Level 2 Chimney Inspection in Lexington, KY

Level 1

Everything reachable without tools or a ladder into the flue: firebox, damper, the visible flue, exterior masonry from the ground and the roof. Right when nothing has changed — same appliance, same fuel, no known problem.

Level 2

All of Level 1 plus a video scan of the full flue interior and a pass through the attic and roofline for clearances and hidden staining. When a property changes hands, an appliance or fuel changes, or something has hit the system.

Level 3

Concealed areas opened — a chase wall, a ceiling section — to confirm a serious hidden problem the first two levels found evidence of. Rare, and never a surprise.

A Level 1 is the eye's inspection. It is the right call when nothing about the system has changed and you want a routine condition check before the first fire of the season. What it cannot do is see the flue: from the hearth, with a flashlight, a cracked flue and a sound one look identical, because the damage lives up in the column.

A Level 2 runs a lens the full height of the flue on video and adds a pass through the attic and roofline. The camera records tile condition, joint gaps, creosote, blockages and whether a liner exists at all. It takes one to two hours on site; expect a written report that locates each finding on the stack and puts it in order (hazard now, next-year item, cosmetic) with a price range attached. It is the level most worth having: it says what is up there, not what probably is.

When a Level 1 or 2 finds evidence of a serious hidden problem, a Level 3 opens the concealed area to confirm it: a section of chase wall, a piece of ceiling. It is rare, and only specific findings justify it. Ask to see those findings first, in photographs, and agree the opening before it is made.

The national standard calls for a Level 2 whenever a property changes hands: the home inspector's "recommend evaluation by a qualified chimney professional" is a handoff, not a verdict, and the camera converts it into a number before the inspection window closes. Transaction inspections get first claim on the calendar, year-round. The same level is the one that documents damage after a flue fire, a lightning strike or a big wind storm, the events behind a claim, because a claim is a record of the flue and only a Level 2 has looked at it. A change of appliance or fuel — wood to gas logs most often — calls for a Level 2 too.

Masonry findings route to repair — joints, crown, cap, spalled brick; flue findings to a stainless liner sized to the flue; movement to a rebuild; and plenty of Level 2s end with "you're fine, burn away," in writing. Landlords in Richmond use the same report to decide whether a rental flue is relined or decommissioned with a sealed cap and a dated record.