South Lyon, Oakland County
Chimney inspection in South Lyon
If you're buying or selling a house in South Lyon, the chimney deserves a look of its own. The chimney on a house near the old depot and the one in a subdivision off Pontiac Trail are built differently, and each has its own weak spots.
Older houses from the railroad years
In the late 1800s South Lyon was a railroad town, served by three lines. The Witch's Hat Depot, now a museum in McHattie Park, was built by the Grand Trunk Western in 1909 after the earlier depot burned. Houses on the older streets near downtown went up in those years and the decades after. Many still have a chimney that carries a furnace or water heater flue, and some have a fireplace nobody has lit in years.
If you're buying one of those houses, ask for a Level 2 inspection. It's $149, and it covers the chimney where it passes through the attic and basement, plus a camera through the flue. Our inspection levels guide explains what the two levels cover.
Newer subdivisions
Out in the subdivisions, such as Carriage Trace east of Pontiac Trail, about a mile from downtown, the houses built since the 1990s often have a factory-built fireplace in a framed chase, wood or gas. Those units have parts that wear out on their own schedule: the firebox panels, the venting, the chase cover and the cap. An inspection looks at each one and tells you whether anything needs work now or can wait. If the seller still has the fireplace manual, keep it. The model number tells us which parts fit that unit.
What you pay
A Level 1 inspection is $49, and the $49 is credited toward any repair or service we do after it. We look at the fireplace, the flue we can see, and the outside of the chimney, then walk you through what we found in plain language. A camera through the flue is $75 extra. A Level 1 takes about an hour. With the camera, you see the inside of the flue for yourself instead of taking our word for it. For a sale, tell us when your inspection period ends, and we'll work to that date. For more on what drives the price, see our guide to chimney inspection cost.
If we find loose brick or a cracked crown on top, you'll get photos and a written quote for the chimney repair. Nothing gets done until you approve it.
Questions
We're selling our South Lyon house. Should we get the chimney inspected before we list?
It often helps. A Level 2 inspection is $149 and covers the attic, basement and crawl space areas of the chimney plus a camera through the flue. If something turns up, you can fix it or price it before a buyer's inspector finds it. If nothing does, you have a clean report to show.
Our furnace and water heater vent into the chimney. What do you look for?
We look at the flue they share: whether it's lined, whether the liner is cracked or blocked, and how the connector pipe meets the chimney. On older South Lyon houses that flue may be original. Our guide to a water heater in an old chimney explains why that matters, and an inspection tells you where yours stands.
Chimney inspection near South Lyon
Chimney inspection in South Lyon
Pick a day and a 3-hour arrival window online. If you'd rather talk it through, call (248) 266-9991.