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 Long Beach, NY
Photographs don’t lie, and neither does a camera pushed up a flue. Before we ever recommend a cleaning or a repair, we show you exactly what we’re seeing, live on a screen, in plain English. These transformations are the kind of work Wendell and his crew do in Long Beach every week, from the West End to the canals. Some of these chimneys hadn’t been touched since before most of us were born. Others looked fine from the hearth and were hiding serious buildup twenty feet up. The pictures tell the story better than any claim we could print.
Recent Transformations
First-Degree Creosote Build-Up in a West End Bungalow
This Long Beach bungalow had a fireplace the owner used every weekend from November through March. The problem wasn’t dramatic, but first-degree creosote had built up in a soft, dusty layer that covers the flue like felt. Wendell ran the rotary brush through twice, vacuumed out the firebox, and the after-photo shows clean terra cotta tile with no residue. The whole job took under two hours, and the owner got the before-and-after footage on a tablet before Wendell even packed up the truck.
Third-Degree Glaze in a Canal-Side Split Level
First-degree creosote is a brush job. Third-degree is a glaze, and this split level near the canals had exactly that. The homeowner burned unseasoned wood for years, and the tar had hardened into a shiny, brittle crust that a standard sweep won’t touch. Wendell used a chemical treatment to break the glaze down, then followed with a mechanical removal pass. The after-photo shows the flue back to rough, porous clay instead of lacquered-over stone. He told the owner straight: burn seasoned wood, or we’ll be back out here doing this every other season.
Animal Nest Removal from a Long Beach Chimney
Chimneys break in the off-season, and this one broke in the spring, when a starling decided the flue was prime real estate. The nest filled the upper third of the chimney, and the homeowner smelled something odd every time the wind shifted. We pulled out two full contractor bags of twigs and grass, swept the flue clean, and then installed a proper cap so the bird had to find different housing. The after-photo shows an unobstructed flue and a cap that will keep out rain, birds, and the occasional Long Beach raccoon.
Decades of Neglect in an East End Colonial
Wendell has a soft spot for the old colonials in the East End, but not for what he finds inside their chimneys. This one hadn’t been swept since a previous owner’s era, and the soot had reduced the flue’s effective diameter by nearly a third. The draft was terrible, smoke pushed back into the living room every time the wind blew, and the camera showed a flue that looked more like a closed-off pipe than a working vent. After a thorough sweep and a camera re-inspection, the after-photo shows a flue with full airflow restored. The owner lit a fire that night and called the next day to say it was the first time the room didn’t smell like a campfire.
Smoky Fireplace with a Partially Blocked Flue
Your flue doesn’t care how the fire looks. It cares how it breathes, and this one could barely breathe at all. The homeowner complained about smoke rolling back into the living room within minutes of lighting a fire. The camera showed a flue throat constricted by creosote and a collapsed section of old mortar near the smoke shelf. We cleared the blockage, swept the full flue, and showed the owner the comparison footage side by side. The difference in the after-photo is obvious: a clear, round passage where there used to be a bottleneck. Burning in that fireplace went from a hassle to a habit.
Water-Damaged Flue with Efflorescence and Staining
This was a cleaning that turned into a small repair, which is exactly why we camera-inspect every flue before we brush. The homeowner called for a standard sweep, but the camera showed water staining and mineral deposits caused by a cracked crown that had been letting rain in for years. We swept the flue clean, sealed the crown, and replaced the aging cap. The after-photo shows not just a clean flue but a dry one, with the crown sealed up tight against the next Long Beach winter.
Want Results Like These?
These are ordinary houses on ordinary streets in Long Beach, and every one of them now has a chimney that works the way it should. Call (631) 378-3317 and Wendell or one of his crew will answer the phone, give you a straight price before any tool comes off the truck, and show you the camera footage yourself. We don’t clean what doesn’t need cleaning, and we don’t fix what isn’t broken. But if your flue looks like the “before” side of these photos, you’ll be glad you called before the first fire of the season. Ask anyone on your street.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Long Beach since 1999.