Meet the Team - Hearthstone Chimney Co.

Meet the Easton Team Behind Hearthstone Chimney Co.

We’re the crew that shows up at your door in Easton, Nazareth, and up through the Slate Belt. Four people, distinct jobs, same stubborn standard: the work gets done right, or we come back and fix it. No arguing, no paperwork shuffle. Russell Haines built this on that principle back in 1984, and it’s still how we decide who’s worth hiring and who stays.

Call (610) 756-1504

Our People

Russell Haines, Owner

I’ve been climbing roofs in the Lehigh Valley since 1984. Started with a brush, a ladder, and the assumption that most chimney problems were obvious if you just looked hard enough. That turned out to be wrong half the time, which is why we bought our first camera rig in the nineties and never looked back. These days I split time between running the business and doing the inspections nobody else wants to touch: the three-story Victorians in College Hill, the crumbling mid-century liners in Palmer Township, the calls that start with “three other companies said it’s fine.” I live in Forks Township with my wife and two dogs who have zero respect for my schedule. If you get me on a job, I’ll talk too long about flue gas dynamics and probably show you photos of something I found last week that still bothers me.

Mike C., Lead Technician

Mike’s been with us fourteen years, which in this trade means he’s seen every shortcut a homeowner or a previous contractor could take. He’s CSIA-certified and specializes in level-2 inspections where we find the problems the last sweep missed: cracked flue tiles hidden behind soot, improper clearances in historic fireplaces, caps that were installed upside down and left to rust. Grew up in Bangor, still lives there, coaches youth baseball in the summer. His truck is organized with a precision that borders on concerning. Customers ask for him by name because he’ll explain exactly why a liner failed without making you feel foolish for not noticing.

Donna R., Senior Installer

Donna handles our liner replacements, crown rebuilds, and the structural repairs that require someone who understands masonry, metal, and how the two interact when Pennsylvania weather hits them. Twelve years in the field, certified with HeatShield and DuraFlex systems, and the person we send when a job’s been botched elsewhere and needs to be stripped back to sound material. She started in construction framing, which gives her a different eye for load paths and water intrusion than most chimney specialists. Lives in Easton’s West Ward, restores vintage motorcycles when she’s not on a roof, and has a running feud with the local family of groundhogs who keep burrowing near foundation-level cleanouts.

James T., Service Coordinator

James is the voice you hear when you call (610) 756-1504 at 10 PM on a Saturday because you smelled something wrong after the first fire of the season. He’s been with us eight years, knows the scheduling realities of a four-county service area, and won’t promise you tomorrow if tomorrow means rushing a job that needs proper prep. Handles the dispatch, the parts ordering, and the occasional customer who needs to be talked through whether something is actually an emergency. Grew up in Wilson Borough, married into a family with a 1920s colonial in Easton, so he understands the particular anxiety of older homeowners who’ve just been told their chimney needs work. Keeps a handwritten log of every “we’ll call you back” promise he’s ever made, and checks them off.

Alex M., Apprentice Technician

Alex joined us two years ago after leaving a warehouse job that paid better but meant nothing. He’s progressing through CSIA certification, currently handles standard sweeps and cap installations under supervision, and is learning to read a camera inspection the way Russell and Mike do: not just identifying what’s broken, but understanding why it broke and what happens next if you ignore it. Born in Allentown, lives in Bethlehem now, asks more questions than some veterans are comfortable with. His hands are already scarred in the specific pattern that tells you someone has actually worked with brick and metal, not just read about it. We’re betting on him.

One Standard, Every Job

The 90-Day Done Right Promise applies whether Russell’s on the ladder or Alex is handing up tools. We put it in writing because a handshake doesn’t survive a disagreement about whether a crown seal should have held longer. K.E.Y.S. isn’t a poster in the break room: Krafted right, Every time, Your home first, Standing behind it. That means Mike won’t sign off on a sweep he wouldn’t want in his own house, Donna won’t use a liner she doesn’t trust for twenty years, and James won’t book a crew into a job without the right materials already on the truck. Most visits finish in one trip because we planned them that way. The number on your estimate is the number on your invoice because surprises are for birthdays, not chimney work.

We’ve been in Easton and the surrounding towns for over 42 years. The reason is simple: we show up when we say, we show you what we found, and we fix what we said we’d fix. Call (610) 756-1504 any hour. A live person answers.

Written by Russell Haines, Owner at Hearthstone Chimney Co., serving Easton since 1984.