Meet the Team - Top Hat Chimney

Meet the Fairfax Team Behind Top Hat Chimney

Top Hat Chimney has been cleaning and repairing chimneys around Fairfax since 1999, and the crew we send to your door is a big part of why folks keep calling back. We’re not a franchise that rotated in last spring with a new logo and a rented van. We live here, we work here, and Wendell runs into you again on Saturday at the grocery store. Ask anyone on your street. The same handful of faces shows up year after year, and that’s on purpose.

Our People

Wendell Pike, Owner

Wendell founded Top Hat Chimney in 1999 after spending the better part of a decade working for other chimney outfits in Northern Virginia and getting tired of watching corners get cut. He still answers the phone himself half the time, and he means it when he says the number you hear on the phone is the number on the invoice. He’s the one who signs the 90-Day Done Right Promise on every job, and he takes that personally. Wendell holds a state license, is insured and bonded, and has pulled some genuinely strange things out of Fairfax flues over the years, including a 1974 Fairfax High School class ring once, which he returned. He’ll tell you a flue is fine before he lets you spend a dollar on it. Wendell lives in the area with his family and still gets up on roofs when his back cooperates.

Marcus T., Lead Technician

Marcus has been with Top Hat for 17 years, which means he’s swept or inspected thousands of chimneys across Fairfax, from Mantua to Fair Oaks and every split-level in between. He’s HeatShield certified and is the guy we send out when a homeowner needs a straight, plain-English read on whether a liner actually needs to be replaced. Marcus is the one who will show you the camera footage and point at exactly what he’s seeing, then tell you if it can wait a year. He’s got a dry sense of humor and a soft spot for old brick construction. On weekends he coaches his daughter’s soccer team in Chantilly.

Elena R., Senior Installer

Elena joined Top Hat 11 years ago after working on masonry restoration projects around DC. She leads our liner and rebuild jobs, and she’s the reason your DuraFlex or HeatShield install goes in square and stays that way. Elena is trained on every product line we carry, including Olympia Chimney and Copperfield components, and she’s meticulous about flashing and crown work because she knows what Fairfax winters do to a poorly sealed chase. She’s usually the one on the roof with the caulk gun, talking to herself in Spanish about mortar mix. Elena bakes exceptionally good bread and will absolutely tell you about it if you ask.

Devon B., Service Coordinator

Devon is the voice on the phone when you call Top Hat, and yes, he’s a real person sitting in our Fairfax office, not a call center. He’s been with us for 6 years and knows the service area street by street, which means he can tell you honestly whether we’re heading to your place before or after lunch. Devon keeps the schedule honest and calls you if a sweep is running late, which doesn’t happen much because Marcus hates being late. He’s also the one who applies your senior or veteran discount without you needing to remind him. Devon is training to move into the field as an apprentice next season, so don’t be surprised if he shows up at your door with a brush in hand soon.

Sam W., Apprentice

Sam is the newest member of the crew, 2 years in, and he’s earning his way the way Wendell did: hauling tarps, setting ladders, and learning what first-degree creosote feels like under a brush. He’s background-checked, shows up in uniform, and works under Marcus or Elena on every job. Sam grew up in Fairfax and is genuinely interested in old fireplaces, the kind with the ornate cast-iron dampers that haven’t been made since the 1950s. He’ll tell you your house has good bones, and he means the chimney.

One Standard, Every Job

Every person on this page works under the same rules. The price you get on the phone is the price on the invoice, no surprises after a tool comes off the truck. Every job ends with camera footage, and Wendell reviews the reports himself. When we say a chimney is safe, we can show you why. When we say it needs work, you’ll see the crack or the glaze on the screen before you agree to anything. The 90-Day Done Right Promise applies to every member of this crew, on every single job, in writing, since 1999. Your flue doesn’t care how the fire looks. It cares how it breathes. We’re the ones who make sure it does.

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