Chimney inspection in Farmington Hills

Older houses with brick chimneys

Some of Farmington Hills is older than people expect. Quaker Valley Farms, a subdivision of about 85 houses, started building in the 1940s and became the village of Quakertown in 1959, before the city formed in 1973. A brick chimney from that era is past seventy-five years old. The clay flue tiles inside can crack or separate at the joints, and you'd never see it from the yard.

Many houses from the 1940s through the 1960s also vent a furnace or water heater into a flue in the chimney. If the furnace has been replaced with one that vents out the side wall, the water heater may be left alone in a flue that's now too big for it. We check for that.

Newer houses with factory-built fireplaces

Houses from the late 1970s through the 1990s often have a factory-built fireplace, a metal firebox with a metal flue pipe running up a framed chase. These are built to a manufacturer's design, and we look at whether the parts are in the right condition and still fit together the way they should. A cracked firebox panel or a damaged pipe section is easy to miss without a close look. If you aren't sure which kind you have, tell us what you see when you book: a brick firebox or a metal one, and brick or siding on the chimney above the roof.

Level 1 and Level 2

Level 1 is $49 and is credited toward any repair or service we do after it. We check the fireplace, the flue we can reach, and the outside of the chimney, including the crown or chase cover and the flashing.

Level 2 is $149. It adds the chimney areas in the attic, basement and crawl space, and a camera through the flue. It's the one for a home sale, a change to the system, or after a chimney fire or storm. See our guide to chimney inspection levels. A camera can be added to a Level 1 for $75.

If you plan to use the fireplace this winter, book a chimney sweep and cleaning in Farmington Hills instead. The inspection is part of that visit.