Jim Sullivan Masonry

In November 2021 a homeowner had a quote of $10,000 to fix cracks in a chimney liner. He called Jim Sullivan for a second look, and Sullivan told him he was being had — one very fine crack, a little creosote, nothing that needed a liner. The customer wrote it up as four stars. Another homeowner, writing in December 2019 after collecting several estimates from people he called dishonest, said Sullivan's price came in far lower and the repair procedure was spelled out before work started. Sullivan works out of Salem, New Hampshire, and takes jobs on both sides of the Merrimack Valley line; his Better Business Bureau profile claims 40 years in business with branch locations in Lowell and Lawrence, and his Angi profile says 41 years and that Spanish is spoken. Chimneys are the spine of the business — rebuilding, relining, caps, sweeping, waterproofing, inspections, even getting animals out — with brick steps, walkways, patios, stone walls and fireplaces around it. Most of the written accounts are older: they run 2017 through 2019 on Angi, with a 2023 review crediting him with solving a water problem while repairing a chimney and a June 2024 Google review from a Methuen homeowner whose chimney and steps he rebuilt, posted with before-and-after photos and the note that the pricing was fair. In December 2019 a customer described a chimney rebuilt from the roofline up in two working days with the clean-up done properly; in April 2017 another got a new firebox and had Sullivan come back a few days after being paid to acid-wash the new brick. He holds 4.6 stars across 125 Angi ratings, 74% of them five stars, and the BBB grades him A+. The complaints are specific enough to raise. In October 2019 a customer said the chimney was still leaking after his work and that other masons who looked at it called the job sloppy. A April 2017 customer gave three stars over scheduling — an appointment rescheduled on short notice, then a second site survey because the first look hadn't been good enough — and another that spring found mortar droppings around the house after repointing and had to replace a temperature sensor in the work area. BuildZoom also lists a Massachusetts home improvement contractor registration for him that expired in 2010. For a chimney rebuild, a reline or brick steps around Salem, Methuen and Lawrence, he is a sensible call on straightforward masonry. Get the leak repair and what happens if it recurs in writing, and pin the start date down before demolition.