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 Trenton Team Behind Hearthstone Chimney Co.
Our Trenton crew isn’t a rotating cast of subcontractors. These are the same faces who show up year after year, from Hamilton Township chimney rebuilds to Lawrenceville liner jobs. What ties them together is simple: they’re craftspeople who happen to work on chimneys, not salespeople who happen to carry brushes. Russell Haines built this team slowly, and he built it to last.
Our People
Russell Haines, Owner
I’ve been climbing roofs in Mercer County since 1984, and I’ve learned that the best tool in our truck is still a straight answer. I started Hearthstone Chimney Co. because I got tired of watching homeowners get talked into work they didn’t need by guys in clean trucks who’d never held a trowel. These days I split my time between running Level-2 camera inspections and making sure our Trenton operation runs the way I’d want my own mother’s chimney handled. I still carry a flashlight in my pocket at dinner. Old habit.
Marcus T., Lead Technician
Marcus has been with us for eleven years, and he’s the reason we can promise most jobs in a single visit. He’s certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America and specializes in masonry evaluation, the kind of work where you need to know the difference between a hairline crack and a structural threat without tearing half the chimney apart. He’s pulled some remarkable things out of flues over the years, including a complete squirrel nest that weighed eleven pounds. Marcus grew up in Ewing and still lives there with his two kids. He doesn’t miss many soccer games, even in sweep season.
Diane K., Senior Installer
Diane handles our liner and cap installations across Trenton, Hamilton, and down into Burlington County. She came to us from commercial HVAC, and that background shows in her tolerance for tight attic spaces and her insistence on measuring twice before cutting any DuraFlex or Olympia Chimney material. She’s particularly good at explaining to homeowners exactly why their old clay liner failed and what the new stainless steel one will do differently. Diane keeps a collection of failed chimney components on a shelf in her garage. She calls it her “wall of shame,” and she uses it in training sessions.
James R., Service Coordinator
James is the live voice answering when you call (856) 519-0832 at 10 PM on a Saturday. He’s been with Hearthstone for six years, and he knows our schedule, our capabilities, and our technician locations well enough to give you a real arrival window, not a fantasy. He’s also the one who makes sure every homeowner gets their photo report and plain-English verdict after a Level-2 inspection. James grew up in Lawrence Township and still knows half the streets by their old names. He’s the reason our no-hassle upfront pricing actually works in practice, not just on paper.
Elena V., Apprentice
Elena is in her second year with us, working through her CSIA certification while she learns masonry restoration and HeatShield applications hands-on. She came to chimney work from historic building conservation, which gives her an unusual eye for matching mortar color and preserving original brickwork, skills that matter more than you’d think in Trenton’s older neighborhoods. She’s already developed a reputation for spotting water damage patterns that others miss, probably from her background in building forensics. Elena lives in Morrisville and bikes to most jobs when weather allows. She’s determined to run her own crew someday, and she’s not in a rush to skip steps getting there.
One Standard, Every Job
Whether Marcus is on a roof in Chambersburg or Diane is threading liner through a century-old flue in Mill Hill, the same rule applies: Krafted right, Every time, Your home first, Standing behind it. That’s the K.E.Y.S. code, and it’s not a poster on a wall. It’s how we decide whether a job is finished.
The 90-Day Done Right Promise governs every technician on every visit. If it’s not right, we come back. In writing, no arguing. No paperwork chase, no “let us check with the office.” Russell put his name on this company in 1984, and he’s operated ever since like someone who plans to be answering for it in 2054. That changes how you treat a chimney cap in Trenton, or a crown rebuild in Hamilton Township, or a liner inspection anywhere in between.
Our materials don’t vary by job size either. DuraFlex, HeatShield, Gelco, Olympia Chimney, Famco, and Copperfield. Professional-grade, every time. No builder-grade substitutes slipped in on smaller invoices. The brands are specified on the estimate, visible in the installation, and documented in the photo report.
Background-checked, uniformed, and trained to complete most work in a single visit. That’s the team. That’s the standard. That’s Hearthstone Chimney Co. in Trenton.
Written by Russell Haines, Owner at Hearthstone Chimney Co., serving Trenton and Mercer County since 1984.