Chimney Inspection in Woodland Hills That Tells You What Can Wait

NFPA 211 sets out three inspection levels, and most homeowners only ever need the first. A Level 1 inspection, $52 with us, covers what can be seen from the firebox, the attic where it is reachable, and the roof: the damper, the smoke chamber opening, the crown, the cap, the flashing line and the outside brick. It suits a chimney you use every year that has not changed. A Level 2 inspection adds a camera run through the whole flue and is priced at $320. The standard calls for Level 2 when a house is sold, after a chimney fire, after an earthquake or a hard wind event, or when you change what the fireplace burns. Level 3 means opening up walls or chase framing, and we only suggest it when a camera has already shown a reason.

If you are not sure which you need, tell us how the fireplace gets used and what prompted the call. A leak stain after a storm, smoke in the room, or a home sale each points to a different answer, and we would rather book the cheaper check when it will do the job. When a Level 1 turns up something that needs a camera, we explain why before upgrading the visit, and the Level 1 fee is not charged twice. Woodland Hills has a lot of 1950s and 1960s houses whose chimneys came through the 1994 Northridge earthquake with cracks nobody has looked for. If yours has never been scanned, that is one case where Level 2 is usually worth it.

The report is short on purpose. Each finding gets a photo, one or two lines on what it is, and a label: fix before the next fire, plan within the year, or watch. A cracked flue tile or a missing spark screen near brush lands in the first group. Open mortar joints on the upper courses, a rusted damper or a crown with surface cracks usually land in the second. Hairline cracks in the firebox refractory, light staining or a cap that is dull but still sound go in the third. Where a repair has more than one reasonable fix, we list both with the trade-off: a crown patch now against a new crown later, a damper replacement against a top-sealing damper that also keeps rain out.

Prices appear on the report for work we price by the job, such as a sweep from $210 or a cap at $155 to $635. Repairs that depend on what we find once mortar or tile is opened are quoted in writing before anything is booked, never on the roof with you standing in the driveway. You can take the report to another company if you want a second price. Many Woodland Hills homeowners use the list to spread work over two seasons, doing the urgent item in the fall and the masonry in spring. That is a sensible plan, and we will tell you when it is not.