Fifty years ago, condominiums were an obscure real estate concept in Toronto. Since 1967, condominiums, townhomes and multi-residential properties began to dot the landscape of Toronto, Mississauga and surrounding regions.
From the 1970s to 1990s, wood burning fireplaces were a common installation that added a luxury touch to these multi-residential developments.
Since inception, A1 Quality Chimney has helped to service the fireplaces and chimneys in these properties, ensuring their continued safe use and operation. As a member of The Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario (ACMO), we have worked with small condo boards, rental communities and the largest property management firms in Canada to keep these fireplaces cleaned, repaired and in good working condition.
Limiting Liability
While the requirement is often overlooked, the Provincial and National Fire Codes state that wood burning appliances and chimneys should be inspected annually and cleaned as often as necessary.
With sometimes hundreds of residents, it is almost impossible for management to keep track of this type of maintenance. And so we offer a special property-wide annual inspection AND cleaning service that minimizes risk of fire to units and their neighbours.
An unclean chimney or the continued use of deteriorating flues can create fires and put numerous units in danger. Having these inspected and serviced not only prevents this, but also protects the Corporation and management from liability that may otherwise not get covered by insurance.
All of our staff are trained through the WETT program and covered under the Worker Safety and Insurance Board. We provide clearance certificates and proof of insurance before any job is begun.
Honesty and Integrity
One of the major concerns in condo ownership and management is the proper use of funds. Some contractors and service companies may attempt to identify “needed” repairs that are not actually needed, or charge exorbitantly for their service using scare tactics or just plain false information.
We believe in providing the best possible service at the best possible price. We will never make false or misleading claims to “close a deal” and we have strict policy in place to prevent conflicts of interest.
If we do identify deficiencies, we will provide a number of options for the property to correct them along with real recommendations and pricing.
Case Study
A prominent engineering firm contacted us to quote on the replacement of approx. 50 fireplaces and chimneys at a condo building in downtown Toronto. They already had two seven-figure quotes for the work. We visited the site and found that the firm was making the request based on a previous inspection by another chimney company (who had also quoted on the replacement).
In reviewing the inspection, we found a lot of ambiguous statements as to safety and we recommended a new, thorough camera inspection to provide a second opinion. There were some small deficiencies, but in the end, all the building needed was proper annual maintenance and some small repairs.
The original company and the engineering firm were taken off of the project and we performed the maintenance and repairs at a cost to the condominium corporation less than 2% of the original quote.
Toronto’s #1 Chimney Service Provider
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