Before & After Gallery - Top Hat Chimney

Chimney Cleaning Before & After in Hempstead, NY

Talking about a clean flue only gets you so far. Seeing what we pulled out of one changes how you think about your own fireplace. Every job below is a real scenario we’ve handled in Hempstead and the surrounding neighborhoods. The captions tell the story. The photos will show you the proof. We add new ones as jobs wrap up.

Call (516) 963-1068

Recent Transformations

First-Degree Creosote Buildup in a Garden City Split-Level

The homeowner hadn’t burned in two seasons but called us before the first fire of winter. What we found was a fine, dusty layer of first-degree creosote along the upper third of the flue. Wendell ran the brush through twice, vacuumed the smoke shelf, and the after photo shows the terracotta as clean as the day it was set. Took about ninety minutes from setup to final sweep-up.

Third-Degree Glaze and a Bird’s Nest in a Uniondale Ranch

First-degree creosote is a brush job. Third-degree is a glaze. This one had both, plus enough twig and straw to fill a five-gallon bucket. The nest sat just above the damper, which explained the funky smell the family noticed when the air conditioner kicked on in July. We removed the nest, broke down the glaze with the proper heads, and left the smoke chamber clear. Your flue doesn’t care how the fire looks. It cares how it breathes.

Wood-Burning Fireplace with Heavy Soot in a Franklin Square Split

This fireplace saw three or four fires a week from November through March, but no one had swept it in maybe six years. Soot sat thick on the firebox walls, and the smoke shelf held a layer of debris you could scrape with a butter knife. We did a full sweep, removed the shelf buildup, and wiped down the firebox. The after photo looks like a different fireplace. The camera footage and a plain-English verdict, every time, no exceptions.

Damper Stuck Open in a Baldwin Colonial

The homeowner called because drafts kept sneaking down the chimney, and their heating bill showed it. The damper had rusted in the open position, and creosote had built up around the frame. Once the sweep was done, Wendell replaced the damper, tested it a few times, and showed them how to position it correctly. The draft stopped. So did the noise from the wind coming down the flue.

Neglected Wood Stove Flue in a West Hempstead Cape

Wood stoves run hotter and often get cleaned less, which is exactly the wrong combination. This flue had flaky, peeling creosote that had built up enough to reduce the draft noticeably. We pulled the pipe sections, brushed everything to bare metal, and reassembled with a new connection seal. Once a year, burn or no burn. Chimneys break in the off-season too.

Smoky Fireplace with a Partially Clogged Flue in a Hempstead Tudor

Every time this family lit a fire, smoke backed into the living room, and they’d crack a window to compensate. The flue had narrowed from creosote and a few old mortar chips that had fallen from the crown area. Wendell cleared it, swept it, and ran the camera up to confirm the passage was fully open. The first fire after the job drew perfectly. Ask anyone on your street.

Want Results Like These?

We’ve been pulling creosote, nests, and busted dampers out of Hempstead chimneys since 1999. Wendell and his crew show up on time, quote the price before a single tool comes off the truck, and back every job with the 90-Day Done Right Promise. Call (516) 963-1068 and a live person answers. The estimate is free.

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