Reduce Your Risks & Enjoy Your Fireplace Or Stove With Annual Chimney & Venting Inspections

A lot can go on inside your chimney without you knowing. Birds and animals can enter and make a nice nest for their babies. Flammable creosote can build up along the flue and restrict air flow. Water from a chimney leak can rust and eat away at metal liners or cause cracking and decay along tile liners. All of these things can make it impossible to enjoy your fireplace or stove and leave you with an unsafe home and a big list of costly repairs. But the interior of your chimney system doesn’t have to be a mystery or a hazard.

The team at Ground to Crown Chimney & Fireplace Services has the tools and experience needed to perform annual chimney inspections and provide you with a thorough report on your chimney’s condition. We follow the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) standards for levels I, II, and III inspections and will let you know whether your chimney needs cleaning or repairs. Here’s a rundown of each level and when you might need each:

Level I. Level I chimney inspections are recommended annually by the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) and NFPA and are the industry standard for chimney systems that appear to be operating normally and have been properly maintained each year. As long as you haven’t made any changes to your chimney or hearth or noticed any problems or changes with regards to efficiency, a level I will likely suffice for your annual inspection. This level of inspection is mainly visual and doesn’t require any specialized tools, but will allow us to check for creosote or flue obstructions.

Level II. Level II chimney inspections are recommended by the CSIA and NFPA when a home is changing hands (i.e. the buying or selling of a property), a change has been made (i.e. new flue liner or stove), a change in performance has been noted, or something has occurred that may have damaged the chimney (i.e. a chimney fire or severe weather event). With a level II inspection, we’re able to get a more comprehensive look at the chimney system using video scanning technology. Learn more about video inspections here.

Level III. Level III inspections are for chimneys that are experiencing issues we can’t resolve without removing certain portions of the chimney or the surrounding areas of the home. Because these inspections can be destructive, they are really reserved as a last resort.