Meet the Team - Hearthstone Chimney Co.

Meet the Ewing Team Behind Hearthstone Chimney Co.

We’re the crew that shows up at your door in Ewing with boot covers, a camera rig, and the patience to explain what we’re actually looking at. Most of us have been sweeping chimneys around Mercer County long enough to remember when Lawrenceville was mostly farmland and the College of New Jersey still went by Trenton State. What ties us together isn’t a handbook, it’s the K.E.Y.S. code - Krafted right, Every time, Your home first, Standing behind it. Russell Haines set that in stone back in 1984, and we still measure ourselves against it on every job.

Call (856) 388-5580

Our People

Russell Haines, Owner

I started Hearthstone Chimney Co. in 1984, the same year the Mac debuted and everyone decided brick fireplaces were non-negotiable in new construction. Forty-two years later, I’ve seen what works and what absolutely doesn’t - like the time I pulled a basketball out of a flue in Ewing’s Mountainview section and the homeowner finally understood why their living room smelled like gym class every winter. I still go out on jobs when we’re stacked up or when someone’s gotten three different opinions and needs a straight answer. I sign off on every Level-2 inspection report personally, and I still get satisfaction out of showing a homeowner a cracked flue tile on the camera screen and watching them understand why it matters. My rule: explain it like I’d want it explained to me. No performance, no panic.

Marcus T., Lead Technician

Marcus has been with us twelve years, and he’s the reason we can say “most jobs completed in a single visit” without crossing our fingers. He’s CSIA-certified and specializes in masonry evaluation - the kind of work where you’re deciding whether a crown can be sealed or needs a full rebuild. He grew up in Trenton, lives in Hopewell now, and has a running tally of chimneys he’s worked on within a mile of his childhood home. Off the clock, he restores vintage motorcycles, which explains his tolerance for finicky mechanical problems and his habit of bringing a headlamp to every job even when it’s noon in July. Homeowners in Ewing’s Wilburtha section specifically request him after he’s done their neighbors’ places.

Diana K., Senior Installer

Diana handles our liner installations and cap replacements, the jobs that put you on a steep roof in January wondering why you didn’t become an accountant. She’s factory-trained on DuraFlex and Olympia Chimney systems, and she’s particularly good at talking homeowners through why a stainless liner costs what it costs and why the bargain option from a big-box store won’t pass inspection in Ewing. Before chimneys, she spent eight years in commercial HVAC, so she thinks in terms of system pressure and draft dynamics in a way that helps when we’re diagnosing smoking problems. She keeps a small garden in Ewing’s Glendale area and brings in tomatoes that the rest of us pretend we don’t compete over. She’s been with Hearthstone nine years.

James R., Service Coordinator

James is the live voice you get when you call (856) 388-5580 at 10 PM on a Saturday because you smelled something odd after the first fire of the season. He’s been with us four years, handles scheduling across our fifteen-town service area, and has a memory for customer details that borders on unsettling - he’ll remember that your Golden Retriever is named Doug and that your flue is offset seventeen inches without checking the file. He grew up in Ewing, graduated from Ewing High, and can give you accurate drive-time estimates to any neighborhood in Mercer County accounting for rush-hour traffic on Route 31. He’s the one who makes sure our technicians show up with the right parts, the right ladder, and the right expectations.

Ana P., Apprentice Technician

Ana joined us last spring after completing the chimney technology program at a trade school in Pennsylvania - yes, that’s a real thing, and it’s more rigorous than most people expect. She’s working toward her CSIA certification under Marcus’s supervision, and she’s already handling standard sweeps and basic cap installations on her own. She’s particularly interested in historic masonry, which comes in handy in Ewing’s older neighborhoods near the Delaware River where some chimneys date back to the 1920s and need a gentler touch. She lives in Lawrence Township, bikes to jobs when weather permits, and asks more questions than the rest of us combined, which we consider a feature, not a bug.

One Standard, Every Job

The K.E.Y.S. code isn’t a poster in our break room. It’s how we decide whether a liner patch is sufficient or if we’re recommending a full replacement, whether a crown repair buys you five years or we’re being honest that it’s a temporary fix. Every technician carries the same camera system, uses the same inspection protocol, and reports back the same way - documented like an engineer, explained like a craftsman. The 90-Day Done Right Promise applies whether Russell signs the estimate or Ana does under supervision. We’re not a franchise, so there’s no regional manager watering down the standard. When we say we’ll be there when we say, we mean it. When we give you a number, that’s the number on the invoice. And when we tell you something can wait until next season, it’s because it actually can, not because we’re too busy. We’ve been in Ewing long enough to know that reputation outlasts any single job.

Written by Russell Haines, Owner at Hearthstone Chimney Co., serving Ewing and Mercer County since 1984.