Level 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterMeet the Brentwood Team Behind Top Hat Chimney
Top Hat Chimney has been cleaning and repairing chimneys across Brentwood and the surrounding Long Island communities since 1999. But a company is just a name on a truck until you meet the people who show up at your door. Wendell built this crew the way he builds a chimney crown: slowly, carefully, and with people he’d trust inside his own home. Most of the team lives right here in Suffolk County. You’ll run into them at the deli on Second Avenue or at the Brentwood market on a Saturday. That’s the point. These are your neighbors, and they take your chimney personally.
Our People
Wendell Pike, Owner and Founder
Wendell started Top Hat Chimney in 1999 with a single ladder, a secondhand van, and a stubborn belief that people in Brentwood deserved better than the fly-by-night sweep operations that rolled through town each fall. Over 29 years later, he still answers the phone when he’s not up on a roof. Wendell personally inspects every liner installation and rebuild job before it’s marked complete, and he’s the one who signs off on the 90-Day Done Right Promise that accompanies every invoice. He’ll tell you straight if your chimney doesn’t need the work someone else quoted. Ask anyone on your street. Wendell is also the reason the company still offers a free second opinion on any competing written estimate. It started as a habit, not a marketing tactic. The habit stuck.
Marcus D., Lead Technician
Marcus has been with Top Hat Chimney for fourteen years, which means he’s swept and repaired more Brentwood chimneys than most people have walked past. He’s our lead on third-degree creosote removals and the technician Wendell trusts with the ugliest liner extractions. Marcus holds certifications with HeatShield and DuraFlex installation standards, and he’s the first person to tell a homeowner when a simple sweep is all they need and a rebuild can wait. He’s also our best ladder climber, which matters more than you’d think on older Brentwood homes with steep rooflines and clay tile crowns. Off the clock, Marcus coaches his son’s Little League team at Roberto Clemente Park.
Joey R., Senior Installer
Joey joined the crew eleven years ago after a career in masonry, and he’s the one you want on a chimney cap, crown, or full rebuild. He’s installed liners from DuraFlex, Gelco, and Olympia Chimney, and he has a particular eye for the way water finds its way into a cracked crown. Joey handles the company’s most complex rebuilds, including fireplaces with angled flues and older Brentwood Colonials with original clay tile systems. He carries a moisture meter and a level as habit, not because policy says so. Joey grew up in Bay Shore and still complains about Long Island winters the entire time he’s on a roof, which the rest of the crew considers part of his charm.
Elena M., Service Coordinator
Elena is the voice you’ll hear when you call Top Hat Chimney at (934) 935-3847 at 2 p.m. or 2 a.m. She joined the team eight years ago and runs scheduling, permits, and the booking board with a level of organization that keeps six technicians on time across Suffolk County. Elena is the reason you get a real arrival window, and she’s the one who calls you immediately if a job runs long or traffic on the Long Island Expressway wrecks a schedule. She’s lived in Brentwood her whole life and can name the subdivision you’re calling from usually faster than you can give her the street address. Elena also prints and files every 90-Day Done Right Promise, so she knows which customers we’ve already been back to see.
One Standard, Every Job
Every Brentwood homeowner gets the same thing when Top Hat Chimney pulls up: a background-checked technician in uniform, upfront pricing before a single tool comes off the truck, and a camera inspection with footage you can watch yourself. Wendell started requiring camera documentation years ago because he got tired of chimney companies telling people they needed liners without showing proof. The rule now is simple. If we recommend a repair, you see the evidence with your own eyes before you agree to a dollar of work. Every job gets the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it’s not right, one call brings the crew back at no additional cost. That’s not a corporate guarantee. It’s Wendell’s name on the paperwork, and he takes that seriously. After all, he’s the one who runs into you at the bagel shop the following weekend.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Brentwood and Suffolk County since 1999.