Level 2 Chimney Inspection in Hastings Ranch With a Full Video Scan

NFPA 211 lists the moments when a Level 2 is the right call: when a property is sold or transferred, after a chimney fire, after an event that could have damaged the flue, such as an earthquake or a severe storm, and when the appliance connected to it changes. In Hastings Ranch that covers a lot of chimneys. Many older homes here sit on stacks that have been through decades of shaking, from the 1971 Sylmar quake onward, and each one may have cracked a flue tile somewhere in the middle of the run. A visual check from the firebox and the roof cannot see that far, and a home inspector, however good, will not have the camera.

There is one more case we see often: debris that keeps coming down and no visible source. A nest wedged at an offset halfway up, a dead bird caught on a ledge, a dropped tile, or a raccoon's latrine on the smoke chamber walls. These are hidden from the top and the bottom. The camera finds them, shows how big the problem is, and tells us whether it can be cleared from above or below. If it is a sale, the video gives buyer and seller the same picture, so the conversation is about the actual chimney, not a guess.

We feed a video camera up the flue from the firebox or down from the top, recording the whole length. We look at every joint between flue tiles for gaps, cracks running through the tiles, missing mortar, glazed creosote, and anything lodged inside. Where the chimney passes through the attic, we check the clearance to framing and look for water staining, soot leaking through joints, and signs of animals using the attic space beside the stack. In homes with a crawl space, we check the base of the chimney there too. The roof, crown, cap and flashing are covered the same way as a Level 1.

The scan runs $370. You receive annotated stills showing each finding, a written summary that ranks them by urgency, and written prices for anything we suggest. We usually have the report out within a day or two, sooner when there is an escrow deadline, so tell us the date when you call. If the camera shows that a flue tile is cracked through, the usual answer is a stainless liner, and we can explain why in plain terms before you decide anything.