Before & After Gallery - Top Hat Chimney

Chimney Cleaning Before & After in Waterford, CT

Photographs are the most honest way to show what twenty-nine years of chimney work looks like. Below you’ll find before and after shots from real sweeps and repairs in and around Waterford. Some of these flues looked fine from the living room. The camera told a different story, and the after photos show why that matters.

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Recent Transformations

Heavy Creosote Removal in a Quaker Hill Fireplace

The homeowner burned pine for two winters without a sweep. By the time we arrived, the flue had a quarter-inch of shiny creosote from the smoke shelf up. Wendell and his crew ran the rotary whips first to break the glaze, then hand-brushed the tile to bare clay. The after photo shows what a difference one afternoon makes. That flue went from a chimney fire waiting to happen to one that drafts like it was built yesterday.

Smoky Drafting Fireplace on Great Neck Road

The complaint was simple: every fire pushed smoke into the living room. We found the damper throat packed with soot and a flue full of second-degree creosote that narrowed the draft path by nearly half. We vacuumed the smoke shelf, cleaned the full length of the flue, and reset the damper plate. That fireplace went from unusable to drawing clean within the hour. Your flue doesn’t care how the fire looks. It cares how it breathes.

Animal Nest Extraction in an East Lyme Cap-Access Chimney

This one came in as a simple sweep, but the live person who took the call heard something in the description that sounded like nesting material. The camera confirmed it: a squirrel had turned the upper flue into a high-rise apartment. We removed the nest, swept the residue out, and installed a new stainless steel cap with proper screening. The homeowner hadn’t burned in months because of the smell. Now they can again.

Chimney Smell and Rust Stains Behind a Gas Insert

Gas fireplaces get ignored because there’s no visible smoke, but they produce acidic soot that eats at metal over time. This homeowner called about a sulfur smell every time the wind shifted. We removed the insert, vacuumed the firebox, and cleaned the connector pipe where the rust stains were forming. Then we sealed the joints. The smell was gone that week, and we have the photos to prove where it came from. Once a year, burn or no burn. Chimneys break in the off-season too.

First-Degree to Third-Degree Glaze: A Cautionary Sweep

This is the one Wendell tells people about. The homeowner skipped two years, then three, and by the time we got there the creosote had hardened into a tar-like glaze that no standard brush would touch. First-degree creosote is a brush job. Third-degree is a glaze, and catching it early matters because mechanical removal costs more and takes longer. The after photo shows the same flue clean and serviceable. We also left the customer with a written note on exactly what we removed and when to schedule the next sweep.

Cracked Flue Tile Discovery During a Routine Cleaning

Sometimes the sweep itself uncovers the real problem. We were halfway through a routine cleaning when the camera showed a vertical crack running between two flue tiles. A cracked flue is a genuine safety concern because heat and embers can reach the chimney structure. We explained what we saw, showed the customer the footage, and gave them a written estimate on the spot. They approved the liner replacement that week. The camera footage and a plain-English verdict, every time, no exceptions.

Want Results Like These?

Every one of these jobs started with a phone call. Wendell or one of his crew will answer in person, give you a straight number before any tool comes off the truck, and stand behind the work with the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. Call (860) 390-4899 and let’s get your chimney on the after side of this page. No trip charge inside the county, and seniors and veterans always save 10%.

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