What Towson Homeowners Say About Hearthstone Chimney Co.
Reviews matter because they’re the only thing a homeowner has when they’re standing in their living room, staring at a fireplace they haven’t used in three years, wondering who to let into their house. We’ve earned ours the slow way: showing up when we say, explaining what we found in plain English, and fixing it without drama. No review gets posted here we couldn’t point to in our records.
Recent Reviews
“We bought a place in Rodgers Forge last fall and the inspector said the chimney ‘looked fine.’ Russell ran his camera up and showed us cracked flue tiles at the third course. He didn’t push the repair; he just said, ‘You can use it this winter if you want, but here’s what you’re risking.’ We scheduled the HeatShield relining in March. Done in four hours, one visit, no mess.”
Jessica Y., Rodgers Forge, Towson
“I’d been putting off a sweep because the last company in Towson tried to sell me a stainless liner I didn’t need. Called Hearthstone for a second opinion. Russell brought the camera, showed me the inside of my flue on his tablet, and said the clay liner had another decade if we kept up with annual sweeps. $89 tune-up, photos in my email, and I finally believed someone.”
Tyrone M., West Towson
“Our chimney cap was rusted through and water was getting into the firebox every hard rain. I figured they’d need to rebuild the crown too. Russell’s crew showed up in uniform, swapped the cap for a Gelco in about an hour, and pointed out the crown was actually in decent shape. Saved me probably $800. That’s the square deal they talk about.”
Oscar H., Hampton, Towson
“Raccoons. In the chimney. Twice. First company sealed it without checking if anything was inside. Russell found the nest, cleared it humanely, installed a proper Famco cap with mesh, and walked me through why the old one failed. He’s been doing this since 1984; you can tell when someone explains animal entry points like he’s seen every dumb thing a homeowner or a previous contractor has tried.”
Malik C., Loch Raven Village, Towson
“Ninety-day guarantee actually means something here. We had a smell issue after a sweep in January, something we hadn’t noticed before. Called the main number at 8 PM, got a live person, and Russell was back out the next morning. Turned out to be a partially blocked vent connector, not even their original work. They cleared it under the Done Right Promise anyway. In writing, no arguing, just like they say.”
Jessica Y., Rodgers Forge, Towson
“I’m a veteran, so I get the 5% discount, but that’s not why I’m writing this. I’m writing because after 42 years in business, Russell still answers his own phone sometimes. I called about creosote buildup in my wood insert, and he spent ten minutes explaining the difference between stage one and stage three before I even booked. Most places in Towson would have transferred me to a scheduler who reads from a script.”
Tyrone M., West Towson
“HeatShield application on a 1920s flue in a Hampton colonial. Three other companies said it couldn’t be done, needed full stainless. Russell measured the clearance to combustibles, checked the NFPA guidelines himself, and showed me the engineering. One day, one crew, camera photos before and after. The flue’s been running clean for two burning seasons now. That’s the kind of work you get when the owner is still on jobs.”
Oscar H., Hampton, Towson
“My townhouse in Loch Raven has a shared chimney wall with the neighbor. Russell coordinated with both of us, documented the whole flue condition for the HOA, and found a crack that could have vented carbon monoxide into the adjoining unit. He didn’t just fix it; he made sure the neighbor’s side got inspected too. That’s ‘Your home first’ in practice.”
Malik C., Loch Raven Village, Towson
Why Customers Trust Us
The reviews keep mentioning the same things because we keep doing the same things. Camera inspections with photos you can see. Upfront pricing that’s the number on the invoice. Background-checked, uniformed technicians who finish most jobs in a single visit. And behind every sweep, repair, and liner installation, the 90-Day Done Right Promise: in writing, no arguing.
Russell Haines started this company in 1984, and he’s still the one who trains every tech on the DuraFlex, HeatShield, and Olympia Chimney systems we install. We’ve been in Towson long enough to know which neighborhoods have the clay flues from the 1950s building boom, which ones have the prefab fireplaces from the 1980s developments, and which chimney crowns crack first after a hard Maryland freeze-thaw cycle. That knowledge shows up in the work, and homeowners notice.
We don’t chase five-star ratings. We chase the call-back rate, the referral rate, the number of times someone says, “You guys actually showed up when you said.” So far, 42 years in, that approach has held up.
Call (443) 785-3816 when you’re ready. A live person answers, 24 hours a day, every day. Estimates are free, and we’ll show you exactly what we find.
Written by Russell Haines, Owner at Hearthstone Chimney Co., serving Towson since 1984.