Questions we get
on every job

The NFPA standard is an annual inspection, with cleaning whenever there is measurable creosote build-up. For a fireplace burning a cord or more of wood a season, that usually works out to once a year. A gas appliance still needs the flue checked annually even though it produces almost no soot.

A Level 1 covers everything readily accessible: the firebox, the accessible flue and the exterior. A Level 2 adds a camera run down the full length of the flue plus a look at attic and crawl space clearances. Level 2 is the one required when a home is being sold, when the appliance changes, or after a chimney fire or earthquake.

If the clay tile liner is cracked, missing, or the chimney was never lined, then yes. an unlined or damaged flue lets combustion gases reach framing. A liner also has to be sized to the appliance: too large a flue drafts poorly and cools the gases, too small starves it.

In most cases it is one of four things: a cracked or missing crown, failed flashing where the chimney meets the roof, a rusted-through chase cover, or brick that has spalled badly enough to soak up water. An inspection tells you which one, and they are very different repairs.

A chimney has to stand at least three feet above the roof penetration, and at least two feet higher than anything within ten feet of it. It is a draft and fire-safety requirement in the Michigan Residential Code, and it is the most common reason a chimney has to be extended.

We can give you a ballpark range over the phone, and the estimate worksheet on this site does the same thing in about a minute. A firm number needs an inspection. Chimney work has too many variables (height, flue count, access, what is behind the brick) to price sight unseen.

Yes. We inspect and quote at no charge, and you are under no obligation to book the work.

Southeast Michigan: Detroit, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Livonia, Westland, Garden City, Ann Arbor and the Downriver communities, out as far as Lansing for larger jobs.