Frequently Asked Questions

We lay drop cloths, run a vacuum, and brush the flue from the firebox up or the chase top down depending on your setup. The goal is removing creosote and soot from every surface your smoke touches. After brushing, we run a camera through the flue so you can see exactly what's left, and what condition the chimney is in. You get a plain-English report and the camera footage before we pack up. The whole thing takes about an hour for a standard fireplace in a New City or Nanuet ranch house, longer for two-story builds in Wesley Hills or Montebello.

For a standard masonry fireplace, expect us in and out in about an hour to ninety minutes. A two-flue chimney, a wood stove, or heavy creosote glaze adds time, sometimes up to half a day. Stone or stucco exteriors in Stony Point or Airmont don't change the time much. What changes it is what the camera shows us once we're inside. We'll give you a window when you book, and we call if that window slips.

No. We run a HEPA vacuum the entire time the brush is in the flue, and we lay drop cloths over your hearth and the floor around it. Soot is fine enough to travel through the air, so the vacuum runs continuously to catch what the brush knocks loose. When we leave, the only sign we were there is a cleaner chimney. If anything lands outside the work area, we clean it before we pack the van.

Once a year, burn or no burn. That's the National Fire Protection Association standard and it holds here in Rockland County the same as anywhere in the northeast. Chimneys crack, spall, and shift in the off-season when snow melts into mortar joints and refreezes. A chimney that sat unused all winter can be more dangerous than one that burned all season because nobody looked at it while the damage was happening. If you burn a cord or more each winter, once a year is the minimum, not the recommendation.

Sometimes, yes. Our booking calendar fills quickly in September and October when half of Rockland County decides simultaneously that burning season is upon them. In the shoulder seasons of spring and summer, same-week availability is common and same-day occasionally happens. The honest answer is to call (845) 599-0832 and ask. We'll give you the next open window and put you on the list if something earlier opens up.

Stop burning at least 24 hours before the appointment so the firebox and flue are cool enough to work in. Move any furniture or rugs within about six feet of the hearth that you don't want covered by drop cloths. Keep pets and young kids out of the room while we're working. That's the whole list. The rest is on us.

Yes. Wood stoves and inserts need sweeping just like open fireplaces, and in some ways more often because their flues run cooler, which lets creosote condense faster. The process is the same: brush the flue, clean the stove or insert itself, then run the camera so you can see the result. If you've got a steel stove in a Suffern or Monsey split, the flue sees some of the heaviest creosote buildup we encounter in Rockland County.

We install DuraFlex and Copperfield stainless steel liners, both of which carry lifetime warranties from their manufacturers. The brand matters because the liner is the wall between fire and house, and the cheap stuff doesn't hold up any better than the cheap stuff in any other trade. We also work with HeatShield products for repairing damaged clay liners when replacement isn't warranted. Your flue doesn't care what name is on the box, but we do, which is why we stick with the brands we'd want in our own homes.

Yes. A cap keeps rain, birds, and squirrels out of your flue, and a top-mount damper seals the flue off when the fireplace isn't burning, which can cut heating loss through the chimney. We install both and stock common sizes for the chimneys in Rockland County, including the older stonework you see throughout West Haverstraw and the 1970s-era construction in New City. We'll make a recommendation only if the camera shows you a reason.

Stainless, always. Aluminum liner is rated only for gas appliances, and even then it's the minimum product that meets code. Stainless steel handles the heat of wood and pellet burning and carries a lifetime manufacturer warranty when installed to spec. We standardize on stainless steel, using liners from manufacturers like DuraFlex and Copperfield, which is all we recommend for solid fuel in Rockland County. If a quote for a new liner doesn't specify the material, ask.

In many cases, yes, using HeatShield's cerfractory material to fill and seal the cracks without demolishing the chimney. This works when the damage is limited to cracked or spalled tiles and the structural integrity of the flue itself is still sound. If the flue has shifted or the mortar joints have separated, the repair will fail and a stainless liner becomes the honest answer. The camera footage determines which category you're in, and you'll see it before we ask for a decision.

Every pro working under our name is required to hold the license and insurance their state requires, and Top Hat Chimney carries coverage appropriate for work in Rockland County, New York. Wendell Pike puts his name on every job and stands behind the results in writing. Homeowners in Spring Valley and Pearl River have every right to ask for proof before work begins, and we'd rather show it to you than wonder why you didn't ask.

Yes. The person who cleans your chimney is the person who walks through your door and explains what the camera shows. You'll know their name and face, and they'll be the same person the next time you book. We live and work in Rockland County, and you'll probably run into us again at the hardware store. That's the oldest accountability mechanism in the trade, and it still works better than anything else.

We maintain a physical presence here and serve Rockland County exclusively, from Airmont to Stony Point and every town between. Wendell Pike leads the local operation, and when you call (845) 599-0832, a live coordinator answers and connects you with the local team. We're not a call center three states away, and the owner answers the phone and puts his name on the work. That's the whole point of the L.O.C.A.L. code we run by: Local roots, On time, Community first, Accountable, Loyal.

A chimney fire is an emergency: loud roaring, shaking, or flames visible from the top of the flue, call 911 first, then call us once the fire is out. A strong smell of smoke indoors when the damper is open, soot falling into the firebox, or water pooling around the hearth after rain are urgent but not emergencies. Carbon monoxide alarms going off is another matter entirely; evacuate first, gas company second, and we'll inspect once the all-clear is given. For everything urgent-but-not-emergency, call (845) 599-0832 and we'll get on the schedule fast.

We're not a 24/7 operation. Our hours are Monday through Friday 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM, Saturday 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM, and Sunday 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM. If you have a chimney fire, the fire department is your 24/7 response, not a chimney sweep. For everything else, call during our open hours and we'll get you scheduled, usually within a day or two during the shoulder seasons and as fast as the calendar allows during fall rush.

Do not burn again until a professional has inspected the flue. A chimney fire can reach 2,000 degrees, which cracks clay liners, warps steel, and damages mortar joints in ways you can't see from the ground. Call (845) 599-0832 and we'll run a camera through the full flue length. If the damage is limited to heavy creosote, a sweep puts you back in business. If the liner is compromised, you'll see the footage and we'll talk through your options without any sales pressure.

Ninety days in writing on every chimney job we do in Rockland County. If something we touched isn't right, one call brings Wendell back to make it right. That guarantee has been part of the brand since 1999, and Wendell publishes his name and stands behind it because he intends to be cleaning the same chimneys in this county next year, and the year after that, and the year after that. Loyalty works both ways.

We guarantee you'll see the footage yourself, on the spot, with a plain-English explanation of what it shows. If a chimney is safe, the camera will show you that. If it needs work, the camera will show you that too. Nothing gets recommended without visual evidence you can see with your own eyes. That's the most important guarantee we offer, because it means you never take a chimney sweep's word for a multi-thousand-dollar liner job on faith alone.

Call (845) 599-0832 and tell us what's wrong. We'll come back and fix it, under the ninety-day written guarantee on every job. Wendell's name is on the work and he lives twenty minutes away, which means saying "good enough" isn't an option. We'd rather keep you for twenty years of annual sweeps than win one big ticket, and that only works if the work is right the first time.

Routine chimney cleaning is maintenance, and insurance doesn't cover maintenance. Damage from a chimney fire or a storm is a different matter and often is covered, which is one reason the camera inspection report matters: it establishes the condition of the flue before anything goes wrong. If you need documentation for a claim, we'll provide the report and footage. What insurance never covers is neglect, so the best policy is an annual sweep.

You can buy the brush, but you can't buy the camera footage. A homeowner with a fiberglass rod kit can clear loose soot from a straight flue, but you have no way to see what's left behind or what condition the chimney is in. Creosote hides in the smoke shelf, in the damper area, and in offset flues where a store-bought brush doesn't reach. First-degree creosote is a brush job. Third-degree is a glaze. Catch it early. We do this every day and we're faster, cleaner, and better equipped than any weekend attempt.

It's genuinely dangerous, and we don't say that to sell work. Creosote is combustible fuel coating the inside of your flue, and it ignites at around 451 degrees. A chimney fire burns hot enough to crack flue liners and can spread into the house structure around the chimney. Carbon monoxide is the quieter risk: a blocked or damaged flue sends combustion gases into the home. Rockland County winters mean fires burning for hours at a time, which is exactly the condition that turns neglected creosote into a problem. Once a year, burn or no burn.

Yes, at least have it inspected. Chimneys break in the off-season too. Snow melts into mortar joints and refreezes, animals nest in unused flues, and water finds every crack. An unused chimney can hide a spalled liner or a cracked crown for years until the first fire sends smoke into the house or carbon monoxide into bedrooms. A camera inspection is cheap insurance, and if the flue is clean and sound, we'll tell you that and you'll be in and out in under an hour.

Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Rockland County since 1999.