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 Peabody Team Behind Top Hat Chimney
Top Hat Chimney has been running out of Peabody since 1999, and the crew who rolls up to your house hasn’t changed much in how they work. Same trucks, same uniforms, same habit of leaving the hearth cleaner than they found it. What ties this group together is simple: they live in the communities they serve, they answer to Wendell directly, and they’d rather tell you a chimney can wait another year than sell you a liner you don’t need. Ask anyone on your street.
Our People
Wendell Pike, Owner and Founder
Wendell started Top Hat Chimney in 1999 with one truck and a brush set he still owns. He’s the one who answers the phone half the time, and the one who stamps the 90-Day Done Right Promise on every job that leaves the shop. Wendell’s been inside more Peabody flues than he can count, and he’s the first to say a third-degree creosote glaze is the only thing that genuinely worries him. When he’s not on a roof, he’s at the hardware store on Main Street or grabbing coffee somewhere downtown. If the work isn’t right, he comes back himself.
Mike D., Lead Technician
Mike has been with Top Hat Chimney for over 14 years, longer than anyone on the crew besides Wendell. He’s CSIA-certified and handles the tricky liners, the full rebuilds in the older Colonials around Peabody, and the flues that haven’t been touched since the first Bush administration. Mike keeps a small notebook in the truck where he logs every chimney he’s swept, back to 2011. His specialty is explaining camera footage in plain English, and he’ll walk you through exactly what the screen shows before he recommends a single thing.
Carlos R., Senior Installer
Carlos joined the crew nine years ago after running his own masonry outfit in Lynn. He’s the one who installs DuraFlex liners, HeatShield resurfacing, and chimney caps from Olympia and Gelco, and his crown work stays watertight through New England winters because he refuses to cut corners on the mix. Carlos is certified in HeatShield application and keeps the truck stocked with Copperfield dampers because he hates making a second trip. He’s known for arriving with a thermos of coffee his wife makes, and for quoting the exact size of a flue tile from the ground before the ladder’s even up.
Sarah T., Service Coordinator
Sarah has been the voice on the phone for Top Hat Chimney for seven years, and yes, when you call at 9 p.m. on a Sunday, it’s Sarah or Wendell picking up. She knows the schedule, the neighborhoods, and which streets in Peabody still have the original clay liners from the 1950s. Sarah handles the upfront pricing calls, so the number you hear is the number on the invoice. She’s also the reason the crew gets a real arrival window and a call if anything slips. If you mention you have a senior discount or served, she’ll apply the 10% before you finish asking.
One Standard, Every Job
Every person who works for Top Hat Chimney follows the same rules, whether they’re in Peabody, Danvers, Lynnfield, or Salem. The price is set before tools come off the truck. The technician shows up background-checked and in uniform. The camera inspection and photo report are standard, not an upsell. And the 90-Day Done Right Promise means one call brings Wendell or his crew back at no additional cost. Six brands, 29 years, one standard. Your flue doesn’t care how the fire looks. It cares how it breathes.
What Makes This Team Different
The chimney repair and cleaning business in Peabody is full of companies that rotated in last spring with a franchise logo and a sales script. Top Hat Chimney isn’t that. Wendell puts his name on every invoice, runs into you at the grocery store, and has a published address and license number anyone can look up. The crew has a combined 30-plus years of chimney work in this immediate area, which means they know the difference between a Peabody clay liner from the 1960s and one worth saving. Free second opinion on any written estimate. No trip charge inside the county. Call (978) 637-8560 and a live person answers, every time.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Peabody since 1999.