Milford, Oakland County
Chimney inspection in Milford
A Milford chimney might have started out venting a coal stove in the 1880s or been built with a 1970s tri-level. Either way, it's probably carrying something different now than what it was built for.
Who calls for an inspection in Milford
People book one here for a handful of reasons:
- Buying or selling a house, especially one of the older village houses.
- A furnace or water heater that vents into an old chimney.
- A fireplace nobody in the house has used.
- A newer house with a factory-built fireplace that hasn't been looked at since it was built.
- After a chimney fire, or after a storm brings down limbs from the big trees along the river.
Ranches and tri-levels
After the war, Milford spread out from the village. Bonnie Highlands and Fairview Heights filled in with ranches and bi-levels, and from the 1960s into the 1980s, subdivisions like Kensington Hills and Oakland Orchards added raised ranches, tri-levels and colonials. Those houses usually have one masonry chimney, often with two flues: one for the fireplace and one for the furnace or water heater.
That second flue is where we spend time. When an old furnace gets replaced with a high-efficiency one that vents out the side wall, the water heater can be left alone in a flue sized for both. Our guide to a water heater in an old chimney explains what that means.
Level 1, Level 2 and the camera
A Level 1 inspection is $49 and is credited toward any repair or service we do after it. It covers the firebox, the damper, the flue as far as we can see and the outside of the chimney.
A Level 2 is $149. It adds the chimney in the attic, basement and crawl space, plus a camera through each flue. Book it for a home sale, after a chimney fire or storm, or before you change what vents into the chimney. On a Level 1, the camera is $75 extra. The guide to chimney inspection levels goes through which one fits, and chimney inspection cost covers the pricing.
What happens next
You get a plain walkthrough of what we found, with photos. If the flue just needs cleaning, a chimney sweep in Milford is $349 and includes an inspection on the same visit.
Questions
We're buying an old house in the village. Which inspection do we need?
A Level 2, for $149. It covers the chimney in the attic, basement and crawl space and runs a camera down each flue. On a house from the 1800s, the flue may have been relined, partly relined or never lined at all, and you can't tell from the fireplace. Call early in your inspection period so there's time to get anything priced.
Our 1970s tri-level has a fireplace we've never used. What should we do first?
Book the $49 inspection before you light it. We'll check the firebox, the damper, the flue we can see and the outside of the chimney, and tell you whether it needs a sweep or anything else first. If the furnace or water heater shares the chimney, we check that flue too. The $49 comes off any work we do afterward.
Chimney inspection near Milford
Chimney inspection in Milford
Pick a day and a 3-hour arrival window online. If you'd rather talk it through, call (248) 266-9991.