What Fairfax Homeowners Say About Top Hat Chimney
Reviews are the closest thing to asking your neighbor who they’d let into their house with a brush and a camera. We’ve been cleaning chimneys in Fairfax since 1999, and the reviews below come from people in neighborhoods like Mantua, Fairchester, and Little River Hills. Wendell Pike has always run Top Hat Chimney on a simple rule: do the work right, show the customer the proof, and stand behind it for 90 days. That’s how you earn the kind of reviews that stick.
Recent Reviews
We bought a 1960s split-level in Mantua and had no idea when the chimney was last touched. Wendell’s crew came out, ran the camera, and showed me the creosote buildup on a tablet before anything got scraped. Half an hour of brushing and it was clean. The liner checked out fine, so he told us not to spend a dime on anything else. That honesty is why I’ll call again.
Shane W. - Mantua, Fairfax
We’d been told by another company that we needed a new liner for $4,000. Something felt off, so I called Top Hat for the free second opinion. They put the camera up and showed me the liner had pinhole wear but was nowhere near failure. Wendell said we could hold off a season or two. Nobody had ever told us to wait before. That’s the kind of contractor you keep.
Todd B. - Fairchester, Fairfax
Our chimney had a family of squirrels living in it. The noise started in October and got worse. The crew came out, cleaned everything out carefully, and installed a proper cap so they couldn’t get back in. They even showed me where the old cap had rusted through. Six months later, no scratching, no smell, no problems.
Whitney D. - Little River Hills, Fairfax
I’d put off a sweep for three years because we barely use the fireplace. Big mistake. The tech showed me first-degree creosote that was one season away from glazing. He removed it all, checked the flue with the camera, and gave me a plain-English report on the spot. The 90-day promise is real, and so is the fact that a live person answers the phone.
Laura B. - City of Fairfax
Two chimneys, a lot of neglect, and a weird smell we couldn’t place every time it rained. Top Hat found a cracked crown letting water drip onto the smoke shelf. They repaired the crown, swept both flues, and we haven’t smelled a thing since. The price they quoted on the phone was exactly what we paid. No surprise fees, no pressure.
Shane W. - Mantua, Fairfax
My wife called at 8 pm on a Sunday because the fireplace was smoking into the living room. A real person picked up, talked us through opening the damper fully and checking the flue for blockages, and had someone out the next morning. Wendell’s guy found a dead bird wedged above the damper. Pulled it out, swept the flue, and we were burning clean by dinner.
Todd B. - Fairchester, Fairfax
Why Customers Trust Us
The reviews above don’t happen by accident. They come from a specific way of doing business that Wendell Pike has stuck to for over 29 years in Fairfax. Every job starts with upfront pricing before a single tool comes off the truck. The number you hear is the number on the invoice, no exceptions. Every technician is background-checked and shows up in uniform with a real arrival window. If that window slips, you get a call, not silence.
We also put our guarantee in writing. The 90-Day Done Right Promise is stamped on every job we complete. If something isn’t right, one call brings Wendell back to make it right at no additional cost. That’s not marketing language; it’s his name on the invoice and he still runs into you at the grocery store on Saturday.
We don’t recommend work until you’ve seen the camera footage. You get a plain-English verdict every time, whether that’s a clean bill of health or a repair that can honestly wait. We’d rather earn your trust over years than sell you a liner you don’t need this season. Senior and veteran discounts apply on every job, and there’s no trip charge anywhere inside the county. Call (571) 624-2385 to schedule your sweep or ask a question. A live person answers, even at odd hours.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Fairfax since 1999.