What Baltimore Homeowners Say About Hearthstone Chimney Co.
We don’t chase five-star ratings. We chase the kind of work that makes a homeowner remember our name when their neighbor mentions a smoking fireplace. After 42 years in Baltimore, we’ve learned that trust builds slowly and loses fast. These reviews come from folks who called us once, then called us again, or sent their sister, or left the back door unlocked because they knew we’d show up uniformed and background-checked. Russell Haines still reads every one.
Recent Reviews
“We bought our place in Roland Park last winter and the inspector said the chimney ‘looked fine.’ First fire, smoke backed up into the living room. Hearthstone sent a technician who ran a camera all the way up and showed us photos of a partially collapsed clay liner. No hard sell, just the pictures and a plain explanation of what was unsafe. They relined with DuraFlex in one day and we burned all February.”
Alma R., Roland Park, Baltimore
“I manage a few rental properties in Hampden and I’ve used chimney services that quoted one price, then found ‘problems’ once they started. Russell’s crew gave me an upfront price for sweeping four units and that was the invoice total. One needed a crown repair, but they showed me the crack on camera before quoting it separately. No surprises on the bill means something when you’re running numbers on a spreadsheet.”
Danika J., Hampden, Baltimore
“Our townhouse in Canton has a chimney that hadn’t been touched since the nineties. The creosote buildup was bad enough that the technician stopped the camera to explain stage-three glazing and why a standard brush wouldn’t cut it. They did a mechanical sweep, then the Level-2 inspection, then sent me the photos with notes. Took about three hours. They were in uniform, wore boot covers, and the fireplace hasn’t smoked since.”
Andre F., Canton, Baltimore
“I called at 9 PM on a Sunday because I smelled something acrid after a fire and couldn’t sleep. A live person answered, not a menu, not a callback promise. They scheduled me for Tuesday morning, showed up when they said, and found a bird’s nest partially blocking the flue. Removed it, swept the chimney, installed a Gelco cap so it wouldn’t happen again. The $89 Seasonal Tune-Up covered the sweep. I expected to pay emergency rates for that Sunday call and they wouldn’t let me.”
Lina S., Federal Hill, Baltimore
“We had two other companies out to quote a liner replacement in our Guilford colonial. One said stainless steel, one said we needed a full rebuild. Russell’s technician did the camera inspection and explained that the clay liner was cracked but the masonry was sound. HeatShield cerfractory resurfacing was an option we hadn’t heard of. Saved us about two-thirds and it’s warrantied. Photos you can see, a plain-English verdict. That’s exactly what happened.”
Alma R., Guilford, Baltimore
“My mother’s house in Park Heights still has the original oil-to-gas conversion chimney from the seventies. I was worried about carbon monoxide because the water heater and furnace share the flue. Hearthstone found deterioration where the old terracotta met the new connector, explained why it mattered, and fixed it in one visit. The technician called me with her on speaker so I could hear the explanation myself. She’s 84 and they treated her like she owned the place, which she does.”
Danika J., Park Heights, Baltimore
Why Customers Trust Us
These aren’t cherry-picked stories. They’re the pattern of 42 years in Baltimore. The camera inspections that end with photos you can see and a plain-English verdict. The upfront pricing where the number on the estimate is the number on the invoice. The 90-Day Done Right Promise, in writing, no arguing. If it’s not right, we come back. That’s the Keystone Standard, and it’s governed by something Russell Haines calls the K.E.Y.S. code: Krafted right, Every time, Your home first, Standing behind it.
Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed because you’re letting someone into your home with access to your roof, your flue, your family’s air supply. Most jobs finish in a single visit because we’ve seen most Baltimore chimney configurations before, from the narrow rowhouse flues in Fells Point to the triple-walled systems in the county’s newer builds. We work exclusively with professional-grade materials, DuraFlex, HeatShield, Gelco, Olympia Chimney, Famco, and Copperfield. No builder-grade substitutes that fail in five seasons.
A live person answers every call, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Not because every chimney problem is an emergency, but because worrying about one at midnight shouldn’t mean waiting until business hours for a human voice.
If you’re weighing whether your chimney needs attention, call us at (410) 849-6273. We’ll schedule a Level-2 camera inspection, show you exactly what we find, and tell you honestly what can wait and what can’t. Estimates are free. The peace of mind is the point.
Written by Russell Haines, Owner at Hearthstone Chimney Co., serving Baltimore since 1984.