Meet the Team - Top Hat Chimney

Meet the Waterford Team Behind Top Hat Chimney

When you call Top Hat Chimney in Waterford, CT, you’re not getting a rotating cast of subcontractors. You’re getting the same small crew that has been working chimneys across New London County for years. Wendell built this team slowly, one hire at a time, and every person on it came up doing the work the same way he did: looking at a flue, figuring out what it actually needs, and saying so plainly. Around here, the guy who answers the phone might be the same one who shows up with the brushes.

Call (860) 390-4899

Our People

Wendell Pike, Owner and Founder

Wendell started Top Hat Chimney in 1999 after spending years working for other chimney outfits and deciding he could do it better by doing it honestly. Nearly three decades later, he still runs the company from Waterford and still puts his name on every job ticket. He holds a Connecticut chimney contractor license and has installed or serviced just about every liner and cap system you can name, including DuraFlex and HeatShield. If a job doesn’t need doing, he’ll tell you that before he tells you anything else. People remember that more than they remember the repair.

Mark D., Lead Sweep Technician

Mark has been with Top Hat Chimney for eleven years and has swept more Waterford chimneys than he can count. He’s the guy who diagrams creosote stages for homeowners, first-degree being a brush job and third-degree being a glaze you don’t want to ignore. Mark is certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America and handles most fireplace service calls. He brings sourdough starter to the shop on Fridays and will talk your ear off about it if you let him.

Ray T., Senior Installer

Ray joined the crew eight years ago after a career in residential carpentry, which comes in handy when a chimney crown needs formwork or a chase cover needs fabrication. He leads liner installs and rebuild work, and he’s the one who makes sure the DuraFlex and Olympia components go in the way the manufacturer actually intends. Ray fishes the Niantic River on his days off and claims the striped bass in the sound answer to no one.

Jess M., Service Coordinator

Jess is the voice on the phone most mornings, and she’s been with Top Hat for six years. She schedules every appointment, confirms every arrival window, and makes sure the crew’s van is pointed in the right direction before the coffee’s gone cold. Before joining Wendell, Jess worked dispatch for a plumbing company in Groton, so she knows how to triage a call without making you feel like a ticket number. She also knows every dog on the route by name and keeps treats in the office for the ones who come by.

Danny P., Apprentice

Danny started with Top Hat two seasons ago and is working through his training under Mark and Ray. He’s learning the trade the slow way, which is the only way Wendell lets anyone learn: watching, carrying, sweeping, and asking questions until the answers make sense. Danny grew up in New London and graduated from the technical school system there. He’s usually the one who hauls the heavy stuff up the ladder and doesn’t complain about it, which everyone appreciates.

One Standard, Every Job

The rule at Top Hat Chimney is simple: any tech who shows up in a Top Hat uniform is background-checked and works to the same standard Wendell would hold on his own chimney. That means camera inspection photos from every cleaning, a plain-English verdict when something’s wrong, and a written price before any tool comes off the truck. If the work isn’t done right, the 90-Day Done Right Promise means one call brings the crew back at no cost. Wendell lives in the community he serves, and he runs into you again on Saturday. That’s the standard, and it doesn’t change whether it’s Mark, Ray, Danny, or Wendell himself at the door. Call (860) 390-4899 and ask for any of them by name.

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