About Us

In the mid-1980s my kids were entering adolescence and I could see that I was going to need a lot more money to get them through the teen years. My daughter was becoming a high-level gymnast (that means it costs a bunch of money).

Also, I was hoping to have a business that allowed me to leave the country once in a while to travel. It has – we have traveled in Russia, Central Asia, Georgia, Turkey, Italy, Switzerland, England, Scotland, and have been on chimneys in many of those places. I’ve been gone for as long as seven weeks from my business and it still functions at a high level.

As a company, we once went to an international gathering of chimney sweeps in northern Italy. There were 1,000 sweeps from 27 countries and we were among those representing the USA. I am so glad for this business.

A friend, who had moved to Grass Valley from Whitmore, where we lived at the time, called and said he had the business I ought to be in – he was sweeping chimneys. I worked for him for one day, came back and hung out a shingle. I had a garage sale vacuum which, it turned out, had no filter, two used brushes, and I bought a new ladder. I guess you could say I didn’t do any research.

My one choice was whether I should get a contractor’s license for landscaping or chimney work. I chose chimneys because it seemed that everyone with a lawn mower was a landscaper but only one guy had a chimney installation license.

Bob on top of a chimney in Italy.

White Glove stands for a warm, secure, and healthy home. We are clean, safe to be with, nice, and professionally trained. Our technicians learn their job in our classroom and training center – 56 hours of training before they go out as a helper on a truck. Then ongoing continuing education throughout the year.

There is a CSIA certified sweep on every job: We like to say, “Our ‘experience’ is tested.” Our guys don’t learn their job at your home. While a lack of certification doesn’t mean a person is without knowledge – It simply means we have proven that we know at least the minimum to be a venting professional. We have done our best to make sure we are educated, skilled and still fun to be with.

We’ve also been on chimneys in Russia, the former Soviet republic of Georgia, a castle in Scotland, and in Italy – and we have great stories from these places.

We don’t take shortcuts, and we’re not trying to save someone money by cutting corners. We are honest, educated professionals. We are nice – just ask our customers. We show up on time, we are really clean in the home, and we are great communicators who speak in a language our customers understand. We are also licensed contractors.

Essentially I was kicked out of high school, though I did finish. I have a smattering of college. I’ve been a mountain guide, wood and steel mill worker, pastor, drug dealer, delinquent youth counselor, landscaper, white-water guide, handyman, and had many other jobs over the years. Plus I bummed around hitchhiking for almost three years.

My wife of 39 years, who was 5 months pregnant at the time, and I hitchhiked out of the Trinity Alps into Redding, the closest place with a doctor, in 1973 – this was the time of the first oil embargo, no jobs, no rentals. I had no job skills. But I knew how to find resources, I had hustle, and I always found work. The benefit for me was that I learned how to do a lot of different and seemingly unrelated things.

Chimney suppliers offered free seminars; the National Chimney Sweep Guild and the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Education Foundation also had seminars and classes. There was no Web back then; there were barely computers. I went to every seminar, meeting, or chimney event I could find, and still do. Everyone at White Glove is committed to keep learning. White Glove stands for a warm, secure, and healthy home. Our field supervisor, Phil McCarthy,  holds an NFI gas certification . Two of us are F.I.R.E. certified inspectors –There are eight CSIA certified chimney sweeps north of Sacramento – four of them are at White Glove.

Our primary market is homeowners and home buyers, or those who own rental properties in Shasta, south Siskiyou, and northern Tehama counties, and either heat with a hearth appliance or enjoy one for ambiance, and/or who own a clothes dryer.

We also service homes and businesses with evaporative coolers.

Our targets are homeowners who care about who comes into their home, who value great service, and who want convenience.

We work well with single women who aren’t sure who they can trust.

We serve, or are a resource for, associated businesses such as: home inspectors, realtors, firemen, news services, appliance repairmen, trade or business associations, insurance companies with their legal counsel, adjusters, investigative fire professionals, other chimney sweeps, and stove shops.

Our retail market is anyone needing a hearth product who doesn’t care about particular looks and who doesn’t want to shop – such as rental owners and real estate transactions where a hearth product needs replacing.