How Premier Chimney Cleaning Greater Rochester Was Born in Rochester
It was a Tuesday morning in late October, about twenty years back, when we pulled up to a small cape on Park Avenue. The homeowner, a retired schoolteacher named Mrs. Deluca, met us at the door with a receipt in her hand and tears in her eyes. Another company had just charged her $890 for what they called a “complete chimney rebuild” — except they’d done nothing but smear some cheap mortar around the crown and leave black footprints on her white carpet. She’d called us for a second opinion because something felt wrong. We climbed her roof with a ladder we’d bought at Haney’s Hardware on Hudson, and in ten minutes we saw the truth: the mortar was already cracking, the flashing was untouched, and her liner was showing gaps that made the whole “repair” not just useless but dangerous.
That afternoon, Anthony sat in his truck on East Avenue, engine running for heat, and made a decision. Rochester didn’t need another chimney company. Rochester needed one chimney company that wouldn’t treat homeowners like marks. We started Premier Chimney Cleaning Greater Rochester the following spring with a beat-up van, a borrowed brush set, and a handwritten note taped to the dashboard: “Fix it right. Charge fair. Sleep sound.” That note’s still there, faded now, the tape yellowed. Mrs. Deluca became our first regular, and she referred her sister, her neighbor, her book club. Word spread because we’d proven what Rochester already suspected — the industry was broken, and someone needed to show up differently.
Anthony Perez’s Personal Connection to the Chimney Cleaning Trade
Anthony didn’t stumble into chimney work. He was pulled into it by his Uncle Ray, a brick mason from the old neighborhood near Lyell Avenue who took him up on his first roof at fourteen years old. It was a triple-decker on Frost Avenue, November, the kind of raw Rochester morning where your fingers go numb even through work gloves. Uncle Ray handed him a flashlight and told him to look down the flue. “See that glaze?” he said. “That’s creosote. That’s what burns houses down. That’s what we’re here to stop.” Anthony remembers the smell — cold soot, old fires, something like wet stone — and the sudden weight of understanding that this dirty, invisible work kept families alive through winter.
He spent his twenties working every trade that touched a house: roofing, masonry, HVAC. But he kept coming back to chimneys. There’s something about the work that suits his nature. You can’t fake it. You can’t sell a chimney repair to someone who doesn’t need it and expect to sleep well, not when you know what a flue fire sounds like — that roaring, freight-train howl that starts in the walls and ends with a family standing in the snow watching their home burn. Anthony has heard that sound once, at a training demonstration in Syracuse, and he says it never leaves you.
If he weren’t doing this, he’d probably be fishing the Genesee near Seth Green Drive at dawn, or restoring old motorcycles in his garage in Gates. Those are his escapes — quiet, mechanical, solitary. But chimneys are his purpose. What gets him out of bed is the knowledge that somewhere in Irondequoit or Brighton or Greece, someone is lighting their first fire of the season, and they’re trusting that the person who last looked at their chimney actually looked. Twenty-plus years, and he still climbs every roof he can, still carries that flashlight, still feels the same responsibility he felt at fourteen.
Meet Anthony Perez — The Person Behind Every Job
Anthony Perez is Owner & Lead Technician at Premier Chimney Cleaning Greater Rochester. He’s the person who answers your call, climbs your roof, and writes your estimate. He’s state-licensed, insured & bonded, and trained across every major system — from traditional masonry flues to modern stainless steel liners from Olympia Chimney and DuraFlex. But what separates him from a franchise technician sent by a dispatch center is simple: he’s the one whose name is on the company, whose phone number you have, whose reputation in Rochester depends on every single job.
Anthony lives in the area with his family. He volunteers with the local youth hockey league — not because it’s good for business, but because his son played and he believes in showing up for kids the way Uncle Ray showed up for him. He’s the technician who notices your gutter is pulling away while he’s up there, who calls you from the roof to explain what he’s seeing rather than leaving a cryptic invoice. His commitment to you is direct and personal: “If I wouldn’t do it at my mother’s house, I won’t do it at yours.”
Our Promise to Rochester Homeowners
Honest pricing. We quote by the job, not by the hour, and we explain every line before we start. After that Park Avenue experience with Mrs. Deluca, we made a policy: if we find something unexpected, we stop and call. No surprise charges, no “while we’re up there” add-ons invented on the spot.
Quality parts that last. We use Famco caps and Copperfield components because we’ve seen what cheap hardware does after two Rochester winters — rusted, failed, leaking water into the flue. We source materials that survive our freeze-thaw cycles, our lake-effect snow, our brutal January winds.
Standing behind every job. In twenty-plus years, we’ve returned to fewer than a dozen jobs for rework. When we have, we’ve eaten the cost, fixed the issue, and asked what we could have done better. Our warranty isn’t a piece of paper — it’s our name in this community.
Our Credentials
- State-licensed chimney contractor — meets all New York professional requirements
- Insured & bonded — full protection for your property and our team while working in your home
- 20+ years serving Rochester homeowners with hands-on experience
- 708 verified reviews averaging 4.7 out of 5 stars — built one appointment at a time
These aren’t decorations. They’re what lets you open your door to us without worry. Licensing means we’ve met state standards for knowledge and accountability. Insurance & bonding means if the unexpected happens — a ladder slips, a tile cracks — you’re not left holding the bill. Twenty years means we’ve seen every chimney condition Rochester’s climate can create, from salt-damaged crowns near Lake Ontario to freeze-thaw deterioration in older Brighton neighborhoods. And 708 reviews from real homeowners mean you don’t have to take our word for any of it.
Rooted in Rochester
We’ve swept chimneys in the cobblestone streets of the South Wedge, replaced liners in century-old Park Avenue brownstones, and capped flues in new builds across Webster and Fairport. You’ll find Anthony at the Greece Farmers Market on Saturday mornings, or grabbing a plate at Nick Tahou’s when the day’s work is done. We’ve sponsored youth teams in Irondequoit and contributed to the Brighton Fire Department’s safety education programs. This isn’t marketing — it’s home. When you call (888) 399-5696, you’re calling a neighbor who happens to know chimneys better than almost anyone in Monroe County.
Written by Anthony Perez, Owner at Premier Chimney Cleaning Greater Rochester, serving Rochester since 2004.