A real-estate chimney inspection looks where the home inspector didn't.
NFPA 211 calls for a Level 2 inspection every time a property changes hands — a camera up the flue, not a flashlight from the hearth. We do that, and we email the report the same day.
Open 24/7, holidays included. Realtors: call the office nearest the property and we'll work to your closing date.
A flashlight from the hearth is not an inspection.
General home inspectors are good at what they do. Chimneys are not what they do. They check the visible masonry, glance up the throat, note that a damper exists, and move on — because a flue interior is the one part of the house you cannot evaluate without sending a camera into it.
That is exactly where the expensive problems hide. Cracked liner tiles. Open mortar joints between flues. Stage 3 creosote glaze that has been baking on since the last owner burned wet oak. None of it shows from the firebox. All of it shows on video.
Visible exterior brick, the cap from the ground or a ladder, the firebox, the damper handle. A line in a 40-page report that reads "chimney present, appears serviceable." No camera. No flue interior. No NFPA 211 level assigned.
Everything in a Level 1, plus a video scan of the full flue interior top to bottom, the accessible parts of the chimney inside and outside the home, and the attic or crawl space where we can reach them. Documented, dated, and written down.
If the deed is changing hands, NFPA 211 says Level 2. Not because someone smells smoke — because nobody in the transaction has ever seen the inside of that flue. New owner, new burning habits, new liability. Curious how the levels differ? Read our plain-English guide to chimney inspection levels.
Four parts to a real-estate chimney inspection. None of them get skipped.
A transaction Level 2 has a defined scope. Here is ours, in the order we work it.
The full flue, on camera
A video scan of the entire flue interior, cap to smoke chamber. Cracked tiles, gaps, spalling, blockages, and creosote depth — seen, not assumed.
Exterior, top to footing
The accessible portions of the chimney outside the home: crown, cap, flashing, mortar joints, and the brick itself. Water is what kills chimneys, and it always leaves a trail.
Interior and concealed spaces
Firebox, damper, smoke shelf, hearth extension, and the accessible portions of the chimney inside the home — including attic and crawl space where we can get to them.
The paperwork, same day
Photos, video stills from the scan, and a plain-English condition report — emailed before the truck leaves. Dated, written Level 2 documentation you can hand to the agent, the lender, or the insurer.
Same inspection. Very different reasons.
Find it before the buyer's guy does.
A chimney surprise in week three of escrow is not a repair problem. It is a leverage problem. Discovered late, a cracked liner becomes the buyer's biggest bargaining chip and a reason to walk; discovered before you list, it is a line item you control — fix it, disclose it, or price it.
Get the Level 2 done early and you walk into the deal with the video, the report, and the answer already in hand. Buyers argue with unknowns. They rarely argue with footage.
Know what you're inheriting.
You are not just buying a fireplace. You are buying however the last owner burned in it — twenty winters of hot fires, damp wood, and a cap that maybe went missing in a storm nobody mentioned.
A Level 2 tells you, before you sign, whether that chimney is ready for a fire on the first cold night — or whether it needs a liner, a cap or damper, or a serious sweep before anyone strikes a match.
A number on paper beats a guess in a hallway.
Sometimes the camera finds something. A cracked liner. A crown that has been letting water in for years. Deals die at that moment — not because of the damage, but because nobody knows what the damage costs, so both sides start guessing, and guesses run in whichever direction serves the guesser.
So we don't stop at the finding. We quote the repair, in writing, on the same report — the actual scope of work to bring that chimney back to standard. Now the buyer, the seller, and the agents are negotiating over one real figure instead of three imaginary ones. Deals close on real figures.
And you're free to take our quote and shop it. We'd rather be the company that told you the truth than the company that held your closing hostage.
Tell us the closing date. We'll schedule around it.
Every office answers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, holidays included — and a real person picks up. Evenings, weekends, the Saturday before a Monday close: tap a number and talk to a sweep. Realtors, call us directly; give us the address, the lockbox or access details, and who needs the report, and we take it from there.
Kansas City, MO
1816 Walnut St Ste 100, Kansas City, MO 64108 (816) 919-3095 kansascity@onspotchimney.com KANSAS CITY OFFICE →Dallas, TX
2828 N Harwood St Ste 1220, Dallas, TX 75201 (682) 899-2867 dallas@onspotchimney.com DALLAS OFFICE →Chicago, IL
205 W Randolph St Ste 730, Chicago, IL 60606 (872) 713-7974 chicago@onspotchimney.com CHICAGO OFFICE →Not sure which office covers the property? See all offices or contact us — we'll route you.
What usually comes next
Most real-estate chimney inspections end in one of three places. All three are ours, and the same crew does them.
Questions from the closing table
Or just ask a sweep — a two-minute call usually settles it. Kansas City: (816) 919-3095. Any hour.