Top Hat Chimney Sweeps LLC

I had some squirrels building a nest between my cap and cover on my second story chimney. They had a bit of waiting for the first available appointment, but ended up coming earlier. They came out while I wasn't home (which I said was fine) and put chicken wire around the area. The squirrels have left, so I am happy! Pricing seemed a little high, but I did 0 cost comparison so it could be in-line or cheaper. I was glad not to get on the second story!

Royal was very professional and very helpful. He took time to explain what he was looking at and looking for. He offered many maintenance tips and suggestions. I appreciated the time he took to thoroughly explain everything.

I called Top Hat in the high season, and was hoping to have the fireplace ready for use by Christmas. They were booked, but somehow found a way to fit us in based on our zip code and where they were working in time for my schedule! Two gentlemen showed up, and I was at work. My mother was at home, and they found some issues on my roof (which they don't repair) but they gladly stayed long enough for me to come home and see what needed repair. This was out of their realm, they totally did not have to do this, and I appreciated it greatly. I may never have found out about the issues, which could have caused a lot of damage in the near term, until it was too late. They did a fantastic job, showing me the best way to operate our fireplace, teaching us the basics, and giving suggestions about care and safety year-round. They even had suggestions about where to shop for screens, as we have toddlers and dogs in the house. They were really nice to the kids as well, and came equipped with little chimney sweep tokens to give to them, and taught them about fire safety. A nice touch! All in all, totally would hire them again, and strongly recommend.

I did something silly in my first contact with this company -- I tried to reach them during a cold snap. They get swamped at those times, as everyone and his dog are trying to dust off the fireplace and see if they can help heat the house--and finding out they don't really know how it works. Once I got through, I had to wait for them to call back, during which time I looked up a bunch of stuff on line. My first issue turned out to be easy: the lever that lets you open the hole at the top of the fireplace (the flue damper, ooh, techie terms) was hard to find even in daylight, and once I found it and could open the flue, everything worked. However, my second issue was that the chimney for some reason got left with bare wood showing in the firebox when it was built. Building a fireplace out of wood is just not a great plan. Right up there with screen doors for submarines. When the guy from Top Hat showed up (with an honest to Pete top hat on) he checked the chimney very quickly, said it was quite clean, recommended some small repair at the top on the outside, pointed out the bare wood on the inside, and then offered to cover up the bare wood while he was there, which hadn't been in the original plan. It was $75, and done in half an hour. He had actually shown up about 10 minutes early for the appointment, because something opened up in his schedule, which also was not originally required or expected. I felt a little bad showing up on time and making him wait. The work was good, quick, and fairly priced, and no one tried to upsell any add-ons (which I really don't like). It did take a while to get through, because they are good, and it's well known. Next time I'm planning, and my advice if you're calling them would be, to call in September or October when they aren't crazy busy yet.

I called Top Hat because of reviews I saw on Angie's List. We have been living in our house since 1998 and had never had our gas fireplace serviced. Royal Pore (owner) and Wolf (his assistant) arrived at the specified time and did a thorough job of cleaning the chimney and firebox, as well as the gas logs. They ensured a very clean process by running a shop vac the entire time to suck up all the soot the process generated. Royal went up on the roof and checked the integrity of the chimney and added screening to our cap to ensure that no squirrels find their way in. No repairs were necessary, and they will email me in 5 years when it is time to service our fireplace again, so I don't have to remember to do that. The only thing I rated them down on was responsiveness. I had called and left a message one morning, and it was the next day before I heard back to schedule an appointment, but the woman I dealt with apologized and was friendly and helpful throughout our conversation. I will definitely use Top Hat again.

Company did a great job communicating what they would do, when they would do it and was on time. Their customer service was excellent!!!!

He had a small remote control camera device that he used to let me see exactly what he was checking, explaining as he went along. He gave me several tips on using the fireplace safely. I was impressed with his professionalism and general pleasant demeanor.

okay; good service getting it set up and done; but I had to really bug them for the results and a bill! It took a month.

They were very nice and responsive. The technician was a bit late, but they did call to let me know. He was very professional and nice and the price was reasonable. I would definitely use them again.

I was very satisfied with the service.

Top Hat Chimney arrived on time. Explained everything they were doing and were very clean the entire time. I've never had a fireplace before so he took the time to explain how to use it, what items we would need for it, what kind of wood to burn in it and how to start a fire and not get any of the smoke in the house (w/ cold drafts and such). Gave us referals to Harley's Firewood and Churchills. Super, super helpful!!! I plan on using them anytime I need help with my fireplace!

I bought an Angie's List deal. The guy came and looked at it and basically said that it was already pretty clean but there was also other work needed so he would credit that amount towards the work which was acquired. I thought that he was really knowledgeable and he did a really good job. We have not actually gone through doing any work yet because it is kind of expensive but we are planning on doing that. It was all positive. He was very knowledgeable and very nice. He took the time to really wax everything with me in terms of answering questions. He took video of the issues so we could really see what was going on and we thought it was really good. We are actually planning on using him to do the recommended work.

Great. Kim answered the phone, was able to answer all of my questions and gave me suggestions on how I could solve the problem by myself. She was knowledgeable and friendly. I look forward to using them the next time I need a sweep.

We just moved into our new (new to us) house. We haven't ever had a fireplace before, so we were excited but just as much, nervous too. We found Top Hat Chimney Sweeps on Angie's List. We called them and right away Kim made me feel very comfortable. She gave me the prices for the services I might need and then scheduled the onsite service. They arrived and cleaned out my fireplace, cleaned out the chimney and then went on top of my roof to re-cap the top. Some of the services I thought I might need turned out to be nothing at all. So instead of gouging me for a few extra dollars, they said "Sir, to be honest this is in very good shape and I don't think you need any additional work". After all that, Kim sat with me and gave me a walk through of how it all works, the proper way to start a fire, things I should and should not do, etc. I got a work-aid paper they left with me with many of the pointers we went through so I wouldn't have to remember them all. They are also available to me if I have any further questions. I'll be using Top Hat Chimneys as long as I own a fireplace. Sincerely, Kelly M Jones

Great service! When I first called, Kenneth asked questions as the noise I was hearing and could even identify what type of bird I was hearing in my chimney. He told me to wait a couple of weeks and when I didn't hear it any more, he would come and cap the chimney. My roommates (the birds) moved out and they came out within a couple of days. Pleasant, helpful, and responsive! I will definitely use them again!

When they showed up they went right to work, I had thought i had this done before but apparently the last guys to do it were a ripoff. Top Hat actually showed me what they were doing and even taught me how I could do it by myself if I ever needed to. It made me actually trust them so if I ever need any other services they perform I'll be sure to call them first. The dryer is now actually drying within one cycle ~45 minutes which is fantastic and hasn't been the case since we first got it.

Absolutely great guy. Reasonable rates for adding a chimney cap to a 1976 brick fireplace. Cleaned the flue and told us how to warm it and start a fire correctly so we don't fill the house with smoke.

Super friendly, excellent appointment service, called with arrival time. Not only did he clean, but he repaired and adjusted vent issues that had arisen from previous work by another firm. No squirrel will be seeking haven there now! I will be using Top Hat in the future for sure. It's as if I have a new dryer.

I would give them an A rating across the list. They were really good and really helpful. They came by with 2 people, and they gave me some insights on actually cleaning and taking care of the fireplace and a little bit of the dryer vents.

They were friendly and diligent about getting the job done.

They are very efficient, and finished faster than I thought. They did a fine job and were really fast. They left a lot of chimney dust around which was a little surprisring, so my negative marks were for the dust that was left afterwards.

I was in the process of buying my house last May when my house inspector said that the chimney and fireplace were in need of a lot of repairs and my agent recommended bringing in Top Hot to get five me a full inspection of the fireplace. Kenneth and his wife came over and met my agent in the house and started the inspection. I went to go meet them only to find them in a state of panic because Kenneth had somehow fallen from his ladder while going up to the roof and was lying in my backyard waiting for EMS to show up. Needless to say we were all scared and concerned, but thankfully none of his injuries were critical. In spite of all of that, they later sent someone else to finish the inspection and they gave me a very thorough description of the problems they saw and an estimate on the cost of repair, which we were able to use in negotiations with the seller of the house. The previous owner never used the fireplace in the all the years he lived here, so it was largely neglected and issues were never encountered. Fast forward to the start of winter, and I decided to get the requested repairs done and called up Top Hat again. By this time, Kenneth had mostly recovered but it seems he decided to shift the responsibility of roof climbing to his son-in-law, Royal. Between the two of them, they did a great job of showing me exactly what the issues were and how they could fix it. I agreed to the repairs and they gave me an estimate of the time they could come out. Royal and another person came out and did they work in just a few hours. They seemed professional and were happy to answer any questions about the work they were doing. They waited to patch the crown, because they said that it takes a while to set and it was expected to rain in the next couple days, so they wanted to make sure conditions were right before doing the job. They kept me up to date on when they planned to come out and do the job when conditions were right, and then one day they simply let me know the job was done. I did not see a bill from them until they completed all the tasks we agreed on, even though the majority of the work was done in a day and the last part came a week and half or so later. I continue to feel bad for the unfortunate accident that happened while they were doing the initial inspection for me, but in spite of having to deal with all of that, every member of Top Hat has been nothing but professional, informative, and very friendly with me. They do their job with integrity, and I think it speaks volumes that they felt it was only proper to send me a bill after all the work was completed to my satisfaction. My fireplace and and chimney is probably the best shape it has been in for a long time, and is ready to use without worry. I would highly recommend them to anyone.

My experience with Top Hat Chimney Sweeps 512-252-3690 was fantastic from the first call to the minute they left. They answered all my questions very nicely. They educated me as to how to make a fire without smoking up the house and even left a brochure repeating the instructions. They repaired the vestal damper handle and inspected the entire chimney and deemed it safe to use. They determined that the chimney didn't not need cleaning (I had recently purchased the house and don't know much of it's history so I figured it should be cleaned) and I was very surprised and happy that they did not charge me full price for the job. I think that is very fair and honest. In this day and age, I think that's above and beyond good business practice. All the folks I spoke with at the company were very very nice. The whole experience was a joy. Top Hat has me as a customer for life and I'll certainly recommend them to all my friends

Arrived on time. Very friendly and professional. Left the job very clean.

Two workers arrived on time. Completed their work quickly - were very professional and clean. Gave me advice on future care of fireplace and suggestions on how to "use" my fireplace, even what type of wood worked best. Great experience and the workers were fantastic. Final cost was lower than expected.