Inspections & Cleaning

Have the chimney inspected once a year, before the first fire. A sweep is due when soot or creosote has built up in the flue. For a wood-burning fireplace that is often the same yearly visit. Gas logs still need the flue, cap, and liner checked. How often a sweep is due goes further, and chimney services covers the work.

A sweep removes the soot and creosote built up in the flue. The visit also looks at the firebox, damper, smoke chamber, cap, and the flue itself. You hear what was found before any further work is recommended. See chimney services.

A Level 1 inspection is the routine look. It covers the firebox, damper, smoke chamber, flue, crown, cap, and the chimney flashing, and it fits when the appliance and the way you use it have not changed. A Level 2 inspection adds accessible areas around the chimney, such as the attic or crawl space, and usually a camera look inside the flue. That level fits a home sale, a change of appliance or fuel, or a fire or storm. A Level 3 inspection is for a suspected hidden hazard. It can mean opening a concealed part of the chimney, and it is not the yearly visit.

A roof inspection is a separate look at the shingles, flashing, and active leaks. A1 tells you which chimney level the house needs. You get the findings before any repair is sold.

Stains on the ceiling near the chimney, white powder on the outside brick, crumbling mortar, a rusty or stuck damper, pieces of flue tile in the firebox, or a strong odor from a cold fireplace are reasons to stop using it and book an inspection. Those signs do not name the repair by themselves.

Smoke in the room can come from a closed or stuck damper, a blockage, a cold flue, or a draft problem. Do not keep the fire going to push the smoke out. Let it die down if you can do that safely, and open a window if the room is filling with smoke. Then schedule an inspection. If anyone feels sick, or you suspect combustion gas, get everyone outside and call emergency services before you call A1.

Water near the chimney is often open flashing, a cracked crown, or a cap that no longer sheds rain. It is not automatically a whole roof that has failed. A1 looks at the masonry and the metal flashing together. What a chimney flashing leak usually means.