Chimney inspection in Salem Township

Old farmhouses and the early settlements

Salem was settled in the 1820s, and Worden and Brookville were among the early crossroads communities. Worden became a station on the Toledo, Ann Arbor and Northern Michigan Railroad. Farmhouses from those years are still standing around the township. Many have been added onto more than once, and the chimney that served a wood stove in 1900 may now carry a furnace flue, or nothing at all. Some farmhouse chimneys were built before clay flue liners were in common use, and the camera shows whether yours has one.

If you're buying one, ask for the Level 2 inspection. It's $149, and it covers the chimney in the attic, basement and crawl space, plus a camera through the flue. Our inspection levels guide explains what each level covers.

Houses on country acreage

The ranches, colonials and Cape Cods built on split-off farm parcels from the 1960s on have their own patterns. Some have a masonry fireplace with a second flue for the furnace or water heater. Some burn wood for heat, in a stove or insert. A larger newer house may have more than one flue in a single chimney, like the stone chimney in the photo with its two pots. On a house where the fireplace runs hard all winter, a yearly look makes sense. A lot of these houses sit well back from the road, so tell us when you book if the driveway is long or soft.

After a bad storm, or after a chimney fire, an inspection is how you find out whether anything moved or cracked before you light the next fire. Our guide on what to do after a chimney fire goes through the steps.

Prices

A Level 1 inspection is $49, and the $49 is credited toward any repair or service we do after it. We check the fireplace or stove, the flue we can see, and the outside of the chimney, then walk you through it. Adding a camera through the flue is $75. If the flue is due for cleaning, book the sweep with an inspection included instead.