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Chimney

Chimney inspection near you

The three NFPA 211 levels explained, and when level two is required.

Prepared by the TenBestFind Editorial TeamUpdated September 2026

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  • Part of

    Chimney

  • Companies offer it

    20

  • City covered

    1

  • Last checked

    September 2026

The work

What chimney inspection actually involves

Three levels, and which one you actually need

Chimney inspections are commonly described in three levels. The first is a visual check of the readily accessible parts, appropriate for an unchanged system in regular use. The second adds a camera survey of the flue and is what a property sale, a change of appliance or a suspected problem calls for. The third opens up the structure and is reserved for a known serious fault.

The second level is the one most people should be asking for and the one least often quoted, because it needs a camera and takes longer.

After a chimney fire, an earthquake or a serious storm, a visual inspection is not enough. Flue liners crack in ways that are invisible from either end and only show on camera.

Buying a house

A general home inspection does not inspect the chimney

Home inspectors look at the outside of a stack and into the firebox. That is not an assessment of the flue, and the flue is where the expensive problems live.

Relining a chimney is a significant cost, and a cracked liner is entirely invisible during a normal viewing and a normal home inspection.

If the house has a working fireplace or stove you intend to use, a camera inspection before exchange is cheap against what it can find, and it gives you something concrete to negotiate with.

Failure points

Two things that go wrong

All chimney companies research →

  1. Free inspection, found problem

    Ask: “Are you quoting for the repair as well, and can I see the camera footage myself?”

    The same pattern as roofing after a storm. A free inspection from a firm that sells relining is a sales visit, which is fine as long as you treat it as one. For anything expensive, get a second opinion from somebody not quoting for the work.

  2. No footage handed over

    Ask: “Will you give me the video file, not just a description of it?”

    If a camera goes up the flue, the recording is yours and it is the evidence for whatever is recommended next. A verbal account of what the camera saw is worth much less, particularly if you want to compare quotes.

Before you book chimney inspection

How we rank →

Six checks, in the order they save you the most. None of them takes longer than a phone call, and the first one is the reason two quotes for the same job can be a thousand apart.

  1. In-house or subcontracted

    Ask whether the crew doing this specific work is on their payroll. Plenty of companies list a service and hand it straight to somebody else, which is not wrong, but it changes who is answerable when something goes back.

  2. The licence for the parent trade

    Look the number up with the authority that issues it rather than reading the certificate they send you. What a licence covers, and whether one is needed at all, changes by state and province.

  3. Insurance, confirmed with the insurer

    A current certificate sent to you by the insurer, not a photocopy from the company. Ask for liability and, where crews are on site, workers' compensation.

  4. What the quote leaves out

    Removal, disposal, subfloor or substrate work, permits and making good afterwards are where two quotes on the same job separate. Ask for the exclusions in writing next to the inclusions.

  5. Two warranties, not one

    The manufacturer covers the material and the company covers the workmanship. Get the second in writing, with its length, and ask whether it transfers if you sell.

  6. How a change is priced

    Agree before the deposit how anything found on the way is priced and approved. The moment to settle that is while you are still choosing between companies, not on the day somebody lifts a floorboard.

Where we cover it

Chimney Services shortlists by city

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A company offering chimney inspection appears in the published list for its own market. Each one names the editor who built it and the date they last checked it.

On the lists

Companies that list chimney inspection

Drawn from the profiles where this service is recorded, not from what a company advertises.

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Chimney guides

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Common questions about chimney inspection

Ask us something else →

  • Who handles chimney inspection?

    Chimney inspection is handled by chimney companies. Not every company in the trade takes this work on, so each ranking lists the services a company genuinely performs rather than everything it advertises.

  • What should I ask before booking chimney inspection?

    Ask what the quote includes and excludes, who is doing the work, whether a permit is needed and who is pulling it, and what the workmanship warranty covers. Get the answers in writing before anyone starts.

  • How do I compare quotes for this?

    Put them on one sheet line by line. Differences in price almost always turn out to be differences in scope, material grade or warranty length rather than margin.

  • Is chimney inspection priced separately from the rest of the job?

    Usually it is a line inside a larger quote rather than its own invoice, which is exactly why the exclusions matter. Ask for it itemised so you can compare that line between companies instead of comparing two totals.

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