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 Torrington Team Behind Top Hat Chimney
Top Hat Chimney isn’t a franchise that rolled into Litchfield County last spring. Wendell Pike started this company in 1999, and the people who show up at your door in Torrington, Harwinton, Goshen, or New Hartford are the same faces season after season. No rotating cast. No subcontractors you’ve never heard of. Just a small crew of local folks who know the difference between a chimney on a 1920s Torrington colonial and one on a newer build up in Burrville. They work together, they trust each other, and Wendell puts his name on every job they finish.
Our People
Wendell Pike, Owner and Lead Technician
Wendell founded Top Hat Chimney in 1999 after years of working on roofs and realizing most chimney problems go unnoticed until they become expensive ones. He still runs the camera on the majority of inspections in the Torrington area, and he’s the one who walks you through the footage in plain English before any work gets recommended. Wendell is CSIA-certified and has installed or serviced more DuraFlex and HeatShield liners in Litchfield County than he can count. When he’s not on a roof, you’ll likely run into him at Agway or grabbing coffee downtown, and he’ll answer your chimney question on the spot. His rule hasn’t changed in 29 years: if you wouldn’t recommend the work to your own mother, don’t recommend it at all.
Marcus T., Senior Installer
Marcus has been with Top Hat for 14 years and leads most of the liner and rebuild jobs that come through Torrington, Winsted, and the surrounding hill towns. He’s the guy Wendell sends when a chimney needs full relining or a crown has to be rebuilt from scratch, and he’s certified on Famco and Olympia Chimney products. Marcus grew up in the Naugatuck Valley and apparently knows someone on every street corner, which comes in handy when a crew needs to find a specific house up a long drive with no mailbox. He keeps a stack of photos of bad flues on his phone to show homeowners exactly what happens when a chimney gets ignored for 20 years.
Dana R., Service Coordinator
Dana is the voice on the phone, and she’s been answering it live since she joined the company nine years ago. She schedules every sweep and repair, makes sure you get a real arrival window, and calls if anything shifts during the day. Dana knows the service county inside out, so she can tell you straight whether you’re inside the no-trip-charge zone before you even ask. She keeps the 90-Day Done Right Promise log and makes sure that if something isn’t right, the follow-up gets scheduled quickly and without a runaround. When she’s not routing Wendell and the crew across Litchfield County, she’s usually at a high school basketball game in Torrington cheering louder than anyone else.
Eli P., Apprentice Sweep
Eli is three years in, training under Wendell and Marcus, and already handles many of the standard sweep and level-one inspection calls in the Torrington area. He’s the one who runs the brush up the flue, bags every bit of creosote and soot, and leaves the hearth cleaner than he found it. Eli is working toward his CSIA certification and spends a lot of study time reviewing the HeatShield and Gelco product specs so he can answer basic questions when he’s on a job. He’s a Torrington native who graduated from Torrington High School and still plays rec league softball at Fuessenich Park in the summer. Wendell says Eli asks more questions than any apprentice he’s ever had, and that’s exactly why he’s good.
One Standard, Every Job
Wendell’s crew works on a simple rule: the work has to be done right, and if it isn’t, it gets made right. Every job from a basic sweep in New Hartford to a full rebuild in Torrington gets the same treatment. The crew shows up in uniform, background-checked and on time. You get upfront pricing before a single tool comes off the truck, and the number you hear on the phone is the number on the invoice. If something isn’t done right within 90 days, one call brings Wendell or one of his crew back at no charge. That promise is in writing on every job, and it’s been the same since 1999. Ask anyone on your street. The standard in Torrington doesn’t change depending on which truck pulls up. It’s always Top Hat.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Torrington and Litchfield County since 1999.