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 Fredericksburg Team Behind Hearthstone Chimney Co.
Our Fredericksburg crew shows up with the same tools, the same standards, and the same stubborn refusal to cut corners that Russell Haines built this company on back in 1984. We’re background-checked, uniformed, and trained to work on chimneys from Falmouth to Spotsylvania Courthouse. Most of us have been at this long enough to remember when Route 3 was two lanes. What ties us together is simple: we fix it right, we show you the photos, and we stand behind it.
Our People
Russell Haines, Owner
I’ve been climbing roofs in Fredericksburg since 1984, back when most of the homes in Chancellor and Hartwood were still farmland. Started with a brush, a ladder, and a stubborn belief that homeowners deserved to see what was wrong with their own chimneys instead of taking someone’s word for it. Still believe that. These days I run the operation, train the crews, and handle the jobs that make younger technicians nervous - steep pitches, historic mortar, the occasional squirrel eviction from a Colonial-era flue. I live in Spotsylvania County with my wife and two dogs who have zero respect for my clean truck policy. If you call after hours, there’s a decent chance I’m the live voice on the other end.
Marcus T., Lead Technician & Level-2 Inspector
Marcus joined us in 2017 after eight years with a Richmond fire restoration company, which means he’s seen what happens when chimneys fail and he’s not interested in letting it happen on his watch. He’s our lead camera inspector - the one who crawls into attics in July, documents every crack and creosote deposit with a digital scope, and translates the footage into plain English for homeowners who just want to know if their fireplace is safe for Saturday night. Certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America and trained on HeatShield resurfacing systems. Off the clock, he restores vintage motorcycles and argues with his teenage daughter about whose music is worse.
Dana K., Senior Installer & Liner Specialist
Dana handles our DuraFlex liner installations and full rebuilds, the kind of work where a quarter-inch mistake means starting over. She came to us from a commercial HVAC background in 2019 and brought a rigor we didn’t know we were missing - every cut measured twice, every joint pressure-tested, every chase cover sealed to Fredericksburg’s exact freeze-thaw cycle. She’s installed liners in everything from 1920s bungalows near Mary Washington Hospital to new construction in Lee’s Hill, and she can spot a factory-second Gelco cap from across the street. Grew up in Stafford County, still fishes the Rappahannock on Sunday mornings when the weather cooperates.
James R., Service Coordinator
James is the voice you’ll hear when you call (540) 596-5531 at 10 PM on a Saturday because you smelled something odd from the fireplace. He’s been with Hearthstone since 2021, and before that he dispatch for a Fredericksburg electrical contractor, so he knows the difference between an emergency and an emergency-feeling situation and won’t sell you a panic visit you don’t need. Schedules the crew, sources parts from Copperfield and Famco, and keeps track of warranty paperwork so you don’t have to. He’s the one who makes sure the estimate number matches the invoice number. Has a spreadsheet for everything, including his lawn care schedule, which he will discuss at length if you let him.
Elena V., Apprentice Technician
Elena started with us in 2023 after completing the building trades program at Germanna Community College. She’s learning the full stack - sweeping, inspection, basic masonry, cap and crown installs - and she’s already the fastest on our crew with an Olympia Chimney stainless steel cap install. Russell pulled her resume because she asked specific questions about flue gas dynamics during her interview, which is not typical for twenty-two-year-olds. She’s working toward her CSIA certification and spends her Saturdays shadowing Marcus on Level-2 inspections. Lives in Fredericksburg’s Canal Quarter, bakes aggressively competitive sourdough, and has strong opinions about the best coffee in downtown.
One Standard, Every Job
Every technician on this page works under the same 90-Day Done Right Promise that Russell put in writing decades ago. No arguing, no paperwork chase - if it’s not right, we come back. That promise travels with us from Fredericksburg to every community we serve across Virginia, but it’s enforced by the people you just read about. Marcus checks his own camera footage before he calls a job complete. Dana pressure-tests her liner joints where the homeowner can watch. James verifies every invoice against its estimate before it goes out. Elena is being trained to the same standard because we plan to be fixing chimneys in Fredericksburg thirty years from now, and that only works if the next generation does it exactly this way.
We use the same professional-grade materials on every job - DuraFlex, HeatShield, Gelco, Olympia Chimney, Famco, Copperfield - no builder-grade substitutes, no “this will do.” Background-checked, uniformed, most jobs finished in a single visit. The number on your estimate is the number on your invoice. That’s the Keystone Standard. Done right - and we stand behind it.
Written by Russell Haines, Owner at Hearthstone Chimney Co., serving Fredericksburg since 1984.