Before & After Gallery - Top Hat Chimney

Chimney Cleaning Before & After in Passaic, NJ

Anyone can say they do good work. We’d rather show you. The photos below are from real sweep and repair jobs around Passaic, Clifton, and Garfield – the kind of flues we see every week. Some are simple seasonal cleanings. A few got complicated once we looked inside. That’s usually how it goes.

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Recent Transformations

Third-Degree Creosote Glaze in a Passaic Two-Family

The homeowner called us because a wood stove was drafting slow and smoking back into the living room. When Wendell put the camera up, the flue was over half closed with third-degree creosote, shiny and hard as pavement. Took two passes with a rotary whip to break the glaze, then a chemical treatment to loosen what remained. The after shot shows clean clay tile with the original dimensions restored, and the stove now draws like it should. The fix came from removing fuel, not rebuilding the chimney. That’s the outcome we push for.

Raccoon Nest Blocking a Fireplace Flue in Clifton

This one had a smell the homeowner couldn’t place until we got on the roof. A raccoon had torn off the old cap and built a nest about four feet down. We pulled out three contractor bags of leaves, twigs, and bedding, swept the flue clean, then installed a new Famco cap with a proper screen. The nest was the problem. The missing cap was why it happened. Both got fixed in the same visit.

First-Degree Creosote and a Simple Annual Sweep in Garfield

This family burns about a cord of seasoned oak each winter and has us out every fall. The before photo shows a standard layer of first-degree creosote, dry and flaky, built up over the previous season. A properly sized wire brush took it all off in one pass, no chemicals, no drama. This is what a maintained chimney should look like. The after photo is the baseline we want every flue at before burning season starts.

Pre-Purchase Inspection Reveals a Cracked Flue Liner in Passaic Park

A homebuyer brought us in after the general inspection flagged the fireplace. The camera showed cracked clay tiles about six feet up, with gaps where mortar had fallen out. Fires had been burning fine, but the flue was venting gases into the wall cavity. We pulled the old tiles and dropped in a DuraFlex stainless liner, sized to the fireplace’s burn rate. The after photo shows a clean, continuous run that will outlast the current roof. No masonry rebuild needed, and the sale closed on schedule.

Smoke Stains and a Worn Crown on a 1960s Cape in Rutherford

The homeowner called us for a sweep because of smoke stains on the mantle. The sweep took care of that, but the bigger issue was on top: the crown was cracked in three places, letting rainwater soak the masonry. We ground out the cracks, filled them, and applied a Gelco water repellent across the full crown surface. The after photo shows a crown that sheds water instead of absorbing it. One more freeze-thaw cycle and those bricks would’ve started popping loose.

Fireplace That Had Never Been Swept in Wallington

The seller said the fireplace worked fine. The new owner lit one fire and the living room filled with smoke. The flue was nearly sealed with creosote and a dead bird near the smoke shelf. We removed the blockage, brushed the full run, and found the damper was rusted open and had been for years. The after shot shows a clean flue and a working damper. The new owner now gets the sweep on a schedule, once a year, burn or no burn.

Want Results Like These?

Call Top Hat Chimney at (551) 368-8859 and we’ll put a camera up your flue. You’ll see exactly what we see before a single tool comes off the truck. No scare tactics, no unnecessary liner work. If the flue is clean, we’ll tell you to keep your money and call us next year. If it’s not, you’ll know exactly why and what it costs to fix.

Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Passaic and surrounding communities since 1999.