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 Chesapeake Team Behind Hearthstone Chimney Co.
We’re the crew that shows up at your door in Chesapeake, uniformed and ready to work. Most of us have been with Hearthstone for the better part of a decade, and what keeps us here is simple: we get to fix things properly and stand behind them. No shortcuts, no mystery charges, no leaving a homeowner guessing whether their chimney is safe. Russell Haines built this company in 1984 on that premise, and it’s the standard we still hold each other to every morning.
Our People
Russell Haines, Owner
I’ve been climbing on roofs and crawling into fireboxes since 1984, back when Chesapeake was half the size it is now and most folks still burned wood without giving their chimney a second thought. I started Hearthstone Chimney Co. because I kept seeing the same pattern: homeowners getting told they needed expensive work they couldn’t verify, with no photos, no explanation, and no recourse if it went wrong. So I made a rule we’re still following forty-two years later - every Level-2 inspection ends with pictures the homeowner can see and a plain-English verdict, documented like an engineer and explained like a craftsman. I’m usually on the road between jobs, but I still pull on the uniform for the tricky rebuilds and liner installations. Outside of work, you’ll find me restoring a 1968 Chris-Craft boat in my garage, which is where my wife says I actually spend my retirement that hasn’t happened yet.
Marcus T., Lead Technician
Marcus has been with us fourteen years and runs the crew on most multi-day jobs across Chesapeake and into Virginia Beach. He’s CSIA-certified and specializes in masonry rebuilds and crown repairs, the kind of work where one sloppy mortar joint means water gets in and ruins everything below it. Homeowners tend to ask for him by name after they’ve watched him explain why their flashing failed using a flashlight and a piece of chalk. He’s the one who trains our apprentices on the roof, and he’s got a running bet with Russell about whether the old brick chimneys in Great Bridge will outlast the vinyl-sided new construction going up off Battlefield Boulevard. Off the clock, Marcus coaches middle-school basketball and claims the clipboard skills transfer directly.
Darlene K., Senior Installer
Darlene handles our liner installations and cap replacements, working with DuraFlex, HeatShield, and Olympia Chimney materials every day. She came to us from a commercial HVAC background and brought a rigor to our installation process that cut our callback rate by half in her first two years. She’s particularly good at talking homeowners through why a stainless steel liner costs what it does and why the cheap alternatives fail - she’ll show you the corrosion on a ten-year-old aluminum liner she pulled from a house in Deep Creek last month. Darlene keeps a garden that supplies half her neighborhood with tomatoes in August, and she’s been known to leave a bag of them on the dash of the work van when she’s feeling generous.
James R., Service Coordinator
James is the live voice that answers when you call (757) 590-6579 at ten on a Saturday night or six on a Tuesday morning. He’s been with Hearthstone eight years and knows every technician’s schedule, every permit requirement in Chesapeake, and exactly how to describe what a Level-2 inspection covers without making it sound like a sales pitch. He grew up in Portsmouth, worked dispatch for a towing company before this, and says the skills are identical: somebody’s got a problem, they’re stressed, and they need to know exactly when help is coming. James tracks our 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing, makes sure the paperwork matches the estimate, and follows up after every job. He also makes the best coffee in the office, which the rest of us consider a genuine job skill.
Elena V., Apprentice Technician
Elena joined us two years ago after completing her associate’s in building science at TCC. She’s working toward her CSIA certification under Marcus’s supervision and has already handled solo sweep and inspection appointments across Greenbrier and Western Branch. She’s particularly sharp on gas fireplace diagnostics, which is where the industry is heading and where a lot of older technicians are still catching up. Elena asks more questions than anyone on the crew, which we count as a feature, not a bug. She lives in Norfolk, commutes across the High-Rise Bridge every morning, and has developed strong opinions about which lane moves fastest.
One Standard, Every Job
The five of us are the Chesapeake face of a company that’s been serving Hampton Roads for over four decades, but the standard doesn’t change when Russell drives to another county. Every technician is background-checked and uniformed. Most jobs finish in a single visit. The estimate you sign is the invoice you pay. Our 90-Day Done Right Promise - Krafted right, Every time, Your home first, Standing behind it - applies to every repair we make, backed in writing with no arguing. We use the same professional-grade materials on every job: DuraFlex, HeatShield, Gelco, Olympia Chimney, Famco, and Copperfield. No builder-grade substitutes, no exceptions. When you call (757) 590-6579, you’ll reach a live person, 24 hours a day, every day. That’s not a marketing line. It’s how we make sure nobody in Chesapeake waits through a weekend wondering if their chimney is safe to use.
Written by Russell Haines, Owner at Hearthstone Chimney Co., serving Chesapeake since 1984.