Level 2 Chimney Inspection in Arleta, Video Included

NFPA 211 points to a Level 2 inspection on a property sale or transfer, after a quake, a flue fire, a big windstorm or any other event that may have hurt the chimney, and when you change the appliance or fuel, for example adding a gas insert to an old wood fireplace. In Woodland Hills the most common reason by far is a sale. Buyers' general home inspectors usually look at the chimney from the roof and the firebox, and their reports often end with a line recommending a Level 2 by a chimney specialist. That line is where we come in, often with a short escrow clock running.

A Level 2 costs $380. Three things shape the visit: flue count, stack height, and whether the roof is safe to stand on or the camera has to go in from the firebox alone. A single-flue ranch house in the flats north of Ventura Boulevard is quick. A two-story hillside home with a living room and a primary bedroom fireplace on separate flues takes longer. Send the address and a photo of the chimney if you have one when you book.

You get the full video file, unedited, and a written report built around stills pulled from it. Each still is labeled with its height in the flue, measured from the damper, and a sentence describing what it shows: an open mortar joint at six feet, a cracked tile at eleven, a liner offset where two sections meet. The report covers the attic and roof areas next to the chimney as well, including clearance to framing where we can see it, and the flashing. Findings get the same three labels we use everywhere: safe to use, watch it, fix before the next fire. Page one gives a one-paragraph summary written so a buyer's agent can read it on a phone.

Sellers sometimes ask us to inspect before listing, so the chimney is not a surprise during escrow. That works well: the report becomes part of the disclosure package, and any repair can be done and documented ahead of time. Buyers often ask what a finding will cost to fix. Where we can price it from the video, the next-step page gives a written figure. Where we cannot, it says what further look is needed and why. We will speak with either agent about the report if you ask us to, and we keep the video on file so it can be resent later.