The chimney inspection nobody mentions until escrow
A home sale calls for a Level 2 inspection, which adds a camera scan of the full flue to the visual check. It is the standard when a property changes hands, and a general home inspection does not replace it.
Why the general home inspection is not enough
A home inspector looks at the fireplace from the room and the chimney from the ground or the roof edge. That is a reasonable visual check, and it will catch a leaning stack or a missing cap. What it cannot do is see inside the flue, which is where the failures that matter actually are: cracked clay tiles, open joints between tiles, and gaps where heat can reach the timbers framed into the chimney breast.
That is the difference between the levels. Level 1 is the annual visual check on a system in continued service. Level 2 adds a camera run of the entire flue and is the standard whenever a property is sold, the fuel or appliance changes, or something has happened that could have damaged the flue.
What we actually do
- Firebox, damper, smoke chamber and hearth, with clearances to combustible material
- A camera pass through the whole flue, recorded so you keep the footage
- Crown, cap, flashing and the mortar joints from roof level
- A written report stating the standard applied and what is safe to use
The report is the deliverable. It goes to you, and you decide who else sees it. Agents on both sides tend to want it in writing with photographs, because that is what turns a disagreement into a number.
Timing inside a 17-day contingency
Escrow does not wait, so we schedule around the contingency date rather than our own convenience, and the written report goes out the same or the next day. If you are the seller and you know the fireplace has not been touched in years, getting the inspection done before you list is almost always cheaper than negotiating over it later, because you control who does the repair and when.
What happens if it finds something
Most findings are not dramatic. A cracked crown, a missing cap or open mortar joints are ordinary repairs with predictable costs. The finding that changes a negotiation is a compromised flue, which usually means relining. We quote the scope in writing so either side can price the same work elsewhere.
One thing worth knowing as a buyer: a fireplace that has been decommissioned or sealed is not automatically a problem, but it should be documented as such. An unlined flue connected to a modern appliance is a different matter and is worth resolving before the keys change hands.