Real estate inspections · Carlisle, PA
Level II chimney inspections for home buyers and sellers
Level II chimney inspections for buyers and sellers, the level NFPA 211 calls for when a property changes hands.
Why a sale calls for a Level II
A chimney can look fine from the yard and still hide a cracked liner, creosote buildup, a blockage or water damage inside the flue. A general home inspection usually cannot see far enough up the stack to rule those out, and a buyer who finds out after closing owns the repair.
NFPA 211, the National Fire Protection Association standard our inspections follow, calls for a Level II inspection in a real estate transaction. It is a deeper look than the Level I a homeowner gets during an annual sweep, and it is the same level used before a flue is relined or after an appliance malfunction.
Rooftop view of a brick chimney with two clay flue tiles on a worn crown above a tree-lined street
What a Level II covers
In general trade terms, a Level II covers the readily accessible parts of the chimney plus the areas where the chimney passes through the house, typically attics and crawlspaces. It typically includes a video scan of the flue interior, which is how cracks, gaps and buildup out of sight get seen at all.
Sellers use it to find out what a buyer's inspector will find before the house is listed. Buyers use it to learn the real condition of the fireplace, stove or furnace flue they are about to pay for. Either way, the result is a clear picture of whether the chimney needs a sweep, a liner, a crown repair or nothing at all.
If a Level II turns up signs of a serious hidden hazard, the next step is a Level III, the most intensive level, which we only recommend when the earlier findings point to it.
Scheduling around a closing
Call the office in Carlisle at 717-601-2595 as soon as you have a purchase agreement or a listing date, and tell us the closing date and the address. Having the inspection done early leaves room to fix what it finds before the paperwork is due.
The same crew that inspects the chimney can also sweep it, reline it, repair the crown or fit a new cap, so a finding does not turn into a second search for a contractor. We work across Cumberland, Adams, Perry, Franklin and Dauphin Counties.
I also appreciated their honesty about what repairs were truly necessary. Cameron Powell, Google review.