High Hat Chimney Sweep

We recently purchased a 1940s home with 2 fireplaces and knew that the previous owners had not used them at all during the 5 years they had owned the home. We wanted to have the chimney's inspected and swept before we used them for the first time, and found High Hat through Angie's List. This is a family owned business with a 30-yr track record. Ray, the owner, came himself. He was about 10 minutes late, but otherwise the visit was perfect. He was clearly very knowledgable, very personable, and easy to interact with. Since this was a new house for us, he showed me how to work the dampers (a different mechanism on each fireplace, once of which had rusted shut) and taught me the differences between fireplaces originally intended for coal and those intended for wood and made recommendations for dimensions and qualities of log grates to best accommodate our fireplaces. After a quick look in the chimney he could tell that the chimney had been swept after it's last use (which must've been two owners prior to us) and that it didn't need sweeping now. He did some minor maintenance on the dampers to free up the mechanisms, did a little more instruction, and was done in about 45 minutes. He charged us for the house visit and his time, but this was less than half the anticipated charge for sweeping the two flues. I appreciated his honesty and would trust him to come again.

Ray was very professional and helpful. He drove 40 miles to get to our house, but did not charge extra. The quoted price was a flat-rate fee for chimney cleaning, but he actually provided much more. He identified a missing weight on the fireplace flue and rather than sell us something expensive, helped us fix it inexpensively. He identified some cracks in the fireplace masonry, but we discussed it and he felt like it was something I could easily fix myself, so gave me instructions on the proper materials to buy. He also instructed us in the use of the fireplace and stove and gave us several very clever tips on reversing a downdraft in the chimney, to how to handle the ash pit. He inspected the chimney caps, but advised us that it would be more logical to wait for replacement of the caps until our furnace was replaced, as a liner kit would have to be installed to bring us up to code and that included a cap, so putting a new one in now would be a waste of money. The other two caps he advised us to wait until next year. This wealth of logical, practical advice was much appreciated. As a final courtesy, he even adjusted our screen door on the way out, as it was not closing properly.

They were on time, professional. Very neat, cleaned up after their work - chimney drew well following service. Will definitely use again!

Great service. Easy to schedule an appointment. He showed up on time, explained what he did and cleaned up everything. I will use them again. A friend of ours just had a chimney fire and I will get ours cleaned out every year for sure.

As promised, Ray gave me a call when he was on his way. He couldn't have been nicer or more professional. He used a cloth to keep the family room neat and clean, and he even took care not to let my cats escape! Although the crown needs work, he told me it should be done in the spring or I would be wasting money having him fix it now. He showed me how to operate the damper (this is a new house), and he gave me several other helpful tips as well.

His name was Ray. He was very good. He was a really super nice guy. He gave me a lot of helpful tips for preventative maintenance. There were some small repairs and instead of trying to talk me into it, he told me things my husband could do and buy at the hardware store. He was a really helpful old fashioned good service kind of guy.

I called their office, set up an appointment. The office manager got me scheduled within the week. Ray, came out and prepped the area. Very clean and professional. Had tarps and a vacuum ready. He didn't leave one drop of soot in my home. He got on my roof, inspected the exterior of the chimney and roof area. Gave his opinion on some issues, but in no way pressure me to do any repairs or buy anything from him. He was at my home about an hour. Got the whole fireplace cleaned out and ready for the winter. He was great! I will call him back this year. He also has come out to my home for a wasp issue. I needed a nest removed from a vent, and he used his chimney sweep to pull it out and clean it up for me.

We have used High Hat over many years and called them when we noticed pieces of brick on our roof. Ray came over and checked what needed to be done and gave us an estimate. We made a date and he arrived promptly and did a great job.

We called on Saturday and were able to schedule the appointment for the following Monday, so the service was performed within 48 hours of the phone call. He gave us tips on how best to use the fireplace, warned us that the built-in mantle surround was fine for a gas-burning, but since we were converting back to wood-burning, we should change it out to avoid a fire. He showed us how to use some built-in air vents to bring in outside air to oxygenate the fire, which we would not have known were there. He told us how to place a piece of stainless steel in the fireplace to get more heat out of the gas-burning fireplace downstairs. While he was on the roof placing the rain-caps (x3 for two fireplaces and for the furnace) he removed an old antenna for us, which saved my husband a dangerous trip to the roof :-) We got the services we needed, and some extra advice and some help with the antenna. I only gave a B for price because we had no other quotes to compare it to, so I am not sure if it's good or not. When I called, I was quoted $132 for the raincap, and I explained that there were two fireplaces. Maybe most people would realize two fireplaces and the furnace would mean three separate caps, but I had no idea. But the estimate was spot-on, if I knew there were three caps coming. And he did explain that he could just do the two fireplace caps and leave the furnace one for when we replace the furnace, so we had a choice. He wasn't pushy at all. Great service. Professional. Prompt. Thanks for the great service!!

I was extremely pleased with the service. They were very professional, punctual and did a quality job. They cleaned up well and gave me some pointers on using the fireplace. I will be recommending them to others.

We had used High Hat several years ago to get our chimney cleaned, but had not had the chimney cleaned since then. They were very responsive in setting up the first appointment which I had to cancel on short notice because of a family medical emergency. A couple of months later, I called to reschedule the service and wanted to get the cleaning completed before Christmas. They were very good to work with to find a satisfactory time and completed the work prior to the holiday. Ray did a great job and was very neat and quick. The family room smells better in damp weather since the work was completed. We will definitely continue to use High Hat and intend to have the fireplace cleaned annually as recommended.

Ray is outstanding. Honest, punctual and thorough. I used another company in the past and ended up with a mess that Ray and his son took care of. What was quoted over the phone is what I paid.Ray also pointed out another issue that I needed to consider repairing in the spring. They were very clean and made sure that the carpet in my family room was protected while they worked. I joined Angie's List just to get the name of a reputable chimney company and High Hat had great feedback. It is definetly well deserved.

Ray showed up on time and conducted the services with professionalism. Ray effected a minor repair to my glass fire doors at no chargem as well as made some recommendations on hearth placement in the firebox for maximum efficiency.

Ray was great. Very quick and very informative. The caulking around some of the bricks on the interior of my fireplace needed to be reinforced, he told me how to do it myself and exactly which product to buy. He also gave me some helpful tips for purchasing a new fireplace front. We'll definitely call him next year for our annual sweep. Thanks Ray!

Called High Hat (Marie) and informed her we had a terrible smell coming from our fireplace and we believed we had a dead animal. Ray came to our house and cleaned the chimney which to our knowledge had never been cleaned and the house is 100 years old. He cleaned the entire inside of our fireplace and went up into the fireplace and removed a dead Squirel. He then went on our roof and put a new stainless steel cap on the fireplace so we wouldn't have this problem again. Ray also gave us instructions on the dos and dont's of a fireplace, suggesting that we cut some folege from the house.

I was very pleased with the overall experience. Ray came on time, proceeded to put down a cloth on the family room floor, then brought in his equipment, including brushes and special vacuum. He spent about one-half hour cleaning the fireplace and chimney, leaving no mess. I will definitely hire him again to sweep my chimney when needed.

They were punctual and neat. I had very good communication with Marie at the office when it was necessary to re-schedule. Very accomodating and professsional. Unlike other companies, did not try to sell me any extra services. Gave me good advice about eliminating ash smell which occurs in damp weather.

Ray did a great job. He was on time, fast and professional. He explained what he was doing and where we could go if we needed parts for the woodburner. We have used him in the past and will use him again next time.

The appointment was for 10 a.m. By 10:20 no one arrived and I didn't get any calls so I called them. I was told they were on their way. They showed up about 10-15 minutes later. He got right to work. The cleaning went well and there was no mess afterward. I didn't get any feedback from any inspection of inside the fireplace with the exception of the floot which is something that we specifically asked about. He did mention that we should insulate between the brick on the fireplace and the fireplace cover. I asked about the cap on the outside of the chimney and the chimney liner. He looked at both and gave me an estimate of work needed. I learned later that day that the ash box was not cleaned. I called and asked him about that. He said that the ash box is not included with the cleaning and that most chimney sweepers do not clean the ash boxes as they can vary in size. I have not had time to check with other chimney sweeps about this. Our ash box is small and we were disappointed with paying $120 (almost double what other chimney sweeps were charging) for about 30 minutes of work and learned that the ash box was not cleaned and that there was no other feedback on the inspection except the items that we specifically asked about. I think this company does good work, but the price was disappointing compared to the work. I was OK with paying the price originally as they came highly recommended from other Angie's List customers and I thought we would get full service. I would not pay $120 again for the same service.

Read all the comments on a few of the chimney sweep companies and decided on High Hat Chimney Sweep. Talked to Marie and she set up the appointment for a day and time that was convenient to me. Ray showed up a little bit early which was great. He took the time to tell me all about my fireplace, what kind it was and how it worked. He was a fountain of information on the correct way to use it, clean and care for it. He got straight to work and in no time was done and what I liked best was there was no ash or dirt of any kind on my new hardware floors and white carpet! A really nice guy who knows he's stuff.

We had an excellent experience with High Hat Chimney Sweep and are already planning on calling them to come back out in the spring to provide some masonry estimates on our chimney exterior. We could have gotten an estimate today, but due to a large amount of ivy that we are in the process of removing, the chimney exterior is not very visible. It was very easy to set up the cleaning. We set up the appointment in about 5 minutes and the work was scheduled to be performed two weeks from the day that I called to make the appointment. The appointment would have been scheduled sooner, but our schedule wasn't free before two weeks. Raymond, the owner, was prompt, friendly, knowledgeable, and conscientious of the fact that the vacuum he was going to use might startle our young toddler. By warning us, we were able to prepare her and she actually enjoyed watching him work for a few minutes. From start to finish, the job was done in about an hour and we were extraordinarily pleased with our service. As previously mentioned, we will call them again in the future to service our chimney.

I am totally pleased with the service. Very nice and professional gentleman. I felt very comfortable leaving him in my home for a few moments while i picked up my daughter at school. I have wanted to have my chimney cleaned for years but did not know who to call. I will definitely request his service in the future and would be happy to refer him to friends and family.

Less than a week after I called Ray was at our door, on time, and proceeded to clean the chimney. He was extremely courteous, did a great job, was very, very clean, and made recommendations. I have already asked him to give us a call next year to set up an appointment. We will very definitely recommend him to everyone we know.

Ray was great! We are in the process of moving and the future buyers inspection required chimney repairs. I called the company, he came out and made the specified changes the next day. Additionally he found some work the inspection called for wasn't actually needed and he offered to call the home buyers and explain his findings to them warrantying his work.

The cleaning process was started by the prompt arrival at the scheduled appointment time. Sweeping was done using clean drop cloths and vacuum collection/dust collector equipment along with the expected brushes. Clean up was minimal because there was no mess created by the sweeping. No footprints in or out on the carpet. Ray was genial, knowledgeable and answered all questions before, during and after the sweeping. I am posting a recommendation to use this company for this service on the Homeowners Association Bulletin Board.