What Silver Spring Homeowners Say About Hearthstone Chimney Co.
We don’t chase reviews. We earn them by showing up on time, doing the work right, and standing behind it when something’s off. After 42 years in Silver Spring and the surrounding communities, we’ve learned that a homeowner who trusts you tells someone else. The comments below come from folks who called us with a specific problem and got a straight answer plus a fix that held up.
Recent Reviews
We bought a 1952 brick colonial in Woodside and the inspector flagged the chimney but couldn’t say how bad it was. Russell sent a technician with a camera, and I watched the whole feed on a tablet while he talked me through what we were seeing. Turned out the flue was sound but the crown had hairline cracks letting water in. They sealed it with HeatShield the same visit, and I had the photos and report for my records before they left. No push to reline, no mystery.
- Allison K., Woodside, Silver Spring
I’d been putting off a sweep because the last company in Silver Spring tried to sell me a stainless liner I didn’t think I needed. Hearthstone’s quote was itemized on paper, and when I asked about the liner, the tech showed me the camera footage and said the existing clay was intact enough to meet code for my gas insert. Saved me fourteen hundred dollars and a lot of second-guessing. The $89 tune-up was exactly what they said on the phone.
- Bryce W., South Four Corners, Silver Spring
Our fireplace smelled like a campfire even when it wasn’t lit, and it was getting into the HVAC. The technician found a partially blocked flue and a missing rain cap that was letting debris and moisture sit in the smoke chamber. He swept it, installed a Gelco cap, and the smell was gone by the next morning. Most importantly, he explained why it happened so I could check the cap myself after big storms.
- Gabriela R., Takoma Park, near Silver Spring
I called at 9 PM on a Sunday because I noticed mortar falling into the firebox and didn’t know if it was safe to use. A live person answered, not a menu, and scheduled me for Tuesday morning. The tech found spalling brick above the roofline and rebuilt the top six courses with matching brick from a local Silver Spring supplier. Done in one day, and they tarped the roof line so nothing got into the house. The 90-Day Done Right Promise was on my invoice in writing.
- Terrence D., Forest Glen, Silver Spring
We rent out a duplex near downtown Silver Spring and the tenant reported smoke backing up into the living room. Hearthstone found a bird nest in the flue and a deteriorated chimney cap that had been letting them in for years. They cleared it, installed a proper Famco cap with mesh screening, and sent me photos of both problems and both fixes for my property file. The tenant hasn’t had an issue since, and I didn’t have to drive over to verify anything.
- Allison K., Downtown Silver Spring
I got three estimates for rebuilding my chimney crown and only Hearthstone used a level-2 camera inspection as part of the bid. The others eyeballed it from the roof and guessed. Russell’s crew found water intrusion behind the crown that would’ve destroyed the breast wall if we’d just patched the top. They rebuilt the crown with proper overhang and drip edge, flashed the transition, and I watched the camera go up again afterward to confirm the flue was clear. A square deal: no surprises on the bill.
- Bryce W., Woodmoor, near Silver Spring
Why Customers Trust Us
These aren’t cherry-picked stories. They’re what happens when you send background-checked, uniformed technicians with professional-grade equipment into Silver Spring homes and give them a mandate: document like an engineer, explain like a craftsman, and never recommend work without camera evidence the homeowner can see for themselves.
The 90-Day Done Right Promise, our Keystone Standard, means exactly what it says. In writing, no arguing. If it’s not right, we come back. We’ve been here since 1984, and we plan to be here thirty years from now. That changes how you treat people.
Our phones are answered by a live person, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Not a callback queue, not an app. Most jobs finish in a single visit, and the price we quote is the price on the invoice. We use DuraFlex, HeatShield, Gelco, Olympia Chimney, Famco, and Copperfield materials, no builder-grade substitutes, because a chimney in Silver Spring has to handle humid summers, freeze-thaw winters, and the occasional derecho wind event.
If you’re weighing whether to schedule a sweep, get a second opinion on a big repair, or just want to know what your chimney actually looks like inside, call us at (301) 479-9806. Estimates are free, and you’ll speak to a person who can book you now.
Written by Russell Haines, Owner at Hearthstone Chimney Co., serving Silver Spring since 1984.