Meet the Team - Top Hat Chimney

Meet the Chester Team Behind Top Hat Chimney

Top Hat Chimney started in 1999 when Wendell Pike saw too many Chester neighbors getting talked into work they didn’t need. Twenty-nine years later, the crew still runs on that same idea: show up, tell the truth, leave the flue breathing right. Some of these faces have been on the truck for over a decade. One of them is still learning the trade the hard way, lugging brushes and asking questions. What holds them together is simple. Your flue doesn’t care how the fire looks. It cares how it breathes. And so do we.

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Our People

Wendell Pike, Owner and Lead Chimney Tech

Wendell started Top Hat Chimney in Chester back in 1999 with one truck, a set of brushes, and a stubborn refusal to sell a liner to someone who only needed a sweep. He has spent close to three decades on roofs across Chesterfield, Colonial Heights, and Richmond, working on everything from pre-war masonry to modern prefab fireplaces. Wendell is the guy who answers the phone at odd hours, and the one who stamps the 90-Day Done Right Promise on every job. He still climbs ladders most days, mostly because he trusts his own eyes on a crown or a flue tile more than anyone’s second-hand description. On Saturdays you might run into him at the hardware store, and yes, he’ll remember what your chimney looked like in 2016.

Marcus T., Senior Installer and Repair Specialist

Marcus joined the crew in 2011 after years of residential framing and masonry work, and he’s the reason our liner and rebuild jobs come out square and sealed. He holds certifications with DuraFlex and HeatShield, and he has installed more stainless liners in Chester’s older split-levels than he can count. When a chimney has real structural trouble, a cracked crown or a spalling brick face, Marcus handles the rebuild and takes the time to explain why it failed in the first place. He’s direct, a little quiet, and the first to say when a repair can safely wait a year. Off the clock, he’s rebuilding a 1970s Chevy C10, which explains why he’s particular about doing things once and doing them right.

Dana R., Service Coordinator

Dana is the voice you’ll usually hear when you call (804) 392-9342 during the day. She has been with Top Hat Chimney since 2015 and knows the Chester service area the way only someone who grew up here can. Dana sets every appointment with a real arrival window, not a four-hour mystery block, and she calls if the schedule slips. She also keeps the standing offers straight, from the $40 off any repair over $200 to the 10% discount for seniors and veterans, so you don’t have to ask twice. Before the crew rolls out, Dana confirms the job details and makes sure the pricing you heard on the phone matches the invoice Wendell hands you. She’ll remember your dog’s name and whether you prefer a text instead of a call.

Travis B., Apprentice Sweep

Travis came on in 2023, green as they get, and has spent his first two seasons learning the craft from Wendell and Marcus on real Chester jobs. He’s the one hauling the vacuum, setting drop cloths, and heading up on the roof with a brush while Wendell watches the flue from below. Travis is working through his NFPA 211 training and already knows the difference between first-degree creosote, which is a brush job, and third-degree glaze, which is not. He’s from Chester and carries most of his own early mistakes, like the time he underestimated how much soot fits in a standard hearth, as cautionary tales he’ll gladly share. Ask him a question and you’ll get an honest answer, even when the honest answer is “let me go get Wendell.”

One Standard, Every Job

The rule on every Top Hat Chimney job, whether it’s a simple sweep in a Chester townhouse or a full liner rebuild in a 1960s rancher, is the same. The camera footage and a plain-English verdict, every time, no exceptions. Nobody on this crew recommends work without showing you what the camera sees, and nobody writes an invoice that doesn’t match the phone quote. Every technician is background-checked and uniformed, and every completed job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. One call brings Wendell back. That’s how the team has operated since 1999, and it’s why a lot of our work comes from someone saying, “Ask anyone on your street.” Live person answers every call, around the clock. The number you hear on the phone is the number on the invoice. It’s not complicated. It just takes people who live here, work here, and plan to still be here next year.

Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Chester, VA since 1999.