Meet the Team - Alcott Chimney San Antonio

Meet the San Antonio Team Behind Alcott Chimney San Antonio

We’re not a dispatch board that sends whoever’s closest. Every Alcott chimney technician in San Antonio is someone whose name you’ll know before they knock, whose photo you’ll see before they arrive, and whose work carries a written guarantee. Ruben Castellano has run this location since 2002, and the crew he’s built shares one habit: they explain what they found in plain English and never recommend a repair you can’t see for yourself on camera. That’s the whole job.

Our People

Mike D. – Lead Technician

Mike has been sweeping and repairing chimneys in San Antonio for 19 years, and he’s the person we send when a fireplace has been neglected long enough to get interesting. He specializes in creosote removal; Creosote being the tar-like glaze that condenses inside the flue and is the leading cause of chimney fires in Bexar County homes. Mike holds CSIA certification and handles most of our DuraFlex liner installations. Outside of work, he rebuilds small engines in his garage and can tell you more about carburetors than any human needs to know.

Sarah T. – Senior Installer

Sarah leads our relining and repair work, with 12 years of experience fitting HeatShield resurfacing systems, Olympia Chimney components, and Gelco products. Her specialty is working in older San Antonio neighborhoods like Monte Vista and Jefferson, where flues built in the 1940s and 50s need careful evaluation before anyone touches a liner. She’s the one who talks through camera inspection footage with homeowners frame by frame. Sarah grew up in San Antonio and has a mild obsession with Texas barbecue; she’ll tell you her brisket rub is a trade secret, but our crews have eaten enough of it to know it’s mostly salt and pepper, like every good rub.

Alex R. – Apprentice Technician

Alex joined Alcott three years ago and is finishing his training under Mike. He already handles routine sweeps and Level 1 inspections on his own, and he’s become our go-to person for gas fireplace service calls, including pilot light diagnostics and burner cleaning on units across the San Antonio metro. Alex carries a notebook everywhere and writes down every repair he sees, which means he’s slowly building a reference library of chimney problems most techs never encounter twice. He was born and raised on the city’s south side and is warning everyone on the crew that this October is going to be the coolest one since 2019.

Elena V. – Service Coordinator

Elena is the voice on the phone most San Antonio customers hear first, and she’s the reason a live person answers every call, day or night. She has eight years of experience coordinating home-service schedules and an encyclopedic knowledge of which neighborhoods need sweeps before which weather systems. She’s the one who sends you your technician’s name and photo before the visit and makes sure the written price lands in your hands before any work starts. Elena grew up in Helotes and has two rescue dogs that occasionally make an appearance on video calls, which no one has ever complained about.

One Standard, Every Job

All four of us operate under the same non-negotiable rules, and they’re the reason Ruben joined the Threshold Group family in the first place. Every technician who steps onto your property has passed a background check and identity verification before they’re ever assigned a job. That’s the Threshold Standard, and it’s not an optional upgrade you have to request. When your technician arrives, they’ll show you a photo ID badge at the door, every time, no exceptions. The written price you receive before work begins is exactly what you’ll pay, and every repair carries a written guarantee that’s specific about what it covers. If a repair fails within the coverage period, the second visit is free, and that promise applies for a full 365 days after the job is complete. That’s not a San Antonio best practice. It’s just how we work.

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