Southfield, Oakland County
Chimney inspection in Southfield
Southfield's mid-century neighborhoods are full of houses on their second or third furnace. The inspection here is often as much about the furnace and water heater flue as the fireplace.
Neighborhoods built around one era
Northland Gardens, north of Eight Mile between the Lodge Freeway and Southfield Road, was platted in 1956 by J.L. Hudson's real estate company, near the Northland shopping center that had opened two years earlier. Plumbrooke Estates, north of Nine Mile and west of Evergreen, followed in the 1960s: 95 ranch houses on Plumbrooke Drive and its cul-de-sacs, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2019. Both are mostly ranches, and a ranch from those years usually has one brick chimney with a flue for the fireplace and a flue for the furnace or water heater.
The furnace flue
Most of these houses have replaced the original furnace at least once, and a newer furnace often vents out the side wall instead of up the chimney. That can leave the water heater alone in a flue sized for both. The exhaust cools and condenses before it gets out, and over time that eats at the flue. Our guide on a water heater in an old chimney explains it in more detail.
People also book an inspection when they buy a house whose fireplace hasn't been used in years, or after a storm takes a cap off.
Level 1 or Level 2
A Level 1 inspection is $49, credited toward any repair or service we do after it. We check the fireplace, the damper, each flue we can see, the crown and the flashing.
A Level 2 inspection is $149. It adds the chimney areas in the attic, basement and crawl space, and a camera through the flue. It's the usual choice for a home sale, a heating system change, or after a chimney fire or storm. Our guide to chimney inspection levels explains the difference. The camera can be added to a Level 1 for $75.
You hear what we found in plain language, with photos. For a rental, we send the findings and photos to whoever booked, the owner or the manager, and we only need the tenant to let us in. If the fireplace will see fires this winter, a chimney sweep and cleaning in Southfield includes the inspection for $349.
Questions
We just replaced our furnace. Why would that affect the chimney?
If the new furnace vents out the side of the house, the water heater may now be the only thing using a chimney flue that was sized for both. The exhaust cools and condenses on the way up, which can damage the flue and keep the exhaust from drawing well. An inspection checks whether that's happening in your chimney.
Can you inspect a condo chimney in Southfield?
Yes. Check with your association first about who is responsible for the chimney and the roof, since that varies. If the association manages it, we're happy to work with the manager. For several units, call (248) 266-9991 and we'll plan the visits together.
Chimney inspection in Southfield
Pick a day and a 3-hour arrival window online. If you'd rather talk it through, call (248) 266-9991.