Hire A-Tec for a sweep and the story customers keep telling is about what didn't happen: nobody tried to sell them a liner they didn't need. That thread runs for years. A customer writing in late 2024 had gone with a cheaper outfit first, got pushed a list of work that wasn't needed, and said A-Tec did exactly what was asked instead. An October 2023 reviewer's leak was fixed with no pitch for chimney improvements attached. In 2021, a homeowner called them for a second opinion after being told a liner had to be replaced immediately, and came away struck by how honest they were.
The Bellingham company covers sweeping, inspections, caps, liners, repointing and full chimney rebuilds, and it has been at it long enough to leave a wide trail: 43 Google ratings averaging 4.4, 37 on Porch at 4.1, and 266 HomeAdvisor ratings averaging 4.8 that Angi mirrors. Technicians get named constantly in the reviews — Greg and Steve, Gabe and Rob, Tony, James and Brandon — which tends to mean crews people actually remember.
The small things recur in the good reviews: a call an hour before arrival (2024), a price that matched the quote exactly (2023), a second chimney problem fixed at no charge while they were already on site (2024), a crew back within three hours when a crown seal they had done a year earlier failed (2022), and a next-day visit for a customer writing in January 2026.
The other side is specific enough to take seriously. The heaviest complaint is an April 2023 Angi review describing a chimney build completed improperly, leading to ceiling and wall water damage, and a technician who dropped a large HVAC vent and damaged the wall and floor during the investigation. A January 2024 Google reviewer said the inspection was quick, a written quote was promised, and it never came. In October 2023, a customer said the sweep worked only from the bottom rather than going up on the roof, and that the phone call to sort it out turned hostile. A 2021 repointing job left considerable mortar dust and runoff behind, and a 2022 customer objected to a flat $229 charge for what took twenty minutes on a metal flue.
Separately, safetyrecord.org lists an OSHA inspection of A-Tec Chimney Sweep, Inc. producing four violations and $3,972 in penalties.
The platform scores split along the same seam — 4.8 on HomeAdvisor and Angi against 4.4 on Google and 4.1 on Porch — which is roughly what a business with many smooth sweeps and a handful of repairs gone badly looks like.
For a routine sweep, inspection, cap or liner, this is a long-established, no-pressure choice. For a rebuild or a leak repair, which is where the complaints cluster, get the scope and price in writing before anyone starts, settle who owns the flashing and roof work, and don't accept a verbal promise to write the quote up later.