Before & After Gallery - Top Hat Chimney

Chimney Cleaning Before & After in Quincy, MA

Anyone can say they clean chimneys. Seeing what actually came out of a flue, and what the flue looked like after the brush went through, is a different thing entirely. Wendell has been dragging soot out of Quincy chimneys since 1999, and he documents the work with camera footage on every job. These write-ups walk you through a few recent transformations. Photos get dropped into each frame as we add them.

Call (781) 277-4630

Recent Transformations

Third-Degree Creosote Glaze, Wollaston Split-Level

The homeowner called because fires had started burning sluggish and a little smoky, even with dry wood. The flue had a shiny, tar-like glaze built up from years of low, cool fires. First-degree creosote is a brush job. Third-degree is a glaze, and this was heading there fast. Wendell and his crew worked the flue with mechanical removal tools, not just rods and a brush, until the tile surfaces were clean enough to inspect. The after photo shows bare flue tile again. The fire draws correctly now, and the house smells like a fireplace only when a fire is actually going.

Raccoon Nest and Debris Blockage, Merrymount Colonial

A Merrymount family found twigs and bits of insulation falling into the fireplace in early fall. The flue was nearly blocked by a raccoon nest about twelve feet down from the top. We pulled out two contractor bags of nesting material, swept the full length, and then capped the flue so the raccoon could not move back in. The before photo looks like a clogged drain. The after looks like a chimney. Your flue doesn’t care how the fire looks. It cares how it breathes.

Heavy Soot and Stage-Two Creosote, North Quincy Ranch

This ranch had been heated with the fireplace most of the winter, and the homeowner guessed it had been a few years since the last sweep. The flue walls carried a thick, flaky creosote layer, the kind that can go from “needs cleaning” to “chimney fire” in one good hot burn. A standard brush pass alone would not have done it. We ran a rotary cleaning head down the flue, then did a final brush by hand to knock the walls clean. The after footage showed brick and tile, not crust. Now the fireplace burns clean, and the draw is strong enough that smoke does not spill back into the living room when the door opens.

Smoky Fireplace with a Cold Flue, Germantown Two-Story

The complaint was smoke rolling into the room every time they lit a fire, even with the damper open. The flue itself was not heavily creosoted, but it was cold and narrow, and the chimney cap screen had a layer of soot and pollen nearly sealing the top. We cleaned the cap, swept the flue, and checked the smoke shelf, which was piled with old ash and a dead bird. No major repair was needed, which we told them straight out. The fireplace now pulls correctly from the first match. Some jobs just need a proper cleaning and a cap that can breathe.

Chimney Cap and Crown Failure, Squantum Cape

Water had been seeping into this Squantum cape for at least a season. The old cap was rusted through at the mesh, and the crown had hairline cracks running from the flue tile to the edge. Rain was getting in, and the damp smell in the firebox was hard to miss. We removed the old cap, cleaned the crown, and sealed it with a crown coat before installing a new stainless cap. We also swept the flue because the moisture had turned the creosote into a sticky, sour mess. The before photo shows rust and standing water stains. The after shows a dry crown and a new cap that will outlast the old one by years.

Glazed Creosote and a Worn Damper Plate, Houghs Neck Bungalow

This little bungalow near the water had a flue that had not been cleaned since before the owner bought the place. The creosote was a mix of flaky second stage and hard glaze, and the damper plate was warped so badly it would not close all the way, which is also a heat-loss problem in January. Wendell and his crew cleaned the flue and replaced the damper plate with a new unit. The camera footage showed a clean flue and a damper that seats correctly. The owner told us later the upstairs bedroom stopped smelling like old fire, and the furnace is not fighting a drafty chimney anymore.

Want Results Like These?

Every job above came from a phone call to (781) 277-4630. Wendell or one of his crew will answer in person, show up in a real window, and put the price in front of you before any tool comes off the truck. The camera footage and a plain-English verdict come with every job, no exceptions. Once a year, burn or no burn. Chimneys break in the off-season too.

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