Why the general home inspection does not settle the chimney
A home inspector looks at the chimney from the yard and the firebox and often writes a line recommending a chimney specialist, which is the right call and also not an inspection of the flue.
The Chimney Safety Institute of America’s written Level 2 procedure recommends a Level 2 inspection when a property is being sold, and Redfin’s buyer guide calls Level 2 the standard inspection for most homebuyers. It is a separate booking, made inside your inspection period, and our real estate chimney inspection is that Level 2 with a written report.
A Level 2 means a camera run the full length of every flue plus the attic, crawl space, roof and exterior, with labeled stills in the report. A Level 1 is the flashlight check bundled with a sweep and reaches none of that; the levels guide draws the line.
Six things to ask for before the inspection period ends
Ask for six things: a Level 2 report, the label on each stove or insert, whether each flue is lined, the water history, how the furnace vents and the permit record. Ask early in the period, since each takes a call and a visit.
- A Level 2 inspection with a written report. Ask for camera stills labeled by position in the flue, each defect with its location, and one conclusion per flue: usable, usable after a named repair, or not to be used until repaired.
- The label on every wood stove and insert. Oregon requires an uncertified wood stove or fireplace insert to be removed and destroyed when the house sells, so a photo of the plate on the back of the unit, showing a DEQ or EPA label or none, tells you whether that cost is in play. The stove removal guide covers the steps.
- Whether each flue is lined, and what vents into it. The camera answers both. A brick flue with no clay tile liner, or a liner shared by a fireplace and a furnace, changes the repair list; the unlined brick chimney page explains why.
- The water history. Stains in the attic around the chimney, a cracked crown, a missing cap, rusted flashing or efflorescence on the brick are the Portland findings, and the dry-season repair window matters for timing; the chimney leaks guide covers where to look.
- How the furnace and water heater vent. If the furnace was replaced with a high-efficiency unit vented through the wall, the old masonry flue may now serve only the water heater, which is too small a load for it; the furnace and water heater flue page explains the condensation and carbon monoxide problem that follows.
- Permits for any stove, insert or chimney work. The city requires a permit and an inspection for a stove or insert installation, so ask the seller for the permit record; a unit that went in without one gets a closer look from the camera.
The uncertified stove rule in one paragraph
Oregon law requires a used wood stove or fireplace insert that does not carry a DEQ or EPA label to be removed and destroyed when the home is sold.
The seller is responsible unless buyer and seller agree in writing that the buyer will do it, and a buyer who takes it on has 30 days after the closing date. Destroyed means made unusable as a heater, with a receipt from the disposal site, and DEQ has to be notified through its Heat Smart form, which returns a confirmation number. DEQ’s fact sheet lists a fine for noncompliance.
The label is on the back of the unit. DEQ’s own labels date from the late 1980s and EPA labels from 1988 on; a UL safety label is not the same thing, and a stove that never had a label cannot get one now. Open masonry fireplaces, pellet stoves, cookstoves, masonry heaters and ornate antique stoves built before 1940 are exempt. The wood stove page shows the labels.
Portland’s old brick: unlined flues and the 1900s to 1920s house
By the Census Bureau’s count, over a quarter of the city’s homes predate 1940, and many brick chimneys built before the 1930s went up with no clay tile liner at all. The camera settles it in the first few feet.
An unlined flue is bare brick and mortar joints, which heat and acids open up over a century; a fireplace or stove venting into one is a hazard the trade fixes with a stainless steel liner sized to the appliance. That is a priced repair, not a reason to walk away, and the chimney liner installation page explains the options and what decides the size.
The same brick is unreinforced, and an unreinforced chimney can break or collapse in an earthquake and fall onto the roof. The State of Oregon’s hazard page gives about a 37 percent chance of a Cascadia earthquake of magnitude 7.1 or greater in the next 50 years.
FEMA’s retrofit plan set for masonry chimneys says its details may not prevent damage or collapse, and its options run from replacing the upper chimney to taking the masonry down to the roofline or lower. None of that has to be settled before closing, but it belongs in your mental price; the earthquake guide lays out the choices.
What the report’s findings usually mean for the price
Each finding is priced by the repair it needs, and a missing or broken liner or a leaning stack moves the number far more than a cap, crown coat or flashing.
The chimney sweep cost guide carries the dollar ranges the metro and the national guides print, and our price board shows posted starting prices for each repair, so this table sorts findings by the size of the job.
| What the report finds | What usually fixes it | Scale of the job |
|---|---|---|
| Missing or rusted cap, torn spark screen | A stainless cap sized to the flue | A short visit |
| Hairline cracks in the crown | Crown coat; a broken crown is rebuilt | A few hours on the roof in dry weather |
| Rusted or lifted flashing, stains in the attic | Reseal or replace the flashing and counter flashing, add a cricket on a wide chimney | A half day on the roof, dry weather |
| Open or crumbling mortar joints, spalled brick | Tuckpointing and brick replacement above the roofline | A day or more of masonry, dry season |
| Cracked, shifted or missing flue tile, or no liner | A stainless liner sized to the appliance, insulated as the installation calls for | A full day; a finding that can change the price |
| Stack leaning or pulling from the house | Rebuild from the roofline up, sometimes from lower down, after a Level 2 | Days of masonry and a permit for work below the roof |
| Uncertified insert or stove | Removal and destruction under the state rule, before closing or within 30 days after | A removal visit plus disposal and the DEQ form |
| Glazed creosote | Chemical treatment and rotary removal before anything else | One or two visits |
The chimney cap installation, chimney flashing and leak repair, tuckpointing and chimney rebuild pages describe those jobs, and the chimney leaning or pulling away page covers a finding that often ends in a rebuild.
Negotiating with the report
A Level 2 report with labeled camera stills is evidence, and the way to use it is to ask for a credit priced from a written estimate rather than a seller-arranged repair you cannot supervise.
If a repair has to happen before closing, ask that it carry a permit where the city requires one and that your own inspector see it afterward. A seller’s receipt for a sweep is not a report; ask for the photos, and if there are none, nobody scanned the liner.
Three findings are worth more than a credit. A flue the report says not to use stays cold until the named repair is done and the system has been looked at again. An uncertified stove is a legal obligation with a deadline, so put who removes it in writing. And a leaning stack is a structural question that needs the Level 2 answered before the price is set, not after.
One more item on the closing checklist comes from state law rather than the chimney: Oregon requires working carbon monoxide alarms covering every sleeping area when a home with a fuel-burning fireplace, stove, furnace or water heater is conveyed. Ask to see them on the walkthrough.
After you close
Book a sweep with its Level 1 look-over before the first fire, even if the Level 2 was clean, because the sale inspection looked for defects and did not brush the flue. Then put the chimney on a yearly schedule.
If you plan to add an insert or a stove, the city requires a permit and an inspection, and the install starts with its own Level 2 to size the liner. The chimney maintenance calendar covers the rest of the year.
If the house has an open flue and you close in summer, get a cap on before mid-August, when Vaux’s swifts begin looking for chimneys to roost in. Swifts are protected, so a roost is left alone until the birds leave on their own, and a chimney full of swifts in September is a chimney you wait on until October.