Meet the Team - Alcott Chimney Ventura

Meet the Ventura Team Behind Alcott Chimney Ventura

We’re a small, focused crew that works Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, and the beach cities between them. Most of us have been doing chimney work long enough to recognize a flue problem from the sound a brush makes, and we’ve all adopted the same habit: explain what we found, show you the camera footage, and quote a written price before anything gets touched. Ruben Castellano built this team around people who’d rather be clear than clever, and it shows in how we run every appointment.

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Our People

Ruben Castellano – Owner

Ruben founded Alcott Chimney Ventura as part of the Threshold Group family in 2002, which means he’s swept and inspected more Ventura County flues than he can count. He still answers the phone when it rings, and he still rides along on the jobs that involve tricky liner replacements or gas fireplace diagnostics. His rule for the whole crew is simple: if a customer has to guess what we mean, we’ve already failed. When he’s not on a rooftop, you’ll find him walking the Ventura Pier with a coffee and a notebook full of job notes he’ll actually review.

Manny R. – Lead Technician

Manny has been running chimney sweeps and inspections with Alcott since 2016, and before that he spent eight years doing masonry and flue work across Southern California. He’s our go-to for chimneys with heavy creosote – the tar-like glaze that builds up when fires burn cool – and he’s the person most likely to walk you through your camera report inch by inch. Manny keeps a small notebook in his truck where he sketches flue layouts that don’t match their blueprints, which is his quiet way of saying he noticed the thing everyone else missed. He’s a father of two and still insists on sweeping the ash from his own boots before he leaves your driveway.

Dana L. – Senior Installer

Dana has specialized in chimney liner and fireplace component installation for over a decade, and she’s the person we hand the big jobs to: DuraFlex liner drops, HeatShield resurfacing, and fireplace rebuilds that need exact measurements. She’s meticulous about torque specs on connector plates and has never once left a job without double-checking the draft. Dana grew up around tradespeople and can usually tell you within thirty seconds whether a “quick fix” will actually hold. Outside work, she restores old Ventura bungalow windows, which tells you about her patience with precision.

Tommy G. – Service Coordinator

Tommy is the voice you’ll usually hear when you call (559) 282-2695, and he’s been coordinating Alcott Ventura appointments since 2019. He keeps the schedule organized so every customer knows the technician’s name and sees their photo before we show up, which is the Threshold Standard, not a courtesy. Tommy is also the one who logs your sweep history so we can tell you exactly when your last cleaning was and what we found. When fire season starts and the phone rings more, he’s the calm on the line that keeps everything running on time. He’s a former restaurant line cook, so he’s practically unshakable under a full board.

One Standard, Every Job

The reason we mention background checks and identity verification isn’t because it sounds good in a brochure. It’s because Ruben decided in 2002 that nobody enters a customer’s home without earning that trust first. Every Ventura technician is background-checked and identity-verified through the Threshold Standard process, and you get the technician’s name and photo before we arrive. At the door, they’ll show a photo ID badge. Written price before work begins, written guarantee on every repair, and a free second visit if that repair fails within the coverage period. Those aren’t upgrades or add-ons – they’re the baseline we’ve run for more than two decades, and they apply whether it’s a routine sweep in Midtown Ventura or a full liner job up in the hills off Foothill Road.

Written by Ruben Castellano, Owner at Alcott Chimney Ventura, serving Ventura since 2002.