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 Smithtown Team Behind Hearthstone Chimney Co.
We’re the crew that shows up at your door in Smithtown when the flue needs sweeping or the crown’s cracked after a hard freeze. Every one of us is background-checked, uniformed, and trained on the same tools and standards Russell Haines established back in 1984. What keeps us together isn’t a handbook. It’s the K.E.Y.S. code: Krafted right, Every time, Your home first, Standing behind it. We don’t do callbacks because we don’t leave until it’s done right.
Our People
Russell Haines, Owner
I started Hearthstone Chimney Co. in 1984, working out of a single truck with a brush set and a borrowed ladder. Forty-two years later, I’m still on job sites when a Level-2 inspection turns up something unusual. I’ve swept flues in Smithtown homes built in the 1920s and systems installed last winter, and the lesson is the same every time: every chimney tells you what it needs if you know how to look. I hold a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep credential and stay current on NFPA 211 code changes, but the skill I trust most is reading masonry the way a carpenter reads grain. When I’m not on a roof, I’m usually restoring a vintage Stanley plane or arguing with my daughter about whether Long Island pizza needs more sauce.
Mike T., Lead Technician
Mike’s been with us twelve years, and he’s the technician other crews call when a liner pull goes sideways or an old unlined chimney needs a full assessment. He’s CSIA-certified and factory-trained on DuraFlex and HeatShield applications, which matters when you’re working on the pre-war colonials near the Nissequogue River where the flue tiles have seen eight decades of freeze-thaw. Mike has a habit of talking homeowners through exactly what his camera sees, frame by frame, until they understand why he’s recommending what he’s recommending. Off the clock, he coaches a U-14 travel baseball team and claims he’s invented a better method for seasoning cast iron that he’ll demonstrate at length if you ask.
Donna R., Senior Installer
Donna handles our cap and crown work, stainless liner installs, and the rebuilds where the original masonry has finally given up. She came to us from a commercial HVAC background and brought a rigor about measurements and material specs that raised our whole standard. She’s particularly sharp on Gelco and Olympia Chimney hardware, and she’ll notice a 1/8-inch pitch issue on a chase cover that most people would miss. Donna’s the one who checks that every copper cap we install on a Smithtown waterfront home has the right overhang for the salt air. She keeps a small vegetable garden behind her house in Kings Park and brings in tomatoes every August that make the rest of us look like amateurs.
James K., Service Coordinator
James is the live voice you get when you call (631) 814-2057 at 10 PM on a Saturday or 7 AM on a Tuesday. He’s been with us four years and knows the Smithtown scheduling patterns cold: the October rush when everyone remembers their fireplace, the January freeze calls when crowns crack, the spring rebuild window before summer humidity sets in. He coordinates our technician routes across Suffolk County, confirms material orders from Famco and Copperfield, and makes sure every homeowner gets their inspection photos and written report within 24 hours. James grew up in St. James, still lives there, and has a running feud with his neighbor about whose lawn is worse for mowing too short.
Elena V., Apprentice Technician
Elena’s in her second year with us, working through the CSIA training program while she shadows Mike and Donna on every type of job we handle. She’s already taken point on standard sweeps and basic cap installs, and she’s developing a specialty in camera diagnostics, partly because she’s patient enough to sit with a homeowner and explain what creosote stages actually look like. Elena grew up in a Smithtown split-level with a fireplace her family never used because nobody trusted it, which is exactly why she does this work now. She’s studying for her Level-1 certification and asks more questions in a week than most people ask in a year. Her dog, a rescue mutt named Brick, comes up in conversation more than strictly necessary.
One Standard, Every Job
The K.E.Y.S. code isn’t a slogan we put on a truck. It’s how we decide what to do when no one’s watching. Every technician on our Smithtown crew works from the same inspection protocol, uses the same professional-grade materials from DuraFlex, HeatShield, Gelco, Olympia Chimney, Famco, and Copperfield, and finishes with the same documentation: photos you can see, a plain-English verdict, and a written estimate with no surprises on the bill. The 90-Day Done Right Promise covers every job we touch. If it’s not right, we come back. In writing, no arguing. That’s the Keystone Standard, and it’s the same whether Russell’s on the roof or Elena’s running her first solo sweep. We’ve been here since 1984, and we plan to be here thirty years from now. That only works if every job holds up.
Written by Russell Haines, Owner at Hearthstone Chimney Co., serving Smithtown since 1984.