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
AfterChimney Cleaning Before & After in Hagerstown, MD
Anybody can tell you they clean chimneys. Showing you the flue walls before a sweep and the same flue after is a different conversation entirely. We run a camera up every single chimney we service in Hagerstown, so you see exactly what we see. Some of these jobs were routine. A few were closer calls than the homeowner realized. Here’s what real work looks like when the brush comes down and the camera goes back up.
Recent Transformations
Third-Degree Creosote Glaze in a North End Split-Level
The homeowner had burned green wood for two winters and hadn’t swept since they moved in. What we found wasn’t a brush job. Third-degree creosote hardens into a shiny, tar-like glaze that a standard wire brush skips right over, and it’s fuel waiting for one hot fire. Wendell and his crew ran rotary whip heads with metal chains to break the glaze off the tile, then followed with a chemical treatment to loosen what remained. The camera footage afterward showed bare flue tile wall to wall. That’s the difference between cleaning a chimney and actually making it safe to burn again.
Fifteen Years of “I’ll Get To It” in Halfway
A flue doesn’t have to be glazed to be dangerous. This one carried a heavy coat of second-degree creosote, flaky and black, built up over a decade and a half of occasional fires and no sweeping. The passage had narrowed by nearly two inches. Our sweep ran the brush from top and bottom, then vacuumed out close to three gallons of debris from the smoke shelf and firebox. The after photo shows full airflow restored. The homeowner told us the fireplace drew better than it had in years. That’s not a compliment to us. It’s just what a clean chimney does.
Animal Nest Blocking a Cap on a Frederick Street Row Home
These older Hagerstown row homes see a lot of chimney caps that were installed without proper screening underneath. Starlings found the gap and built a nest deep enough to block the draft entirely, which the homeowner discovered when smoke rolled back into the living room. We removed the cap, pulled out the nest material, swept the flue, and reinstalled the cap with new hardware. Smoke drafts up and out now, and the birds have to find somewhere else. The camera footage showed the full length of the flue clear for the first time since the cap went on.
Post-Sweep Glaze Treatment on a Funkstown Rambler
Some chimneys need more than a sweep once the tile itself starts to go. This rambler outside Funkstown had first-degree creosote, which is the easy kind, but the tiles beneath had hairline cracks from forty years of heating cycles. After the sweep, we applied a HeatShield cerfractory sealant to restore a smooth, continuous flue surface. It costs less than a liner and can buy real years on an older masonry chimney. The before and after files from this job show exactly why we recommend a camera inspection even when the sweep is routine. The brush can’t tell you about cracks. The camera can.
Chimney Sweep on a Dual-Flue Colonial in Smithsburg
Two flues, two different stories. The fireplace flue on this Smithsburg colonial was fine for another year, but the stove flue needed a sweep. We don’t sweep what doesn’t need it. Wendell quoted the job per flue, swept the stove flue thoroughly, and told the homeowner plainly that the fireplace flue could wait until next season. That’s the thing about a company that’s been here since 1999. We’re not trying to maximize the invoice. We’re trying to be the company you call again next year, and the year after that.
First-Degree Creosote, Caught Exactly on Schedule in Robinwood
This is the one you want to see, because it’s the one you want to be. One year of regular burning with properly seasoned wood produced a light coating of first-degree creosote, dusty and dry, no glaze, no blockage. The sweep took under an hour. The camera after showed clean tile and a healthy flue. Once a year, burn or no burn. This Robinwood homeowner gets it, and they’ll never have a third-degree surprise because they never let one build.
Want Results Like These?
Every sweep we do in Hagerstown ends with the same thing: camera footage you can watch yourself, and a plain-English answer about what needs doing now and what can wait. If you haven’t had your flue looked at in a while, call (240) 534-1247. Free estimates, live person on the phone, and Wendell or his crew will give you a real arrival window.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Hagerstown since 1999.