
going to be flying out of the yards. So get
your wood now, even though it's eighty five degrees going
(27:14):
to me today. Put it on your top of mind awareness.
I got to call the woodman and get my firewood
this year.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
And before you do that, I again, I cannot recommend enough.
And I wish I would have had them come out
a year ago to check this fireplace because we bought
this condo and have no idea if it had been cleaned,
if it would be We just kept turning on and
it worked and we're happy. And when it didn't work
anymore is when we had to. We were in the
(27:42):
middle of the winter. We had to wait a bit
because these guys are really busy. Then I would give
him a call right now. In fact, Kim sent me
a text that next time we're on, why don't you
have these two guys sit at the office and take
these phone calls and outcoming. I think that's a great
She's not coming in, you know, Kim doesn't want to
come in, but you can give her a call. Not now,
(28:02):
give her a call, have these guys come out. You
might have to wait, you know, a week or so,
but do it now so that you can feel very
confident that when it's time to get your fireplace going,
like on a daily basis, that it's going to be
just fine. You can call him today like this morning
to get on their calendar at four one four seven
seven one two two eight two seven seven one twenty
(28:25):
two eighty two, or go to Royal Chimney dot com. Hey, Jacob,
question for you that I got what uh what type
of glass should people use for the doors? What type
of doors should you use for the fireplace opening?
Speaker 4 (28:41):
There are two different types of glass you got your
your depends if you're with gas or like a wood stove.
So the manufacturer is going to have a recommendation as
far as what's the heat rating for this type of glass.
So it's best to just call. I don't want to
(29:01):
start listing off all the different types of glasses and
things like that, because I could mislead somebody and say, oh,
that's that's fine. It's best for either you to send
me the information on that type of fireplace. Let's let's
say you're grass your glass does crack or we have
seen them blow out because it was either the wrong
(29:22):
type of glass or they're using the fireplace improperly. So
it's best to just give me a call first instead
of just kind of saying, well, you know, go with
this burg gas and this spur would It can really
vary sometimes depending on what type of fireplace you have,
so I don't want to give anybody the wrong type
of information.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
You know, It's interesting Jake, when when Terry and I
had you guys come out, the fireplace we have in
that condo is older, and it was like, look, we
don't even know if this is made like and so
your guys did all the background, but all the research
found a company in Wisconsin that that still had the
parts that you guys needed. You got you guys ordered
(30:06):
the parts, got the part, did all of that and
kept me informed. It kept Terry informed, here's where we're
at in this process. They're sending us what we need.
We're going to be able to get you guys fixed,
and you don't have to redo the whole thing, but
your company, your guys did all that background and research
to make sure that they got the right parts.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
To Yes, That's really what I like about my guys
is they take a lot of pride in their work.
So I see it too often with some of the
other companies out there. You're talking about the ninety nine
dollars companies and everything. Where they come in, they don't
want to put in the legwork to try and help
you solve your issue. They just want to upsell you. Well,
(30:46):
it's twenty years old, you might as well replace it anyway.
So and there's your big ticket dollar item, you know
what I mean. So that's one thing that I really
like about our guys working out there, is they will
go the extra mileth they'll call distributors, they'll they'll put
in the legwork to try and find that more's.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
Simple solution for you, Howard, And if I were you,
I'd be so proud of your company. What they what
your guys could have done, is they could have said, look,
this thing is really old. They're not mad it's not
made anymore, and we have to redo the whole thing.
And that's what I was kind of expecting when they said, look,
we don't know if this is even made. Let's take
(31:25):
a little look at it. And I thought eighty five
percent of the companies would wait forty eight hours and
call me and say, yeah, you can't find it. We're
gonna have to redo the whole thing, because that would
have been a bigger ticket for your company. And your
guys didn't do that, Howard. They didn't. They didn't know
me from Adam. They were like, look, here's let us
take a look at it. Let us figure this out.
(31:45):
And I said to my wife, Babe, this thing's so old,
we're gonna have to have a whole new one done.
And she said, well, let's just she loves when you're
on the air. By the way. She's like, let's just
wait to see what Howard says. And I'm like, all right,
but this is what's coming, just so you know. And
when you're I called back and said, look, we found it,
and he was so excited about it, and he goes,
didn't think I could but I found it. They're going
(32:06):
to ship it out. Once we get the parts, we'll
set up the appointment and come get this thing going.
And two days later got the call and I was
so impressed with it, And you got to be really
proud of this am.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
Our guys are trained from the get go. The customer
is paramount. Meet their needs, give them options. Your job
outer is to explain what to expect from those options
if they're available.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Hey, Ray, you know you're kind of shaking your head
when Howard's talking. He's been in this market for a
long time. How long have you been doing that for?
Forty five years? Forty five years? So he goes to church,
goes to the grocery store, does the coach, does all
the stuff he does in this community, and so he
(32:52):
has to make sure that he's taking her guys like
us absolutely because you know, this is how he's built
this reputation. And it didn't shock me, but it surprised
me two days later when their guys called and said,
we found it. They got to ship them to us.
So it's going to be a little bit Do you
want us to like have him overnight it? And I go, yeah,
well that's gonna be a little I go, I don't care.
(33:13):
I gotta get my wife happy. So that's what that's
what happened. That was my experience, and that's the same
experience you're gonna have when they come out next week.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
That's great customer service. That's the way it's supposed to be.
I do have a question for you guys, though. So
I have this friend who will remain nameless, Dave David.
He I was talking to him the other day and
he said he's been taking care of his own chimney.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
He does.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
He just got done tuck pointing he had a leak
through it that's going down his sidewalk, and he went
out and bought a the brush from Fleet Farm and
said he's going to do it himself. Me, being an
ex fireman, I cringed pretty bad. I think people need
to understand why they shouldn't do that, because that's pretty
(33:59):
dangerous in my opinion.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
Well, that's an excellent point that that's bring up ray. Uh.
First of all, what you're dealing with is creosote. Creosote
is a known carcinogen. First of all, if that that
doesn't get your attention, if you're trying to clean this.
That creosote ends up somewhere down in the firebox. If
(34:20):
you're doing it correctly and your shop fac is not
going to cut it. You are going to redo that
living room and light shades of gray and dust all
over and how you're going to know that your wife
will be hitting you with a broom and say stop stop,
it's all over the place. What did you do?
Speaker 1 (34:38):
Why do bring up our wives again?
Speaker 2 (34:40):
That is my wife knows I'm not touching that thing.
Speaker 3 (34:43):
But his wife will hit hit in with broom too.
But the but the biggest thing. And I compare it
to the dentist visit, well, I can, you know, brush
my own teeth and everything? And back in the day
remember Dantine, Yeah, prushure your teeth and everything by chewing
them denteen, that was their commercial. But you're not trained
(35:08):
to know any defects. You know, do you have a
chimney scan camera? Can you see voids and defects? It's
the inspection process is what you're paying a lot for
only the exterior, but that interior of the chimney, because
if you have voids in there, you'res compromising your draft
(35:28):
and you're scratching your head and wondering why is this
thing smoking? Why is it smoking? Well, after you clean
the kreosode out, any voids that were in there or
missing mortar joints, guess what was filling that the kreosote.
Now you remove that kreosode and you've got wide open
joints in there, and that's why, you know, it's kind
(35:49):
of the soda straw analogy, you know, let's you take that.
Speaker 4 (35:52):
I actually had one person. This was a customer many
many years ago, so I've I won't even remember their
name or anything like that. I went out there and
it was just filthy. I'm talking five gallon buckets worth
of creosote that I was removing from this chimney. And
(36:13):
then I video scanned it afterwards, and I found these
cracks and missing mortar inside the chimney system and things
like that. The homeowner was actually a little upset with
me that I removed the koreosope because now there were
voids in the chimney system. So there are certain situations
(36:33):
out there where it's like I get it, but I
don't know if I'm going to get through to this
person or not.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
Jake, before we get to a break So last night
I was on the sidelines in Brookfield for the Brookfield
Least brook Central game and a guy came up to me,
a guy I know, and said, Hey, who do you
have on the home improvement show? And I told him
and he said, hey, I got a question. And I go,
I'm not going to remember, just text it to me.
So here was his question. He's had two estimates to
repair his chimney. Once said he needs to be rebuilt
(37:02):
and the other company said you just need tuck pointing.
Speaker 4 (37:06):
There's a big difference.
Speaker 1 (37:07):
And he said, look, it's a huge difference price wise.
Oh yes, And I don't know which one is truthful
and which one. And I said, we'll call Howard and
called Jake and have them come out, because they'll be
honest with you.
Speaker 4 (37:18):
Both options are acceptable, and they both should be made
available to any homeowner. That's the way we position ourselves.
Speaker 1 (37:28):
Now. If I come up there and it's leaning like
a doctor Sue's chimney, right, I might not give you
that tech pointing option because yeah, it's going to fall
over as soon as we touch it. But Tuck, we
always go by an option one, Option two, Option three,
possibly weather ceilings, things like that, but there's nothing wrong
as long as it fits the application and it's what
(37:52):
the homeowner is looking for. You know, a lot of
times I'm sitting down with them, I'm talking to them
asking him what are you looking for? Are you looking
for the five year plan or the I want the
I'm never ever ever gonna have to worry about again.
It planned right, You're gonna get what you pay for,
and then we are completely honest. You know, we take
photographs up on top of the chimney for you so
(38:13):
we can sit down and show you, hey, this is
exactly the condition that your chimney is in on the outside.
There are a couple different options, so there's nothing wrong
with rebuild or tuck point. If somebody comes across and
just says this is your only option, either one or
two things is happening. Either they're just tunnel visioned and
(38:34):
they want to push their agenda on you, or it
really is in that bad of shape where it's you know,
if they're saying rebuild is the only option, you can
probably see that from the ground, and as a homeowner,
you're probably expecting that to be the response as well,
because you're gonna see bricks balling all over the roof
and everything like that. So I mean both are acceptable.
(38:56):
It's just we need to sit.
Speaker 4 (38:58):
Down and talk to you and figure out what what
you want best for your home.
Speaker 1 (39:02):
You know, Jake. For the amount of money that you
guys charge to come out for some people, that's a dinner,
Like you go out and have dinner, and it's it's
not like this sexy purchase, right, It's not like, Hey,
I'm gonna have this and it's gonna make the you know,
my house look better or it's gonna But if this
(39:22):
thing is so it's so important. And I every time
I have you guys in, I realize the importance more
and more because just for the comfort of it and
just for the peace of mind. And look, guys, if
if you know you're going to turn the fireplace on,
and whether it's gas or it's wood burning, you want
to make sure it's ready to go and make sure
(39:43):
it's safe for you and your family. Give Kim a call.
She's at the office and they're setting up an appointments
maybe next week, probably the following week. But she can
take good care of you. Answer any questions that you have,
and if they're questions she can't answer, She'll have Jake
give you a call back. Howard, give you a call back,
but give Kim a call at four one four seven
seven one two two eight two seven seven one two
(40:06):
two A two and Kim will take great care of you.
Or go to their website Royal Chimney dot com. You
get to a break out. Other side of the break
will continue talking with Howard and Jake Rawl from Royal
Chimney Services. This is the Creative Construction, Wisconsin home improvement
show on Fox Sports nine twenty and Your iHeart Radio app.
(40:27):
Welcome back to the Creative Construction with scottson home improvement
show on Fox Sports nine twenty in your iHeartRadio app.
Coming live from the Dotavan and Jorgensen Heating and Cooling Studios.
I'm Mike mcgiver alongside Ray Hoffman. He is sitting in
for Bingo. Emmon's big day for Bingo today. Yes, daughter's
getting married, daughter's getting married. Yeah, so I guess he
(40:47):
doesn't want to come here when he's going to when
his daughter's getting married. I don't think Dev would want
him here because she's not coming with him, So.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
She might be okay with that. Actually she might be okay.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
I agree. In studio, these are the guys from Royal
Tich Chimney Services, owner Howard Rawl and Sweet supervisor Jake
Rawl are in. Hey, Howard, all the rain that we got,
you know, there are people that are still digging out
of some of that stuff. Did that affect Did that
affect the stuff that you guys do at all?
Speaker 2 (41:16):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (41:17):
Yes, we got a flurry of calls, even calls coming
today yet referencing the August torrential rains that we had
in water leaks, and we specialize in water leaks.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
You know.
Speaker 3 (41:29):
All the customer is going to notice is I got standing.
Something's going on. It's right next to the chimney there.
I can see my ceilings starting to bubble and fall apart,
and we go out there and take a look at it.
Be careful if you don't call Royal Chimney, that's first mistake.
But be careful if somebody pulls up with a trailer
(41:51):
on the back of that service vehicle, they are looking
for the immediate sale. They got orders from headquarters. Hey,
don't come back until you sell something. You know, it
should be a minimum thirty five hundred dollars ticket or
more whatever you got in that trailer, sell it to
the customer and you just got stung.
Speaker 1 (42:09):
Yeah, you think it's.
Speaker 3 (42:10):
A quick fix and all this guy's going to take
care of everything that I had one stop and I
don't have to worry about it. That really never happens.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
That way, Howard do you know? And when we tell
people and when that flood happened, we said, look, companies
are going to come from out of state and they're
going to try to Yeah, I'll fix your basement. They're
standing in a hotel and they're coming out just trying
to make as much money as they can because of
the issues that we had. And I think it's so
important that when we talked about in the first segment
(42:41):
that we talk about it now, because you guys get
calls a lot from all of a sudden companies that go, yeah,
well we'll take care of it, pay us half down,
we'll come back with and you don't hear from him again.
And you guys get those calls going, hey, somebody in
your business, hold on, don't that's not in our business.
Those are guys from outs state is coming to make
a buck on you. When a company like yours been
(43:03):
around for as long as you have, and you know
you're you're going to Washington, d C. To take care
of the White House. You're not going anywhere. You guys
have been in Wawatosa for a long time. Yeah, we
want this customer a customer for life. We always say
that we want to be that good and over the
top as far as customer service. Other companies, that's not
(43:26):
what their agenda is. Their agenda is come back with
the money, whatever it takes at that point. And you've
talked in the past about how important it is to
use a certified chimney sweep, certified chimney sweep that you
guys believe in education for your guys to make sure
they're certified, And there are companies that come out and
say that's not important. Let me tell you what's important
(43:49):
to utilize a certified chimney sweep. I think said something
obviously about your company, but to make sure that that
you're doing this correct.
Speaker 3 (43:57):
Yes, it not only that might, but it says a
lot about that individual that's out servicing your genuity. They've
made this a commitment. This is not just a summertime gig,
you know, to sell something. None of our people are salespeople.
They're all service technicians, many of them have over twenty
years with the company. They're out there analyzing and presenting
(44:21):
the options to you so that you can make an
informed decision that meets your needs.
Speaker 1 (44:27):
Hey, Howard, a couple of years ago you were on
and we talked about the powder logs, and they're they
You start seeing it a zillion places now where they
advertise that they can eliminate a cruso? Do those really work?
And you go to a big box store and buy
a few of those and figure, okay, I'm good.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
Actually, over forty five years, we've seen it all, from
sweeping logs that you put in there to brace yourselves,
you know, from farmers throwing chicken droppings on the fire
that take care of it and everything salt. You know
what that does to your sidewalk. Imagine what that's doing
(45:09):
to the inside of your chimney. The best way and
the only way, if it was as simple as a log,
I would have bought a warehouse a long time ago
and stocked up on logs and just went into marketing
and selling those. Yeah, it's there's nothing like wire brush
cleaning poly brush. If it's metal flu to get the
creaseode out of there. It's still the tried and true
(45:33):
best way of going about it.
Speaker 1 (45:34):
Hey, Jake, The last question that I get text what
goes in when we talk about sweeping, right, a chimney sweep?
What goes into sweeping a chimney.
Speaker 4 (45:46):
Well, the setup is very important, very key. So we
don't get everything all over the house. Like I explained
a little bit before, we have to tarp everything off.
We have a big Hepa vacuum that we bring in,
put hoods over the fireplace to make sure that no
kreoso can actually come back into the house. There's multiple
(46:06):
different kinds of sweepings that are actually in the sweeping book. Okay,
there is no cut and dry. Oh you're going to
use a metal wire brush on all of these chimneys.
Oh you're going to use a rotary brush system on
all these chimneys. That every chimney has its own specific
recommendation for This is going to be the proper way
(46:27):
to clean this without either a damaging the existing system
and making sure that it gets cleaned as thoroughly as possible.
So what all goes into a chimney sweep is knowledge
and the short answer, right, there is having a certified
sweep out there that knows he's seen this type of
chimney before and he knows what's going to be the best.
Speaker 1 (46:47):
One fix, not one fix fixes all correct. Sure, Hey, guys,
thank you so much again. Kim has taking appointments. It
probably can't get in maybe next week, but for sure
it's going to be the follow a week. Call Kim
at four one four seven seven one two two eight
two four one four seven seven one twenty two eighty two. Yeah,
(47:09):
or you can go to their website Royal Chimney dot com.
But Kim is at the office so she can take
care of it. Guys, is good to see you today? Yeah,
you bet? Raised mis Ray Joy. That always great to
see you, you bet. This is the Creative Construction Wisconsin home.
I proved you on Fox Sports nineteen twenty and your
iHeartRadio app.
Well, welcome to the Creative Construction Wisconsin Home improvement show
(00:03):
as always on Fox Sports ninet twenty and your iHeart
Radio app coming live from the Donovan and Jorgensen Heating
and COOLID Studios. Doesn't feel like it today. You're gonna
have to turn that furnace on sometime, and when you do,
you want to make sure it kicks in correctly. Any
issues or to make sure there aren't any isses. Aren't
(00:23):
any issues? Go to Donovan Jorgenson dot com, the largest
employee owned HVAC company in the state of Wisconsin. I
Mike be given alongside my co host this week. He
is Ray Hoffman, representing Creative Construction Wisconsin. Raymond, what's going on?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
How you doing? I'm looking forward to a great show.
This is actually one that's very near and dear to
my heart being a fireman, okay, and all these chimneys
fires I've been to and stuff. Yeah, so these guys
are going to be able to help to prevent that
for well.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
The amount of work that they're walking out of the
just the studio with we have a polish Pipeoine jeff Orlowsky,
our producer today sitting then we're all Hey, can you
come over and can you do this? Can you do that?
And Jake's like call me, I'll take care of you.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Yeah, we all have his cards in front of our
our face.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Right now. Well, we are in studio our special guest,
Howard and Jake rawl from Royal Chimney. Royal Chimney dot
Com is where you're gonna want to go, and right
now we're going to give you a couple of phone
numbers or give you a phone number. And Kim is
there taking live appointments right now if you want to
book these guys. And I found out and first question
(01:30):
I had for these guys was a year ago. They
came out and and our gas fireplace and our condo
and Pelwaukee not working, and Royal Chimney Service came out
and fixed it and got my wife all happy again.
And then Ray's like, hey, I think I need you guys.
Then Jeff is like, hey, can I ask you a
couple of questions? I have two fireplaces and I need
some help. So if nothing else, boys, you're getting some
(01:51):
work here in studio. Howard, how have you been? I
haven't seen you in a bit.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
I've been alive and kicking and a on the rooftops. Yeah,
you're still up there. Huh, still up there. That's how
I get my exercise. I don't join a health club
or anything. I get plenty of exercise during the day.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
So if people want to work out and work, they
can come to Roylativity Service. It's all in one right,
you get paid and you get a good moll. Absolutely,
you're always looking for a few good people. That's still
you know, because we have ten certified sweeps on staff,
but we're always looking for more. So if you like
to be outside and you're not afraid of heights and
(02:32):
like physical activity, give me a call. Hey, when we
talk about Kim being in the office right now taking appointments,
do people ask you about the two thousand dollars tax
credit on certified biofuel inserts. Is that something that is
well known out there or is that something we need
to make sure we highlight and promote.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
It is something that we need to promote out there,
it's buried in the weeds and big energy bills and
things like that. The most important thing to remember is
that disappears December thirty first of this this year. So
now is the time if you're looking to take advantage
of that two thousand dollars tax credit. Absolutely, you want
(03:13):
to give us a call.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Do they need to have it, Do they need to
have the appointment before the end of the year, or
have it done?
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Have the work got to be invoiced by December thirty.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Got to be invoiced. Yes, And let's talk really quickly again.
It's a two thousand dollars tax credit that is going
away at the end of December, and it's on certified
biofuel inserts.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Correct, that's correct. That's wood burning.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
And okay, wood burning and eighty percent efficient or better.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Correct, And that's what the government's trying to promote. So
contrary to popular belief, Ol Bernie, burning wood is that bad? Hey,
the government is getting behind this and they're saying please
do this, Yeah, do this. It's a good thing. These
are EPA certified stoves by replace inserts and by all
(04:01):
means upgrade because what you're using right now is old
technology and a dirty or burn.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Hey, Jake, how you doing. It's good to see, good
good to bed, Thank you again for your service. Got
a couple of bush in studio of us today when
when when I was asking you the work that Terry
and I had done last year that you guys came
our fireplace was it didn't work. And I can tell
you that my wife has her routine every morning and
(04:29):
she's starting at like this week with turns the fireplace on,
and she she gets up in the morning and gets
yourself ready and and gets in her kN James version
Bible and reads her Bible and has a cup of
coffee before she goes into her office and works. And
I can tell you that the ten days she was
without her fireplace last winter, she was different. Oh yeah,
(04:50):
she was. She's so used to that routine. Probably made
your life real fun. I'll tell you about that during
the break because if she happened to be listening, I'm
not because you gotta be nice to be today my
birthday to day. Oh's got to be very nice to
me today. But tomorrow she can stop. But I asked you, listen,
(05:10):
if we had this fixed last year, and we want
to make sure that this year we don't have that hiccup,
And you said, yeah, you probably want to call us
when when you have a gas fireplace that you use
once twice sometimes three times a day once again to
little cooler to have the maintenance side of it, to
have you guys come out and just make sure you're
(05:32):
ready to go. It's probably a smart mode.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
Yeah, there's a lot of electronics, thermal couples, thermal piles,
pilot assemblies, igniters, things like that that can just corrode
over time. There's always going to be some type of
condensation in there. It's kind of like calling donovand Jorgenson.
Sure you know you're doing that preventative maintenance. So do
you know the Jake? They come up and we can
use that with this as well. And I came up
(05:56):
with this for them, but they they they find small
issues before they come to meet your problems. And you
want to save yourself some money in the long run.
Have you guys come out and people say, well, my
fireplace is working great? Right, it's not a Howard said
during the break before it went on there. He said,
you understand your fireplace is going to work great until
(06:17):
Christmas morning?
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Correct? And then you know we're not coming out of
Christmas morning? Maybe Yeah, I look, I would I've got
kim cell member, so I'll call her and get you
guys out there. But I don't have Kim cell member.
But I can get it. One of you guys can
give it to me. But that's that's what we're trying
to avoid. To look, you want to make sure that
you find out that there's a small issue that you
(06:39):
guys can fix, yes, rather than major problems like we
had before.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
Yes, a lot of it is preventative maintenance. Just like
you have your wood burning fireplace swept out on an
annual basis, things like that. It's the same scenario where
well you want this. It's like not taking your car
and for an oil change. That's that's how quick it
can just back up on you and all of a sudden, Well,
what would have been a couple hundred dollars service call
(07:04):
now turned into fourteen hundred dollars because it hasn't gone
checked for so long, right.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
And I just it just makes so much sense to me.
So trust me, I'm calling the office on Monday and
going to have you come out because I want my
wife to be able to We.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
Want you to n We want you to have that
piece of mind.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
You're a good man. You're like a marriage counselor you
are like a marriage I know how fireplaces act within
communities and things like that, and how important they are
to people. So if one person.
Speaker 4 (07:36):
Really relies on that fireplace and the other one, well
they could live without it for a little while, it
could cause some turmoil.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
It really is her, that's that is her deal. Ray,
what's going on with your fireplace that you need them
to come out?
Speaker 2 (07:50):
I'm not sure. I think it's just a but we're
going to have to.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Take the glass off the light edge. Yeah, it's not
the safest thing I've ever heard. Jake knows what I'm
talking about. Talk called to some kind of sealed unit
or something. I have no clue. I'm a fireman.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I put out fires, I don't normally start them, so
I don't know how to fix it.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
I'm surprised and have me come out look at I.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Will call you anything. It's your birthday. I'm not going
to bother you on your birthday. I would what a
birthday gift for me to come out and fish. Jake,
what are you doing later today? Because yeah, you know what,
you would have to be my work WiFi. I split
my own wood today for getting ready for my burn season.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
There you go, you know, On that same note, Mike,
a little bit of the science behind it.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Yes, Gas fireplaces.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
We're all familiar back in high school, at least when
I went to high school chemistry class, Bunsen burners, and
if you had the orange flame going and all of
that suck coming up, you know, a teacher was on
you to get it to blue flame, blue flame, blue plane,
And it's just the opposite with gas fireplaces. Nobody wants
(08:59):
to look at them little blue flame and high efficiency.
They want the dancing harm Beyonce of the orange flame.
So it's a dirty or burn, so you get more
carbon build up on the electronic components that are in there.
Keep in mind also that for every cubic foot of
gas that you're burning, you're producing three cubic feet of steam.
(09:19):
That's a lot of moisture laden condensity that happens in
place havoc with the electronics on these units. And on
that same note, electronics, a lot of people they know,
maybe not, you got to replace the batteries in these
(09:40):
remote controls, and if you're not doing it correctly and
you're accidentally hitting the wrong buttons because you got to
flipped over kind of let your TV remote, it'll put
it into lockout mode. And then all of a sudden
you can't get it going. Did you ever get your
TV locked up? Or you're like, I I got to
call the cable company. I don't know what happened. I
just put batteries in and we get those kind of
(10:01):
calls all the time. There's also batteries in the unit itself.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Hey Howard, how often should people chimney be cleaned? And
when's the best time to do that?
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Best time is right now. Why do I say that,
Because as the nights get colder, which they will over
the next couple of weeks, everybody's gonna call all at
the same time. Even though we have ten certified sweeps
to service the Metro Milwaukee area five county area, everybody's
(10:33):
gonna want it done yesterday. So now is the time
to call, because if we do find something that needs
attention now, that's going to be a follow up visit,
and so you want to get in there on the
schedule early and get that done.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Do you the gas inserts and logs need annual service
as well.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
Yes, yep, just like the gas fireplace inserts. You have
the same thing as far as safety pilots that go
on there, and if the safety pilots are getting clouded
up and sitted up. It's the signal to the gas
supply line. Hey, we do have a pilot here, send gas.
(11:16):
If it's not sensing that it is going to shut
that vlove down and say don't send gas. Yeah, don't
send gas. We don't have pilot going on here.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Guys, when you listen to this show, if you were thinking, hey,
look i've got you know, I've got another month or
two before you even need to worry about it, call
now and get this looked at so that you don't
have to wait, because if you if you wait another
six weeks, it might be four or five days before
you guys be able to get out and see them right.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Yeah, it's not unusual during the busy season October, November
and halfway into December, it's not unusual to be running
a two two and a half week back log, even
with ten sweeps out there.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Yeah, so look, guys, this is the time to do it.
And that's why we've got these guys in study today
to remind you. If you're going to fire up your fireplace,
you remember last you know, last winter, when it was
getting to be spring and you thought, well, my fireplace's
not working. I'll worry about it next time. Worry about it,
you know in the fall. Well, now here it is,
(12:19):
so have these guys come out? And again I love
the fact that that whenever these guys come in. Kim,
Sorry about that, Kim. If you're listening, you got to
be in the office to take any calls and set
up any appointments. Let me give you that number. It's
four one four seven seven one two two eight two
seven seven one two two eight two. And uh, make
(12:42):
sure that you tell Kim that you heard here and
she'll get you on the schedule for next week. Uh.
Four one four seven seven one two two eight two. Hey,
what how long does it normally take? If if I
can't Jake, let me go to you. How long does
it normally take to clean somebody's chimney? And what do
they need to Is it a full day? Is it
half day? Is it depending on the amount of work
(13:03):
that once you get there? But is there an average
and how much time it takes?
Speaker 4 (13:07):
Yeah, an average would typically be about an hour to
an hour and a half. That includes us coming in
the house. We lay down tarps and runners all the
way up to the fireplace. We sweep everything from where
you start the fire all the way to the top
of the chimney flu system. Then we have internal video
scanners that we will send inside the chimney to make
sure there's no cracks, defects, dislodged pipes, anything like that
(13:31):
that can be a safety hazard or risk. We're gonna
check the basement. A lot of chimneys share the furnace
and water heater going up through the same chimney chase,
so we're making sure those are venting properly. We don't
work on the appliances down there, but we are venting specialists,
so we're able to make sure that you know, there's
no risk of carbon dioxide poisoning, carbon monoxide poisoning, things
(13:55):
like that. And then if it's safe to do so,
we will get on the roof to an exterior check
for potential water leaks or cracking masonry or damage siding,
anything like that, and that typically takes about an I
would say about an hour to an hour and a half,
depending on if you had a one story or a
three story home, and how dirty it is. If we
(14:16):
haven't been out there in you know, eight years, it
might take a little bit longer to get all the
soot out of this chimney.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Hey, if somebody says, what is the average cost? Is
that very depending on how much work there is or
what needs to be done. If they just want their chimney,
just have a chimney sweep, come out and clean it
is you're an average cost on that?
Speaker 4 (14:38):
Yeah, right now, our fall rate is three forty nine,
which includes everything that I just talked about. There is
a check discount which would bring it down to three
thirty nine. And that is the full service. And if
you do need any repairs, we'll be able to provide
an estimate repair quote for you right away and we
can go ahead and get you up and running. All
(14:59):
of our repairs are down in house by us, so
we don't subcontract any of this work. It's all done
by Royal Chimney our by our boys over ear Man.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Three thirty nine is a really reasonable price, I think
to to to give yourself peace of mind that this
thing is going to work. And you're looking at your
saying I deserve a raise, I I well, again, I
get present of whatever race I can get for you.
But you got to talk to the guy that you're
right on that on that one. But three thirty nine
(15:29):
to have that peace of mind that not only do
I feel like this thing is going to work now
for the winner, to just to make sure that I
don't have that Christmas morning nightmare.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
That's what we're really doing out there, is we're providing
the peace of mind service that you know you're not
at the gambling table run wondering the next time I
strike this match is something bad gonna happen, or the
video scan inspections everything like that. That's really the service
we're providing is that you know your family can sleep
sleep safe that night and you've got a clean health
(16:01):
on that fireplace and chimney system.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Yeah, Howard, you you know that's a really good rate
for a guy like me, and I think anybody listening
to make sure that that we are good to go
on this thing.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
Yes, an important thing to remember and we run into
this all the time, have since the beginning of time,
almost for forty five years, has been doing this. And
people price shopping. You've got to be very very careful nowadays.
Did there are companies traveling from out of state? That's
(16:34):
how I was going there next, Howard, And you know
the problem with that, And here's the moo of them,
low price, get in and then up sell the heck
out of them. You know, once you're in there, don't
come back until you got a three thousand dollars ticket.
And that's not our game. No, we're out there to
(16:54):
provide peace and safety. By the way, this is fire
Prevention Week. You know there's no better time top mind awareness,
not only your smoke alarms, but preventive maintenance for the chimneys. Kreosote,
we talk about creosot. That's really what we're doing is
removing the creosote inside of that chimney. What is creosote?
(17:15):
That's the flammable substance looks like pulverized charcoal that lines
the inside of your chimney. And when that kindles and
it starts a chimney fire. There's a lot of chimney
fires that happened twenty three thousand annually.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Might happen unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
And the problem with that is not only you know,
are you tying up the fire departments doing something that
you know they may have something more significant they need
to be running out to. This is something that is preventable.
It's within your enhance, but you got to call and
make that appointment.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
As Jake said, look, it's like getting your oil change
in your car. If you if you go twenty five
thousand miles thirty thousand miles without getting your oil change,
then you're surprised that your engine it goes like it
doesn't make any sense to me. This is and that's
a perfect analogy. I think Jake that look, get it done.
That the three forty nine that you guys charge to
(18:11):
have that peace of mind is I think is really
reasonable when people go, look there are companies that are
willing to do this for ninety nine dollars. Trust me,
you're going to reason there is a reason. And we've
had this conversation, you and I on this show for
years of these companies that come in from other states
(18:32):
and they set up and they put out some print
ads or some radio ads saying hey, we're here and
we'll do this for ninety nine bucks. And then you
could you call Royal Chimney and they like, oh what
three forty nine And you're like, well, I'm gonna go
with the ninety nine dollars. Trust me when you say
that sales guy's not leaving your house until he's got
a three thousand dollars order. Those are the phone calls
that I get or the people that I meet that
(18:54):
go you do that home of Provtual. Let me tell
you what happened this company and they all had Iowa plates,
but I didn't think anything of it, and I couldn't
get them out of my house, and they ended up
charging this three thousand dollars for a ninety nine dollars thing.
And I think, Howard that that's what people have to understand.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
Yeah, points, what're very well taken, especially in your coupon
flyers that you get. Watch on that bottom left hand
corner where that coupon originated from. If it's originating from
a mega company from out of state that's sending people,
(19:33):
We've seen them all the way from Illinois, Tennessee, New Jersey.
I mean they are really regional. They're kind of like
the storm chasers that you got to be wary of.
What's the big problem? You know, most people think, well,
I'll have the you know, intestinal fortitude where I'll just
(19:53):
tell them, no, what's the big deal? Because when you
try and call that a company, God forbid that you
have a hiccup or something. They're cost crickets they're gone,
they're gone. Call and if you want to know Royal
Chimney Service.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Look if they're really they got a great reputation here.
But for thirty three years, these guys have been cleaning
the chimneys at the White House. And it doesn't matter
left right, who's ever in the White House. These are
the guys going in to clean it. And trust me,
they wouldn't keep getting hired year after year to be
the leaders of that team. How many chimneys in the
(20:31):
White House? Thirty five?
Speaker 3 (20:33):
Wood burning fireplaces in the People's House do they use any?
They do depending on the administration. The last administration wasn't
unusual for them to have four or five fires all
going at the same time on a daily basis.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Really, so one guy's job was to just go and
make sure the fireplaces were.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
Exactly they you know, they call the usher's office and say, hey,
like a you know, so it's not like important people
are actually lighting the fires. They just you know, they's
just phone call away and say, hey, come in to
light this fire, police place.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Get it fired, get it fired up. How many is it?
Once a year, once every other year. How often do
you go into the White House.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
That's once a year, once once a year that happens,
and they get it that this is important. That is
not someplace where you want to trigger a chimney fire
and have the media and fire trucks and people trying
to get in there and passing security by that time,
you know, and it has happened.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
A long time ago where for the.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Presidents at Meg in the nineteen thirties had a chimney
fire going on and it was the bucket Brigade as
far as you know, literally for the president all the
way down buckets of water trying to put put this out.
So they're very much aware of maintaining those fireplaces and
making sure that doesn't happen.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
So you guys, don't don't get with any of these
that you're gonna see. They're coming here in the next
couple of weeks. You're gonna hear them, you're gonna see
them on TV and see him in print where it's hey,
we'll clean your chimney for ninety nine dollars, do yourself
a favor. I do not get caught doing that. And
if this is something that you think that you probably
(22:19):
need to do, call Kim today and she will set
you up for next week? Can they get get in
next week? Do you think, Jake?
Speaker 4 (22:27):
Next week, well, I think we're a little booked up.
But the following week we definitely have openings, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
And that will very quickly turn into a two and
a half week back loss.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
Very temperature drops. We're still in that warm phase where
everybody's still all barbecuing right now.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
And I'm looking. I always look ahead of time because
I want to know what the sideline reporting is going
to be like the following week. Last night was hot,
it was warm out there. Yeah, next week's going to
be much cooler, and the following week looks way cooler.
You can give Kim a call right now four one
four seven seven one two two eight two seven seven
one two two a two, or go to Royal Chimney
(23:02):
dot com. Take a look at their website. You got
a lot of answers any of the questions that you have,
and certainly these guys are willing and Kim can answer
a lot of questions for you and get you on
their calendar. Let's get you a break. Other side of
the break. Ray Hoffman, representing Creative Construction, Wisconsin, who is
my co host today, got a lot of questions when
it comes to uh, the chimneys, don't Hey, you're a firefighter,
(23:25):
don't be taking the glass off and lighting that thing.
Have j come out.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
I didn't say it was safe. No, that's why I
may have Jake come out and fix this thing.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
There you go. And he did not call me to
come fix it. Now.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
I just did it to test out the fireplace to
see if it was gonna if it still worked and
if it was an igniter. And I think it's yeah.
They're starting right up.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Jake and I will be out there next week. We'll
figure out what the problem is. This is the the
Creative Construction Wisconsin home improvement show. I'm Fox Sports nine
twenty and your iHeartRadio app. Welcome back to the Creative
Construction Wiscon. It's a home improvement show on Fox Sports
nine twenty in your iHeartRadio app. It's always coming live
(24:05):
from the Donovan and Jorgensen Heating and Coolian Studios. I
Mike McGivern alongside Ray Hoffman. He is my co host.
Is week representing the fine people at Creative Construction of Wisconsin.
Very fine people, and our special guests in studio, Howard
and Jake Rowl from Royal Chimney Services. Go to Royal
chimney dot com. A couple of text messages I got
(24:28):
during the break guys uh, friend Mike Carrie from Waterford,
what type of wood is the best wood to use
in my fireplace?
Speaker 3 (24:37):
That's very good question around southeastern Wisconsin your firewood chops.
We have for years recommended Wisconsin firewood because it's kiln
dried wood. So what you want to do is you
want to make sure that you're getting dry wood something.
And what we mean by dry it's been chopped and
(24:58):
it's been split, and it's and sitting for one year
before using it. Because you know, when you look at
it this way, if you're trying to burn wood that's
just been chopped down, it's going to be a very
smoky fire. That's where all the crease, so it's contained
in the smoke of the fire. It would be the
equivalent of having wood in your fireplace. And now let's
(25:22):
try and just throw a bucket of water on there
and see what happens. Well, you're going to get a
lot of smoke in a very dirty burn. You're not
helping the environment, and neighbors probably hate you, and so
mixed hardwoods is what you're going to find that that's available,
and the main thing is to make sure that it's
something that's well seasoned. We's got some firewood, they have
(25:43):
kiln dried wood.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
So that's where you should. And if you're driving and
you see firewood for sale on the side of the
road and I see that quite a bit, do you
ask them that or buy? Call? I'll tell you fieryware.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
An easy way that took because I can tell you
what that that uh, that person is going to tell you, Oh, yeah, yeah,
it's been sitting for a while. Well once a while,
you know, pick up that wood. Something that's been seasoned
compared to something that's just been freshly cut. It is
a world of difference. You're looking at three times the
(26:21):
weight of that wood. It's going to be like, wow,
is this petrified? No, that's how much moister is in there,
and that's that's not been sitting long enough. You can
check the ends of the wood too. If it's weather check,
meaning that you have cracks in the in the lugs.
That's also a good indicator that it's been sitting and
drying in season.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
A couple of years ago, we had you in and
there was a shortage on goodwood to burn in the fireplace.
Do you have any idea this year if it's going
to be a lot, If it's going to be a shortage,
we're gonna be just fine.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Right now they have woody, everybody has wood. But it
is going to go because everybody has this hot weather
pattern that we're struggling through for a fault to finally
get here, and then all of a sudden, it is
going to be flying out of the yards. So get
your wood now, even though it's eighty five degrees going
(27:14):
to me today. Put it on your top of mind awareness.
I got to call the woodman and get my firewood
this year.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
And before you do that, I again, I cannot recommend enough.
And I wish I would have had them come out
a year ago to check this fireplace because we bought
this condo and have no idea if it had been cleaned,
if it would be We just kept turning on and
it worked and we're happy. And when it didn't work
anymore is when we had to. We were in the
(27:42):
middle of the winter. We had to wait a bit
because these guys are really busy. Then I would give
him a call right now. In fact, Kim sent me
a text that next time we're on, why don't you
have these two guys sit at the office and take
these phone calls and outcoming. I think that's a great
She's not coming in, you know, Kim doesn't want to
come in, but you can give her a call. Not now,
(28:02):
give her a call, have these guys come out. You
might have to wait, you know, a week or so,
but do it now so that you can feel very
confident that when it's time to get your fireplace going,
like on a daily basis, that it's going to be
just fine. You can call him today like this morning
to get on their calendar at four one four seven
seven one two two eight two seven seven one twenty
(28:25):
two eighty two, or go to Royal Chimney dot com. Hey, Jacob,
question for you that I got what uh what type
of glass should people use for the doors? What type
of doors should you use for the fireplace opening?
Speaker 4 (28:41):
There are two different types of glass you got your
your depends if you're with gas or like a wood stove.
So the manufacturer is going to have a recommendation as
far as what's the heat rating for this type of glass.
So it's best to just call. I don't want to
(29:01):
start listing off all the different types of glasses and
things like that, because I could mislead somebody and say, oh,
that's that's fine. It's best for either you to send
me the information on that type of fireplace. Let's let's
say you're grass your glass does crack or we have
seen them blow out because it was either the wrong
(29:22):
type of glass or they're using the fireplace improperly. So
it's best to just give me a call first instead
of just kind of saying, well, you know, go with
this burg gas and this spur would It can really
vary sometimes depending on what type of fireplace you have,
so I don't want to give anybody the wrong type
of information.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
You know, It's interesting Jake, when when Terry and I
had you guys come out, the fireplace we have in
that condo is older, and it was like, look, we
don't even know if this is made like and so
your guys did all the background, but all the research
found a company in Wisconsin that that still had the
parts that you guys needed. You got you guys ordered
(30:06):
the parts, got the part, did all of that and
kept me informed. It kept Terry informed, here's where we're
at in this process. They're sending us what we need.
We're going to be able to get you guys fixed,
and you don't have to redo the whole thing, but
your company, your guys did all that background and research
to make sure that they got the right parts.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
To Yes, That's really what I like about my guys
is they take a lot of pride in their work.
So I see it too often with some of the
other companies out there. You're talking about the ninety nine
dollars companies and everything. Where they come in, they don't
want to put in the legwork to try and help
you solve your issue. They just want to upsell you. Well,
(30:46):
it's twenty years old, you might as well replace it anyway.
So and there's your big ticket dollar item, you know
what I mean. So that's one thing that I really
like about our guys working out there, is they will
go the extra mileth they'll call distributors, they'll they'll put
in the legwork to try and find that more's.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
Simple solution for you, Howard, And if I were you,
I'd be so proud of your company. What they what
your guys could have done, is they could have said, look,
this thing is really old. They're not mad it's not
made anymore, and we have to redo the whole thing.
And that's what I was kind of expecting when they said, look,
we don't know if this is even made. Let's take
(31:25):
a little look at it. And I thought eighty five
percent of the companies would wait forty eight hours and
call me and say, yeah, you can't find it. We're
gonna have to redo the whole thing, because that would
have been a bigger ticket for your company. And your
guys didn't do that, Howard. They didn't. They didn't know
me from Adam. They were like, look, here's let us
take a look at it. Let us figure this out.
(31:45):
And I said to my wife, Babe, this thing's so old,
we're gonna have to have a whole new one done.
And she said, well, let's just she loves when you're
on the air. By the way. She's like, let's just
wait to see what Howard says. And I'm like, all right,
but this is what's coming, just so you know. And
when you're I called back and said, look, we found it,
and he was so excited about it, and he goes,
didn't think I could but I found it. They're going
(32:06):
to ship it out. Once we get the parts, we'll
set up the appointment and come get this thing going.
And two days later got the call and I was
so impressed with it, And you got to be really
proud of this am.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
Our guys are trained from the get go. The customer
is paramount. Meet their needs, give them options. Your job
outer is to explain what to expect from those options
if they're available.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Hey, Ray, you know you're kind of shaking your head
when Howard's talking. He's been in this market for a
long time. How long have you been doing that for?
Forty five years? Forty five years? So he goes to church,
goes to the grocery store, does the coach, does all
the stuff he does in this community, and so he
(32:52):
has to make sure that he's taking her guys like
us absolutely because you know, this is how he's built
this reputation. And it didn't shock me, but it surprised
me two days later when their guys called and said,
we found it. They got to ship them to us.
So it's going to be a little bit Do you
want us to like have him overnight it? And I go, yeah,
well that's gonna be a little I go, I don't care.
(33:13):
I gotta get my wife happy. So that's what that's
what happened. That was my experience, and that's the same
experience you're gonna have when they come out next week.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
That's great customer service. That's the way it's supposed to be.
I do have a question for you guys, though. So
I have this friend who will remain nameless, Dave David.
He I was talking to him the other day and
he said he's been taking care of his own chimney.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
He does.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
He just got done tuck pointing he had a leak
through it that's going down his sidewalk, and he went
out and bought a the brush from Fleet Farm and
said he's going to do it himself. Me, being an
ex fireman, I cringed pretty bad. I think people need
to understand why they shouldn't do that, because that's pretty
(33:59):
dangerous in my opinion.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
Well, that's an excellent point that that's bring up ray. Uh.
First of all, what you're dealing with is creosote. Creosote
is a known carcinogen. First of all, if that that
doesn't get your attention, if you're trying to clean this.
That creosote ends up somewhere down in the firebox. If
(34:20):
you're doing it correctly and your shop fac is not
going to cut it. You are going to redo that
living room and light shades of gray and dust all
over and how you're going to know that your wife
will be hitting you with a broom and say stop stop,
it's all over the place. What did you do?
Speaker 1 (34:38):
Why do bring up our wives again?
Speaker 2 (34:40):
That is my wife knows I'm not touching that thing.
Speaker 3 (34:43):
But his wife will hit hit in with broom too.
But the but the biggest thing. And I compare it
to the dentist visit, well, I can, you know, brush
my own teeth and everything? And back in the day
remember Dantine, Yeah, prushure your teeth and everything by chewing
them denteen, that was their commercial. But you're not trained
(35:08):
to know any defects. You know, do you have a
chimney scan camera? Can you see voids and defects? It's
the inspection process is what you're paying a lot for
only the exterior, but that interior of the chimney, because
if you have voids in there, you'res compromising your draft
(35:28):
and you're scratching your head and wondering why is this
thing smoking? Why is it smoking? Well, after you clean
the kreosode out, any voids that were in there or
missing mortar joints, guess what was filling that the kreosote.
Now you remove that kreosode and you've got wide open
joints in there, and that's why, you know, it's kind
(35:49):
of the soda straw analogy, you know, let's you take that.
Speaker 4 (35:52):
I actually had one person. This was a customer many
many years ago, so I've I won't even remember their
name or anything like that. I went out there and
it was just filthy. I'm talking five gallon buckets worth
of creosote that I was removing from this chimney. And
(36:13):
then I video scanned it afterwards, and I found these
cracks and missing mortar inside the chimney system and things
like that. The homeowner was actually a little upset with
me that I removed the koreosope because now there were
voids in the chimney system. So there are certain situations
(36:33):
out there where it's like I get it, but I
don't know if I'm going to get through to this
person or not.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
Jake, before we get to a break So last night
I was on the sidelines in Brookfield for the Brookfield
Least brook Central game and a guy came up to me,
a guy I know, and said, Hey, who do you
have on the home improvement show? And I told him
and he said, hey, I got a question. And I go,
I'm not going to remember, just text it to me.
So here was his question. He's had two estimates to
repair his chimney. Once said he needs to be rebuilt
(37:02):
and the other company said you just need tuck pointing.
Speaker 4 (37:06):
There's a big difference.
Speaker 1 (37:07):
And he said, look, it's a huge difference price wise.
Oh yes, And I don't know which one is truthful
and which one. And I said, we'll call Howard and
called Jake and have them come out, because they'll be
honest with you.
Speaker 4 (37:18):
Both options are acceptable, and they both should be made
available to any homeowner. That's the way we position ourselves.
Speaker 1 (37:28):
Now. If I come up there and it's leaning like
a doctor Sue's chimney, right, I might not give you
that tech pointing option because yeah, it's going to fall
over as soon as we touch it. But Tuck, we
always go by an option one, Option two, Option three,
possibly weather ceilings, things like that, but there's nothing wrong
as long as it fits the application and it's what
(37:52):
the homeowner is looking for. You know, a lot of
times I'm sitting down with them, I'm talking to them
asking him what are you looking for? Are you looking
for the five year plan or the I want the
I'm never ever ever gonna have to worry about again.
It planned right, You're gonna get what you pay for,
and then we are completely honest. You know, we take
photographs up on top of the chimney for you so
(38:13):
we can sit down and show you, hey, this is
exactly the condition that your chimney is in on the outside.
There are a couple different options, so there's nothing wrong
with rebuild or tuck point. If somebody comes across and
just says this is your only option, either one or
two things is happening. Either they're just tunnel visioned and
(38:34):
they want to push their agenda on you, or it
really is in that bad of shape where it's you know,
if they're saying rebuild is the only option, you can
probably see that from the ground, and as a homeowner,
you're probably expecting that to be the response as well,
because you're gonna see bricks balling all over the roof
and everything like that. So I mean both are acceptable.
(38:56):
It's just we need to sit.
Speaker 4 (38:58):
Down and talk to you and figure out what what
you want best for your home.
Speaker 1 (39:02):
You know, Jake. For the amount of money that you
guys charge to come out for some people, that's a dinner,
Like you go out and have dinner, and it's it's
not like this sexy purchase, right, It's not like, Hey,
I'm gonna have this and it's gonna make the you know,
my house look better or it's gonna But if this
(39:22):
thing is so it's so important. And I every time
I have you guys in, I realize the importance more
and more because just for the comfort of it and
just for the peace of mind. And look, guys, if
if you know you're going to turn the fireplace on,
and whether it's gas or it's wood burning, you want
to make sure it's ready to go and make sure
(39:43):
it's safe for you and your family. Give Kim a call.
She's at the office and they're setting up an appointments
maybe next week, probably the following week. But she can
take good care of you. Answer any questions that you have,
and if they're questions she can't answer, She'll have Jake
give you a call back. Howard, give you a call back,
but give Kim a call at four one four seven
seven one two two eight two seven seven one two
(40:06):
two A two and Kim will take great care of you.
Or go to their website Royal Chimney dot com. You
get to a break out. Other side of the break
will continue talking with Howard and Jake Rawl from Royal
Chimney Services. This is the Creative Construction, Wisconsin home improvement
show on Fox Sports nine twenty and Your iHeart Radio app.
(40:27):
Welcome back to the Creative Construction with scottson home improvement
show on Fox Sports nine twenty in your iHeartRadio app.
Coming live from the Dotavan and Jorgensen Heating and Cooling Studios.
I'm Mike mcgiver alongside Ray Hoffman. He is sitting in
for Bingo. Emmon's big day for Bingo today. Yes, daughter's
getting married, daughter's getting married. Yeah, so I guess he
(40:47):
doesn't want to come here when he's going to when
his daughter's getting married. I don't think Dev would want
him here because she's not coming with him, So.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
She might be okay with that. Actually she might be okay.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
I agree. In studio, these are the guys from Royal
Tich Chimney Services, owner Howard Rawl and Sweet supervisor Jake
Rawl are in. Hey, Howard, all the rain that we got,
you know, there are people that are still digging out
of some of that stuff. Did that affect Did that
affect the stuff that you guys do at all?
Speaker 2 (41:16):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (41:17):
Yes, we got a flurry of calls, even calls coming
today yet referencing the August torrential rains that we had
in water leaks, and we specialize in water leaks.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
You know.
Speaker 3 (41:29):
All the customer is going to notice is I got standing.
Something's going on. It's right next to the chimney there.
I can see my ceilings starting to bubble and fall apart,
and we go out there and take a look at it.
Be careful if you don't call Royal Chimney, that's first mistake.
But be careful if somebody pulls up with a trailer
(41:51):
on the back of that service vehicle, they are looking
for the immediate sale. They got orders from headquarters. Hey,
don't come back until you sell something. You know, it
should be a minimum thirty five hundred dollars ticket or
more whatever you got in that trailer, sell it to
the customer and you just got stung.
Speaker 1 (42:09):
Yeah, you think it's.
Speaker 3 (42:10):
A quick fix and all this guy's going to take
care of everything that I had one stop and I
don't have to worry about it. That really never happens.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
That way, Howard do you know? And when we tell
people and when that flood happened, we said, look, companies
are going to come from out of state and they're
going to try to Yeah, I'll fix your basement. They're
standing in a hotel and they're coming out just trying
to make as much money as they can because of
the issues that we had. And I think it's so
important that when we talked about in the first segment
(42:41):
that we talk about it now, because you guys get
calls a lot from all of a sudden companies that go, yeah,
well we'll take care of it, pay us half down,
we'll come back with and you don't hear from him again.
And you guys get those calls going, hey, somebody in
your business, hold on, don't that's not in our business.
Those are guys from outs state is coming to make
a buck on you. When a company like yours been
(43:03):
around for as long as you have, and you know
you're you're going to Washington, d C. To take care
of the White House. You're not going anywhere. You guys
have been in Wawatosa for a long time. Yeah, we
want this customer a customer for life. We always say
that we want to be that good and over the
top as far as customer service. Other companies, that's not
(43:26):
what their agenda is. Their agenda is come back with
the money, whatever it takes at that point. And you've
talked in the past about how important it is to
use a certified chimney sweep, certified chimney sweep that you
guys believe in education for your guys to make sure
they're certified, And there are companies that come out and
say that's not important. Let me tell you what's important
(43:49):
to utilize a certified chimney sweep. I think said something
obviously about your company, but to make sure that that
you're doing this correct.
Speaker 3 (43:57):
Yes, it not only that might, but it says a
lot about that individual that's out servicing your genuity. They've
made this a commitment. This is not just a summertime gig,
you know, to sell something. None of our people are salespeople.
They're all service technicians, many of them have over twenty
years with the company. They're out there analyzing and presenting
(44:21):
the options to you so that you can make an
informed decision that meets your needs.
Speaker 1 (44:27):
Hey, Howard, a couple of years ago you were on
and we talked about the powder logs, and they're they
You start seeing it a zillion places now where they
advertise that they can eliminate a cruso? Do those really work?
And you go to a big box store and buy
a few of those and figure, okay, I'm good.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
Actually, over forty five years, we've seen it all, from
sweeping logs that you put in there to brace yourselves,
you know, from farmers throwing chicken droppings on the fire
that take care of it and everything salt. You know
what that does to your sidewalk. Imagine what that's doing
(45:09):
to the inside of your chimney. The best way and
the only way, if it was as simple as a log,
I would have bought a warehouse a long time ago
and stocked up on logs and just went into marketing
and selling those. Yeah, it's there's nothing like wire brush
cleaning poly brush. If it's metal flu to get the
creaseode out of there. It's still the tried and true
(45:33):
best way of going about it.
Speaker 1 (45:34):
Hey, Jake, The last question that I get text what
goes in when we talk about sweeping, right, a chimney sweep?
What goes into sweeping a chimney.
Speaker 4 (45:46):
Well, the setup is very important, very key. So we
don't get everything all over the house. Like I explained
a little bit before, we have to tarp everything off.
We have a big Hepa vacuum that we bring in,
put hoods over the fireplace to make sure that no
kreoso can actually come back into the house. There's multiple
(46:06):
different kinds of sweepings that are actually in the sweeping book. Okay,
there is no cut and dry. Oh you're going to
use a metal wire brush on all of these chimneys.
Oh you're going to use a rotary brush system on
all these chimneys. That every chimney has its own specific
recommendation for This is going to be the proper way
(46:27):
to clean this without either a damaging the existing system
and making sure that it gets cleaned as thoroughly as possible.
So what all goes into a chimney sweep is knowledge
and the short answer, right, there is having a certified
sweep out there that knows he's seen this type of
chimney before and he knows what's going to be the best.
Speaker 1 (46:47):
One fix, not one fix fixes all correct. Sure, Hey, guys,
thank you so much again. Kim has taking appointments. It
probably can't get in maybe next week, but for sure
it's going to be the follow a week. Call Kim
at four one four seven seven one two two eight
two four one four seven seven one twenty two eighty two. Yeah,
(47:09):
or you can go to their website Royal Chimney dot com.
But Kim is at the office so she can take
care of it. Guys, is good to see you today? Yeah,
you bet? Raised mis Ray Joy. That always great to
see you, you bet. This is the Creative Construction Wisconsin home.
I proved you on Fox Sports nineteen twenty and your
iHeartRadio app.
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