Meet the Team - Top Hat Chimney

Meet the Dix Hills Team Behind Top Hat Chimney

Top Hat Chimney started in 1999, and Wendell Pike still answers the phone half the time. But he doesn’t climb every roof himself anymore. The crew that shows up at your door in Dix Hills, Commack, Huntington, and everywhere else we work is small, local, and has been with us for years. We don’t rotate guys in from other branches because we don’t have other branches. These are the people you’ll actually meet, the ones who know what a Long Island winter does to a flue, and the ones whose work Wendell puts his name on, every single job.

Call (631) 318-8656

Our People

Wendell Pike, Owner

Wendell founded Top Hat Chimney in 1999 after spending a few years working for a larger outfit and deciding he could do it better by being honest about when a job doesn’t need doing. He still runs the company day to day, still goes out on the tough repairs, and still writes the 90-Day Done Right Promise on every invoice himself. If you call after hours, it may well be Wendell who picks up. He’s the one who’ll tell you straight that the creosote in your flue is a first-degree brush job, not a glaze that needs a liner, and then quote you a fair price for the brush job only. He lives in the area and, as he likes to say, he’ll run into you again on Saturday.

Mike D., Lead Technician

Mike has been sweeping and repairing chimneys on Long Island for close to twenty years, the last ten of them with Top Hat. He’s our go-to for the complicated stuff: cracked flue tiles, deteriorating mortar joints, dampers that haven’t moved since the first Bush administration. Mike is certified through the Chimney Safety Institute of America and handles most of the camera inspections we do. If Mike tells you the liner needs replacing, he’ll hand you the camera footage and walk you through what you’re looking at, frame by frame. Outside of work, Mike’s the one who insists on arriving early enough to grab a bagel before the first job of the day.

Pete R., Senior Installer

Pete runs our liner and rebuild work. He’s installed DuraFlex and HeatShield systems in more Suffolk County chimneys than he can count, and he’s the reason we can offer the warranties we do. Pete’s been with Top Hat for over a decade, and he’s the one who will tell you, straight up, when a repair will hold for another five years and when it’s time to stop patching. He specializes in masonry and crown work, the stuff that prevents water from getting in and doing the damage that costs real money. Pete’s a veteran himself, so the 10% discount we give to seniors and vets is one he takes personally. His garage is, predictably, filled with tools and a half-restored Chevelle.

Lisa M., Service Coordinator

Lisa is the voice on the other end of (631) 318-8656 most days, and she’s been with Top Hat for eight years. She schedules every job, gives you a real arrival window, and calls if that window slips, which drives Wendell crazy when it happens but keeps people from waiting around all day. Lisa knows the service area inside out, which means she can group jobs efficiently and get you on the schedule faster when burning season hits. She’s also the one who makes sure the 90-Day Done Right Promise gets logged and followed up on, so nothing falls through the cracks. If you call with a question and she doesn’t know the answer, she’ll put Wendell or Mike on the phone rather than guess.

Danny T., Apprentice

Danny joined us two years ago after spending a few years in construction, and he’s learning the trade the right way: alongside Mike and Pete on real jobs, not from a manual in a classroom. He’s already taken to the camera inspection work and does a lot of the roof access prep, the grunt work that keeps the older guys from climbing ladders more than they need to. Danny is the one you’ll see hauling the vacuum hose and drop cloths into your living room, sweeping up the soot after the job is done. He’s young, he’s careful, and he’s background-checked like everyone else who steps through your door. Wendell has already told him that if he wants to make this a career, the apprenticeship is the right move, and Danny seems to agree.

One Standard, Every Job

The crew in Dix Hills doesn’t get to do things “their own way.” Wendell set the standard in 1999 and it hasn’t moved since: background-checked, uniformed, on time, upfront pricing before a single tool comes off the truck, and a camera inspection on every job. The 90-Day Done Right Promise is stamped on every invoice in writing, and one call brings the person who did the work back to make it right. Nobody on this team will ever tell you a liner is shot without showing you the footage. Nobody will upsell you a $40 repair into a $4,000 rebuild. That’s how it works in Dix Hills, in Huntington, in Commack, and wherever else we go. Ask anyone on your street.

Call the Team That Actually Shows Up

If you need a sweep, a repair, or an honest second opinion on an estimate you got from someone else, call (631) 318-8656. Lisa or Wendell will answer, give you straight answers, and get you on the schedule. No voicemail box, no call center, no runaround. And if you mention the $40-off any repair over $200, they’ll honor it before you even have to ask.

Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Dix Hills and surrounding communities since 1999.