What Newton 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 two years, wondering who to let into their house. We don’t ask for testimonials until the job’s finished, the photos have been shown, and the customer understands exactly what they paid for. Here’s what Newton neighbors have said about our chimney cleaning work.
Recent Reviews
We bought our place in Newton Centre last fall and the inspector said the chimney “looked fine.” Russell ran his camera up and showed us a half-inch of glazed creosote packed onto the flue tiles. He cleaned it out, explained why the previous owners had been getting that smoky smell, and we burned our first fire that weekend without the house smelling like a campground.
Amanda H., Newton Centre
I’ve been in Nonantum for twenty years and had three different companies clean this chimney. Hearthstone was the first one that actually photographed the before and after. Russell pointed out where the liner was starting to fail at the thimble, gave me a price for the repair, and said it wasn’t urgent - could wait until spring. No pressure, just facts. That’s why I booked the liner replacement with him two months later.
Marco R., Nonantum
Called at 8 PM on a Sunday because we’d smelled something acrid after using the fireplace. A live person answered, which I didn’t expect. They scheduled us for Tuesday morning. Russell found a bird’s nest partially blocking the flue and a cracked crown letting water into the smoke chamber. Cleaned the flue, capped it with a Gelco unit, and we’ve had no issues through two winters now.
Robert G., Oak Hill
Our 1920s Colonial in Chestnut Hill has two fireplaces we never used because the previous owner said they were “decorative.” Russell swept both flues, found one was actually functional with just a damper adjustment, and the other needed a stainless liner. He gave us the camera footage, wrote up two estimates, and we did the functional one first. Second fireplace works like it was built yesterday.
Adam B., Chestnut Hill
I’d gotten a quote from another company for $4,200 in “necessary chimney work” and something felt off. Hearthstone’s free second opinion found two of the items were fine and one was overstated. Russell cleaned the flue, sealed a small crown crack with HeatShield, and the total was under $600. He could have sold me the whole package and I wouldn’t have known. That’s the square deal he talks about.
Marco R., Nonantum
We’re in a 1970s split-level near Crystal Lake and the fireplace had never drawn properly. Three sweeps from other companies, three “it’s clean” reports, still smoky. Russell found the flue was oversized for the firebox, which causes the smoke to stall. He didn’t just clean it - he explained the physics, showed me the dimensions on camera, and we ended up installing a properly sized Olympia Chimney liner. First fire this season, not a wisp of smoke in the room.
Amanda H., Newton Centre
Why Customers Trust Us
The patterns in these reviews aren’t accidents. When a Newton homeowner mentions the camera photos, that’s our Level-2 inspection process - documented like an engineer, explained like a craftsman. When they note we said something could wait, that’s the K.E.Y.S. code in practice: Your home first, not our schedule. The live person answering at 8 PM on a Sunday isn’t a call center; it’s how we’ve operated for over 42 years, since Russell Haines founded this company in 1984.
Our 90-Day Done Right Promise means exactly what it says. In writing, no arguing. If the flue doesn’t draw right after we clean it, if the cap leaks, if anything we touched isn’t working as it should - we come back. Most jobs finish in a single visit because our technicians arrive background-checked, uniformed, and equipped with professional-grade materials from DuraFlex, HeatShield, Gelco, Olympia Chimney, Famco, and Copperfield. No builder-grade substitutes, no surprises on the bill.
We’ve served Newton and surrounding communities long enough to know the local housing stock: the pre-war Colonials with unlined brick chimneys, the 1960s and 70s splits with factory-built metal units, the Victorian-era fireplaces converted to gas but never properly inspected. That context matters. A chimney in Newton Centre faces different moisture and freeze-thaw stress than one in Oak Hill, and we account for it.
If you’re due for a cleaning, considering a repair, or just want a second opinion on someone else’s estimate, call (857) 754-5607. A live person will answer, 24 hours a day. We’ll schedule a time that works, show you what we find, and give you a number you can plan around. Done right - and we stand behind it.
Written by Russell Haines, Owner at Hearthstone Chimney Co., serving Newton since 1984.