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
AfterChimney Cleaning Before & After in Dix Hills, NY
Most homeowners never see the inside of their flue. They see a fireplace that works, or one that smokes a little, and they figure it’s fine. Then we run a camera up there and show them what’s actually been building. The photos below are the kind of work we do in Dix Hills, Commack, Huntington, and across the county. The before shots aren’t pretty. The after shots are what a chimney is supposed to look like.
Recent Transformations
Third-Degree Creosote Removal in a Dix Hills Family Room
The homeowner called because the fireplace had started smoking back into the room on cold starts. A camera inspection showed a glaze of third-degree creosote, shiny and tar-like, coating the upper third of the flue. That’s not a brush job. Wendell and his crew used rotary chains to break the glaze free, then brushed the full length and vacuumed everything out. The flue went from a fire hazard to bare terra cotta in about two hours.
First-degree creosote is a brush job. Third-degree is a glaze. Catch it early, before it becomes a chimney fire waiting for the coldest night of the year.
Animal Nest Extraction and Full Sweep in Commack
This one was a squirrel nest, packed tight into the smoke shelf of a home in Commack. The homeowner noticed scratching sounds in early fall and a faint odor near the fireplace. We removed the nest material in stages, swept the full flue, and installed a properly fitted cap with mesh siding so it won’t happen again. The chimney drew clean and quiet afterward, and the smell was gone the same day.
Once a year, burn or no burn. Chimneys break in the off-season too, and animals don’t check the calendar before moving in.
Smoky Fireplace in Huntington: A Flue That Couldn’t Breathe
A Huntington family hadn’t used their fireplace in two years because every fire sent smoke rolling into the living room. The camera showed why: the flue was narrowed by an accumulated layer of soot and first-degree creosote, and the damper plate was partially seized. We swept the full length, freed the damper, and verified the draft with a smoke test before we left. The fireplace pulled like it did when the house was built.
Your flue doesn’t care how the fire looks. It cares how it breathes.
Chimney Cap Replacement in Dix Hills After Storm Damage
After a string of nor’easters, a Dix Hills homeowner found pieces of rusted metal in the firebox. The old cap had corroded through at the seams and lifted on one side, leaving the flue open to rain and birds. We removed the old cap, inspected the crown beneath it, and installed a new stainless cap from Copperfield. It’s sealed, screened, and rated to outlast the old one by a wide margin.
A cap is cheap insurance. Water in the flue is not a small problem once it starts eating the liner and the masonry around it.
Water Stains and a Cracked Crown in Dix Hills
The first sign was water staining on the ceiling near the fireplace. The camera inspection found a crown that had cracked in multiple places, sending water straight into the brick and down through the flue chase. We called in the repair, rebuilt the crown with a proper slope, and sealed the surface. After it cured, we swept the flue and verified no water was making it past the cap or crown.
If it’s not done right, we make it right. That’s the 90-Day Done Right Promise, stamped on every job we finish.
Full Liner Replacement in a 1980s Dix Hills Home
The original terra cotta liner in this 1980s split-level had cracked through in three places. Gaps like that let heat and gasses reach the masonry, which is exactly how chimney fires start. We pulled the old liner, sized a new DuraFlex stainless liner to the flue, and insulated it properly. When we finished, the homeowner ran a fire that night. The draft was better than it had been in years.
No one wants a liner job they can’t verify is real. That’s why we show camera footage and a plain-English verdict every time, no exceptions. If a liner can safely wait, we say so.
Want Results Like These?
If your fireplace smokes, smells, or hasn’t been looked at in years, call (631) 318-8656. We’ll schedule a sweep, put a camera up the flue, and show you exactly what’s going on before any work begins. No trip charge inside the county, $40 off any repair over $200, and 10% off always for seniors and veterans. Ask anyone on your street. They’ll send you to us.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Dix Hills since 1999.