Before anything gets cleaned or repaired, we look. Firebox, flue, structure, and photos of whatever turns up.
A chimney inspection is a safety check of the firebox, flue, damper and structure. We are looking for damage, blockages and creosote buildup, ideally before any of it becomes your problem.
Most people book one for a simple reason. They want to light the fireplace and they want to know it is safe. After that it tends to be a house sale, an insurer asking, or something that has changed and is bothering them. A smell. A stain spreading on the ceiling. Smoke coming back into the room instead of going up.
We start every job this way. Quoting a repair you have not looked at is guesswork, and sweeping a flue you have not checked is worse. So the inspection comes first.
Most inspections take under an hour. Here's the order it happens in.
Call or send the form. We confirm a same-week slot that works for you.
Drop cloths go down before anything else. Nothing gets on your floors or furniture.
Firebox, damper, flue and structure. From inside the house, and from the roof where we can get to it.
Photos of anything worth showing you, explained without the jargon.
Safe to burn, needs a sweep, or needs a repair. If it is a repair, you get a firm number before anyone starts.
The industry works to three levels. Which one applies comes down to what has changed and how much of the chimney we need to get at.
A visual inspection of the readily accessible parts of the chimney and fireplace.
When: nothing has changed and you're burning as usual.
Everything in Level 1, plus a camera down the flue and a look at any attic or crawl space we can reach.
When: buying or selling, after a chimney fire, or if you've changed the appliance or fuel.
For when something serious is suspected and part of the structure has to be opened up to confirm it.
When: a Level 1 or 2 found something that can't be assessed any other way.
None of these mean drop everything. Each one means get someone to look before the next fire.
Inspections start at $69. What it lands at depends on the chimney and how awkward it is to reach, and you will know the number before anyone starts. Book a sweep at the same time and the inspection is on us.
Usually under an hour on a standard single-flue chimney. A camera inspection takes longer, and so does anything awkward to get to.
They start at $69. Where it ends up depends on the chimney and which level of inspection it needs, and we confirm that before starting. Booked with a sweep, it is complimentary.
Once a year for most homes, ideally before you start burning for the season. Also worth doing if you are buying or selling, after any chimney fire, or if you switch appliance or fuel.
It is included. We inspect first on every sweep, partly because cleaning a flue you have not assessed is a bad idea, and partly because it is the only honest way to tell you if anything else needs doing.
No. You get photos and a plain explanation. If something needs fixing we will quote it. If nothing does, we will say so and leave.
Yes. Gas units fail differently to wood burners, mostly around venting, the pilot assembly and the connections, so those get checked properly.
Inspections start at $69, appointments are usually the same week, and you get a straight answer at the end of it.
