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 Fairfield Team Behind Hearthstone Chimney Co.
We’re the crew that shows up at your door in Fairfield with clean boots, the right tools, and a camera rig that’ll show you exactly what’s happening inside your flue. Most of us have been at this long enough to remember when Southport still had working farmland. What holds us together isn’t a handbook. It’s the K.E.Y.S. code: Krafted right, Every time, Your home first, Standing behind it. Russell Haines set that standard in 1984, and we still measure ourselves against it every morning.
Our People
Russell Haines, Owner
I started Hearthstone in 1984 with a used brush set and a 1978 Chevy van that smelled permanently of creosote. Forty-two years later, I’m still the one who answers the phone at odd hours when the live line rings through. I hold a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep credential and a stubborn belief that every homeowner deserves to see photographic evidence before anyone talks them into a four-figure repair. My left shoulder bothers me when the humidity spikes, which in Fairfield means most of July. I live in Greenfield Hill with my wife and a rescue hound who has zero respect for personal space. You’ll know it’s me on your job because I’ll be the one asking about your heating bills and whether you’ve noticed any drafting issues on the north side of the house.
Marcus T., Lead Technician
Marcus has been climbing roofs in Fairfield County for nineteen years, which means he’s worked on everything from 1720s colonials near the Old Post Road to the mid-century ranches up by Holland Hill. He’s CSIA certified and specializes in level-2 internal inspections, the kind that require dropping a camera down a flue and interpreting what the images actually mean. Marcus can spot a heat-shield delamination at twenty feet and will walk you through exactly why it matters without leaning on scare tactics. Off the clock, he restores vintage motorcycles in a garage behind his Black Rock home and argues with his teenager about whether a 1974 Honda is a reasonable first vehicle. His boots are always muddy by noon. That’s how you know he’s been thorough.
Elena V., Senior Installer
Elena handles our liner replacements, crown rebuilds, and anything that involves working with the materials we source from DuraFlex, HeatShield, and Olympia Chimney. She came to us eight years ago from a commercial HVAC background and brought with her a precision that shows in her mortar work. Her HeatShield certification means she’s trained to apply refractory resurfacing materials exactly to manufacturer spec, not close enough. Elena grew up in Bridgeport, lives now in Stratfield, and has a running feud with the squirrels that raid her tomato garden. She keeps a notebook of every job she’s done in Fairfield proper, street by street, because she likes knowing the history of what she’s built. Ask her about the 2019 rebuild on Reef Road. She’ll have opinions.
Darnell J., Service Coordinator
Darnell is the voice you hear when you call (475) 251-7537 at 10 PM on a Saturday because you smelled something wrong after the first fire of the season. He’s been with us six years and knows every technician’s schedule, every permit requirement for Fairfield’s Historic District, and exactly how long it takes to get from Interstate 95 to Sasco Hill during beach traffic. He coordinates our level-2 inspection reports, making sure the photos and plain-English verdicts reach homeowners within 24 hours. Darnell lives in the Stratfield neighborhood and coaches youth basketball at the YMCA on Saturdays. He has a gift for explaining why a job can’t wait without making it sound like your house will burn down before dinner. That’s harder than it sounds.
Anya P., Apprentice Technician
Anya joined us in 2023 after completing the chimney technology program at a trade school in Massachusetts. She’s working toward her CSIA certification under Marcus’s supervision and has already developed a specialty in cap and crown installations using Gelco and Famco hardware. Anya’s the one we send when a job requires squeezing into a tight attic space or navigating a roof pitch that makes the rest of us feel our age. She grew up in a 1920s Tudor in the Southport section of Fairfield and spent her childhood watching her father struggle with drafty fireplaces that no one could properly diagnose. That frustration is what pushed her into this trade. She lives in an apartment near Fairfield University now and brings her dog to the shop on Saturdays.
One Standard, Every Job
The K.E.Y.S. code isn’t a poster on the wall. It’s how we decide what to do when no one’s watching. Every technician on this page is background-checked, uniformed, and trained to complete most jobs in a single visit. Every estimate is upfront, with the number on the quote matching the number on the invoice. Every level-2 inspection produces photos you can see and a verdict you can understand. And every repair carries our 90-Day Done Right Promise: in writing, no arguing. If it’s not right, we come back. Russell established that standard in 1984, and every person listed here is accountable to it. Whether we’re working on a beachfront home in Southport or a cape on Melville Avenue, the expectation is the same. Krafted right, every time. Your home first. Standing behind it.
Written by Russell Haines, Owner at Hearthstone Chimney Co., serving Fairfield since 1984.