Pleasant Ridge, Oakland County
Chimney inspection in Pleasant Ridge
Nearly every chimney in Pleasant Ridge is original to a house built between the 1910s and the early 1940s, and most of what matters on a chimney that old is inside the flue, where you can't see it.
When people here book one
Buying one of these houses is a good reason. So is lighting a fireplace that hasn't been used in years, putting in a wood or gas insert, or a water stain that showed up after a storm. A furnace or water heater change is another, since the flue it leaves behind may not suit what's still venting into it.
Who built these chimneys
On the west side, the houses went up between about 1910 and 1930, for doctors, lawyers and executives, and Albert Kahn is among the architects who designed houses there. A big house from those years may have a flue for each fireplace plus one for the furnace, all in one chimney. On the east side, the builder Walter Gehrke opened an office in the district in 1926, in the decade when most of those houses were built.
A neighbor's chimney from the same year can tell you something about yours. It can't tell you everything. Each one has had a hundred years of its own fires, roofs and repairs.
Liners and the camera
Some chimneys from the 1910s were built without clay tile liners, so on the oldest houses the first question is whether there's a liner at all. On a 1920s house, the question is whether the tiles have cracked or pulled apart. Neither shows from outside. A camera through the flue answers both. If the flue needs a new liner, a stainless one like the one in the photo goes down inside the old chimney.
Levels and prices
A Level 1 inspection is $49 and is credited toward any repair or service we do after it. A camera can be added for $75. A Level 2 is $149 and includes the camera, plus the chimney in the attic, basement and crawl space. It's the one for a home sale, after a chimney fire or a storm, or when what vents into the chimney changes. Our guide to chimney inspection levels explains each one, and our chimney inspection cost guide covers the prices. If you also burn wood, the chimney sweep in Pleasant Ridge includes an inspection on the same visit.
Questions
We're buying a 1920s house in Pleasant Ridge. Is the home inspection enough for the chimney?
A home inspector usually looks at the fireplace from the room and the chimney from the ground or the roof edge. On a house this age we'd suggest a Level 2 for $149. It adds the chimney in the attic, basement and crawl space and a camera down every flue. Call early in your inspection period so there's time to price any repair.
How do I know if my chimney has a liner?
From the roof you can sometimes see clay tile or a round metal pipe sticking out of the crown, but that only tells you about the top few inches. The camera shows the whole flue: whether it's lined, what with, and whether the tiles have cracked or separated. We show you what the camera sees.
Chimney inspection near Pleasant Ridge
Chimney inspection in Pleasant Ridge
Pick a day and a 3-hour arrival window online. If you'd rather talk it through, call (248) 266-9991.