Expert chimney cleaning, fire prevention, and masonry repair to keep your home safe and structurally sound.
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Looking for reliable Chimney and Masonry Services in North New Jersey? A1 Progressive Construction has been the go-to choice for homeowners since 2009. We specialize in comprehensive chimney cleaning, fire prevention, and expert masonry repair to keep your home safe and structurally sound. From creosote removal and chimney inspections to restoring damaged brickwork, our licensed team ensures every job is done with precision and care. Fully insured and highly rated, we proudly serve all of North New Jersey with guaranteed satisfaction. Don’t wait for a chimney issue to turn into a disaster—trust the experts at A1 Progressive today.
Most chimney fires are preventable, and in this resource, we’re going to help you understand how to prevent them. We’ll answer questions like:
Our goal is to provide you with the knowledge you need to make informed decisions around chimney and masonry maintenance and use, so you never have to experience a chimney fire first-hand. So, let’s get started.
Most chimney fires are caused by a dirty chimney.
We often get asked, ‘What is the black stuff in my chimney?’ Well, anytime you burn wood, byproducts of combustion are formed, and those byproducts include creosote and soot. This is what you’re seeing – and it’s not good. Soot needs to be removed from the chimney periodically, but the by product of woodburning we’re most concerned with when it comes to chimney fires is creosote.
So, what makes a chimney fire so dangerous and how bad is it?
Chimney fires are dangerous because they can rapidly spread to other areas of the home, putting those within the home at risk of injury or death. Not only that, but they can cause a lot of damage to the chimney itself. Here’s a snapshot of the kinds of damage chimney fires can cause to your chimney, depending on which type you have:
When a chimney fire occurs in a masonry chimney – whether the flue is an older, unlined type or tile lined to meet current safety codes – the high temperatures at which the fire burns (around 2000 degrees F) can melt mortar, crack tiles, cause liners to collapse, and damage the outer masonry material. Most often, thermal shock occurs, tiles crack, and mortar is displaced.
In most jurisdictions in the U.S., metal factory-built chimneys that are designed to vent wood-burning stoves or prefab metal fireplaces must pass special tests or they can’t be installed. Most tests require the chimney to withstand flue temperatures up to 2100 degrees F, without sustaining damage. Even still, if there’s a chimney fire, these systems can be damaged.
Woodstoves are made to contain hot fires. The connector pipes that run from stove to chimney, however, aren’t. They can’t withstand the high temperatures produced during a chimney fire and will warp, buckle, or even separate from the appliance and chimney because of the vibrations of air turbulence during a chimney fire. If a separation does occur, fire, heat, and smoke can transfer to other areas of the home.
When you consider that a chimney sweeping and inspection cost around $150-450 and could potentially save you thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars in repairs, the smart choice is obvious: schedule routine inspections and cleanings for your chimney and masonry system.
Most chimney fires start inside the flue where there’s either creosote buildup or a flue blockage of some kind. As heat from the fire reaches these flammable materials, the creosote or blockage ignites, starting a chimney fire.
Creosote can ignite at around 451°F, which is close to the temperature of a typical fireplace fire. Since fireplace temperatures can exceed 450°F, creosote can easily reach the ignition point.
Once a chimney fire is going, it can burn up to 2000 degrees F, which is hot enough to break and crack clay flue tiles and melt metal flue liners in mere moments. That’s why a small chimney fire can become a house fire in very little time.
Chimney fires can be explosive and dramatic, but not all are immediately obvious. There are two types of chimney fires: fast burn and slow burn.
Both types of fires can be equally dangerous. If you suspect a chimney fire, it’s essential to inspect your chimney immediately.
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They had done work on my roof a year ago and its been holding up great!!!! They even helped with a hard to reach light bulb that needed to be replaced. I would highly recommend them.

I can’t emphasize how great these people were! My grandmother needed her roof fixed so I called and made an appointment for her. All of the workers were very professional, fast paced and skilled in their work. My grandmother’s roof was fixed in no time! I would totally recommend A1 progressive to a friend. Thanks guys!

Dan and his team at Progressive Construction are consummate professionals. They were the most responsive contractors of the ones we contacted and the most thorough but amazingly enough, gave us the best price for refurbishing our yankee gutters. They scheduled and finished their work promptly and did an excellent job. I recommend them without hesitation.

Dan was friendly and professional. We had him and his team come out to fix a leak in our roof that was starting to damage our 2nd floor bathroom ceiling. He quickly found the cause and most importantly didn’t try to upsell us like other contractors have in the past (i.e. telling us we needed a new roof). He was on time (early even) on the scheduled day and was in and out in less than an hour. We’ll definitely be contacting A1 Progressive for future work needed on the house.

Installed a new roof on my house. Henry is very friendly, reliable and thorough. His crew did an excellent job on my roof and did a great job cleaning up my property. Price was reasonable. Would work with them again.

I have used Alex and Dan on three different occasions. One to fix a whole in my roof several years ago. Once to replace my roof. And once to do a chimney sweep. Their prices have always been competitive and their work has always been professional. Even when we had a slight problem they addressed it without issues. Highly recommend them

Dan and Henry are really nice. I contracted A1 to fix a leaky shower and to add flashing to some windows. Henry in particular was very attentive to our needs and he would always return messages and stop by when he could. The job took a bit longer than expected but it went really well and the team of workers was really respectful and did a good job overall!

The old adage of “you get what you pay for” is generally true but there are some caveats. You can definitely overpay for a service and you can definitely be on top of a cheaper service to get exactly what you’re looking for. A1 falls into that later category. I needed a number of things done to my house. The largest of which was the daunting task of removing box gutters (aka yankee gutters) which involves some framing work and completely rebuilding the eave of the house. This specific job led me to contact 43 contractors! Of those 43 companies, I was only able to find 6 professional companies who knew how to handle this job. A1 was several thousands of dollars cheaper than the other 5 companies but the co-owner Alex was very easy to talk with and had the confidence that I was looking for. A1 was also one of the only companies also willing to do other work I needed done (including cedar shake repairs) so I went with them. Unfortunately there were LOTS of issues along the way including: 1) Not having a website (as of the time of booking or writing this review) 2) Not showing up to our initial appointment (& never being contacted to apologize or reschedule) 3) Not showing up for another appointment to sign a contract to begin the job (again, never being contacted to apologize or reschedule) 4) Exclusively using subcontractors to do the work while not being there in person to supervise beyond 5 minutes per day. 5) Attempting to use cedar shake labeled “not for exterior use” on the outside of my house. 6) Attempting to use a generally inferior gutter guard design when better options were available. 7) Attempting to patch the roof with the wrong color shingle. 8) Having a gutter subcontractor install downspouts in a location I specifically told him not to. 9) Not properly cleaning up their construction debris. Fortunately, I called Alex out on nearly everything. I had him reorder the correct siding before installing it, had him straighten out crooked gutters installed by one of his subcontractors, asked him to order a specific gutter guard style, and most importantly, had him redo the entire roof (at cost) to match the incorrect shingle color he had put on the roof. I think Alex seems like a great guy but wished he (or his partner) was there to supervise the work every day. I didn’t like how many corners A1 tried to cut when I wasn’t paying attention and how on top of them I needed to be in order to get a decent job done. When all is said and done the money I saved by going with them is about comparable to the hassle so I’m not sure I would go with them again.
We provide roofing, chimney repairs, masonry, and general construction services.
Signs include missing shingles, water stains, and sagging. Contact us for a free inspection.
Creosote buildup causes chimney fires. Regular cleaning and inspections help prevent them.
We recommend annual inspections, especially before the heating season.
Yes, we assess and repair fire damage to chimneys and flues.