A public service of The Hunterdon Scoop · Hunterdon County, New Jersey
Chimney work is where fear-based upselling lives, and a real sweep is worth every penny. We checked what's checkable on every chimney sweep we could find serving the county. Every fact below names its source and the date we checked. Nobody paid to be on this page, and nobody can.
7 checked · 3 we'd call first
Whitehouse Station (Readington Twp), Hunterdon County
Only genuinely in-county pick with a 40+ year track record, a real license number, and reviews that specifically call out honest (non-scare-tactic) service. Credential verified against the state registry, date shown.
Raritan, Somerset (adjacent — serves Hunterdon) County
Real Somerset County address, verifiable HIC number, and staff-level CSIA certification claim — the most credential-forward of the adjacent-county options. Credential verified against the state registry, date shown.
Princeton (also Doylestown, PA), Mercer (adjacent — lists Hunterdon towns served) County
Strongest independently-verified review volume (46 Angi reviews, 5.0) of any provider found, plus customers specifically note they'll tell you when a repair ISN'T needed. Credential verified against the state registry, date shown.
We pull credentials from the official registries ourselves and print the date next to every status — chimney sweep and repair contractors in New Jersey must hold a Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) registration, prefix 13VH, issued by the NJ Division of Consumer Affairs. Verify any contractor's registration number, active/inactive status, and expiration date at the state's real-time portal: https://newjersey.mylicense.com/verification/ . CSIA (Chimney Safety Institute of America) certification is a separate, voluntary trade credential for individual technicians — look up certified sweeps by name/location at https://search.csia.org (note: this tool redirected to a generic error page during this research session; try again directly or search "CSIA certified New Jersey" if the link is down).. Picks are editorial judgment on the checkable record: years in the trade, complaint patterns, review consistency, real presence in the county. No company paid to be listed, none can pay to become a pick, and when a pick has a weak spot we print it. Here are the full rules.
| Company & services | Based in | NJ HIC # | Registry status | BBB | Reviews (as reported) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D & W Chimney, Inc. (D&W Chimney & Fireplace Shop) Registered as D & W Chimney, Inc. Chimney sweeping/cleaning · Chimney repair · Gas fireplace sales & installation · Wood-burning & gas stove installation/service · Fireplace accessories (liners, glass doors, mantles, screens) | Whitehouse Station (Readington Twp) In county | 13VH02349300 | ✓ Active · 2026-07-14 | Not checked | 5.0 (Angi) |
| Highpoint Chimney Services LLC Chimney sweeping · Chimney inspection (Level 1-3) · Chimney repair · CSIA-certified technician staff · Serves Somerset, Hunterdon, Middlesex counties | Raritan | 13VH09039600 | ✓ Active · 2026-07-14 | Not checked | |
| TOR Chimney & Fireplace Corp. Chimney sweeping · Chimney inspection · Chimney repair/masonry · Fireplace service · Second-opinion inspections | Princeton (also Doylestown, PA) | 13VH09210400 | ✓ Active · 2026-07-14 | Not checked | 5.0 · 46 reviews (Angi) |
| The Chimney Man Chimney sweeping · Chimney repair, caps & liners · Dryer vent cleaning · Wood stove installation | Ringoes In county | 13VH03314400 | ✕ Expired · 2026-07-14 | Not checked | 11 reviews (Yelp); 3.5 (Angi) |
| Darren Ferrante Chimney Sweeps & Services Chimney sweeping · Chimney repair · General chimney services | Flemington In county | 13VH08795600 | ✕ Expired · 2026-07-14 | Not checked | |
| Midtown Chimney Sweeps of Flemington Chimney sweeping · Chimney inspection · Dryer vent cleaning | Flemington (dispatched from Hillsborough Twp) | — | … Pending check | Not checked | |
| A-1 Affordable Construction, Inc. (chimney division) Chimney inspection/cleaning · Chimney cap/crown repair · Chimney relining · Masonry repointing · Roofing/gutters/siding (multi-trade contractor, not a dedicated chimney specialist) | Clifton | 13VH00843200 | ✓ Active · 2026-07-14 | Not checked |
Registry status comes straight from the state's verification system on the date shown, and you can rerun any number there yourself in about two minutes. Review scores are what the named platforms report and we have not audited them. BBB grades as of July 2026. "Based in" is the registered address city, which sometimes differs from where a company says it operates. An active registration is the floor, not an endorsement; the picks we would actually call are above.
Typical NJ pricing per multiple 2026 cost guides (Angi, HomeGuide, R&E Roofing): a basic Level 1 chimney sweep with visual inspection runs roughly $150-$250; a Level 2 inspection with camera scan (required after a chimney fire, before selling a home, or after changing the heating appliance/liner) runs roughly $250-$500, trending toward the higher end of national ranges in the Northeast/NJ market.
Do it in your browser: check any license · check your quote · the storm-chaser test
Once a year if you use the fireplace or wood stove regularly (CSIA and NFPA both recommend annual inspection at minimum), even if you didn't burn much that season — creosote buildup, animal nests, and moisture damage happen whether or not you lit a fire, and an annual Level 1 inspection is what catches problems before they become expensive.
No — they're two different things. CSIA certification is a voluntary trade credential proving a technician passed chimney-specific training; it's not a government requirement. The NJ Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) registration is the actual legal license required to do the work at all, checked through the state's Division of Consumer Affairs. A company can have one without the other — ask for both.
A basic Level 1 sweep and inspection typically runs $150-$250 in New Jersey; a Level 2 inspection with a camera scan (needed after a chimney fire, home sale, or new appliance) runs $250-$500. Price swings usually come from number of flues, roof accessibility, and whether the company is quoting a bare sweep versus a sweep-plus-inspection bundle — always ask exactly what's included before comparing two quotes.
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