Level 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterMeet the Bristol Team Behind Top Hat Chimney
Top Hat Chimney has been crawling around Bristol flues since 1999, and the crew who shows up at your door today is the reason people still call. No subcontractors, no rotating cast. Just local folks who know a Federal Hill colonial from a Chippens Hill cape and treat your house like it’s on their street, because half the time, it is. You’ll see us at the hardware store, at Muzzy Field in the summer, at the bagel shop on Farmington Avenue. Ask anyone on your street. They probably know one of us by name.
Our People
Wendell Pike, Owner & Founder
Wendell started Top Hat Chimney in 1999 with one truck, a brush set, and a simple idea: do the job right and write your name on it. Twenty-nine years later, he still climbs roofs most weeks and still answers the phone when it rings at odd hours. Wendell holds a Connecticut Hearth Professional certification and has personally overseen thousands of sweeps and rebuilds across Bristol, Southington, Plainville, and the surrounding county. If something looks off in your flue, he’s the one who’ll tell you straight: “That can wait” or “That cannot.” No pressure, no upsell. He lives a few miles from downtown and has a standing rule that any crew member caught cutting a corner buys lunch for the whole team.
Dave M., Lead Technician
Dave has been with Top Hat since 2007, which makes him the crew’s unofficial encyclopedia of weird chimney finds. He’s the guy who once pulled a 1970s Frisbee out of a Bristol fireplace flue and can still tell you exactly which neighborhood it came from. Dave is certified in chimney inspection and specializes in diagnosing tricky draft problems, the kind where smoke backs up into the living room and nobody can figure out why. He prefers third-floor roof work in January because “nobody bothers you up there,” and the rest of the crew lets him have it. If Dave knocks on your door, he’ll have boot covers in his hand before you even say hello.
Sarah T., Senior Installer
Sarah joined Top Hat in 2015 and handles most of the heavy liner and rebuild work across the Bristol area. She’s factory-trained on DuraFlex and HeatShield systems and is the one Wendell trusts to run a full chimney rebuild from footings to cap without a single callback. Sarah is known for keeping the cleanest job site in the company, which matters when you’re working inside someone’s finished basement or great room. She grew up in Terryville and will absolutely notice if you’ve got a wood stove from her grandfather’s era. Her standard line when someone asks how the job went: “The camera says it better than I can.”
Luis R., Service Coordinator & Apprentice Tech
Luis is the voice you’ll likely hear when you call for a sweep or a quote, and the one who keeps the schedule from falling apart on rainy days. He’s been with Top Hat for four years and splits time between the phone, the truck, and his ongoing apprenticeship under Wendell and Dave. Luis grew up in Bristol’s West End and knows how to give you a straight answer about what a job should cost and when the crew can get there. He’s currently working toward his full chimney inspection certification and spends his weekends either fishing at Lake Compounce or arguing about pizza places on Main Street. If he tells you the crew will call if anything slips, they will.
One Standard, Every Job
Every person on this page works by the same rules, and the rules aren’t complicated. The 90-Day Done Right Promise goes on every job in writing, and if something isn’t right, one call brings the right person back. The price you hear on the phone is the price you see on the invoice, whether you’re getting a basic sweep on a bungalow off Willis Street or a full liner rebuild out near the reservoir. Camera footage and a plain-English verdict come with every inspection, no exceptions, because you shouldn’t have to take anyone’s word for what’s happening above your firebox. Wendell and his crew have been running on that standard since the first year, and it’s why a lot of Bristol addresses show up in our book more than once. If you’ve got a chimney question, call (860) 743-7743 and a live person, quite possibly one of the names above, will pick up.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Bristol since 1999.