Chimney services, Portland metro
Real estate chimney inspections in Portland, a Level 2 and a written report for buyer and seller
For a Portland-area home sale we run a Level 2 camera inspection of the chimney inside the inspection period and write the report so buyer, seller and agents read the same facts. The standard recommends a Level 2 inspection when a property changes hands.
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What you are seeing
These are the situations that bring a real estate chimney inspection onto the calendar, usually with a deadline attached.
- The general home inspection noted the fireplace and recommended a chimney specialist.
- The house was built before 1940 and nobody can say whether the flue has a liner.
- A wood stove or insert sits in the house and nobody can find a DEQ or EPA label on it.
- The seller wants a clean report in hand before listing, so there is nothing to argue about later.
- The buyer is counting on the fireplace and wants to know what it will take to use it.
What we do on a real estate inspection visit
A real estate inspection runs like any Level 2, with two additions: the appliances get checked against Oregon's sale rules and the report is written for strangers.
Book inside the inspection window
Tell us the date the inspection period closes and whether the buyer, the seller or an agent is ordering, because that decides who the report is addressed to and who may release it. We confirm access with the listing agent, ask that the fireplace stay cold for a day beforehand so the camera reads clean tile, and make the roof plan from the listing photos.
Camera every flue from firebox to cap
The camera goes up each flue in the house, not only the living room one, because the basement fireplace and the furnace stack are where sellers forget to look. We record cracked and missing tile, open joints, offsets, bare brick, creosote glaze and the puffed deposits of an old fire, and note the position of each so a mason can price it from the footage.
Check the stove or insert and read its label
Any wood stove or fireplace insert gets pulled forward far enough to read the plate on the back. A DEQ or EPA emissions label means it can stay. No label means Oregon's home-sale removal law likely applies, and the report says so and points to our guide on the law, which covers who is responsible, the deadline and the paperwork.
Walk the roof, the attic and the exterior
Up top we photograph the crown, cap and flashing and all four faces of the brick, then come down through the attic to measure clearance to framing and look for scorch marks or daylight. In a 1900s to 1920s house we also look at how the stack above the roof is tied in, since unreinforced brick can break and fall in a quake.
Write the report for people who were not there
The report opens with a one-page summary: what is fit to use, what needs repair before use, what stays cold, and an itemized list of recommended work with the service each item belongs to. Photos follow with positions marked. We send it to the person who ordered it, and they decide who else receives it.
Why a Level 2 is recommended when a house changes hands
The standard behind the inspection levels recommends a Level 2 inspection when a property changes hands, because the new owner has no history with the chimney and the camera is the only way to see the whole flue.
A general home inspection may report only what shows from the hearth, the roof and the attic hatch; the flue interior, where the expensive findings live, sits outside that look.
The buyer can ask for one inside the inspection period, and a seller who orders one before listing takes the surprise out of the deal.
What the camera finds in a pre-1940 Portland house
In a pre-1940 Portland chimney the camera often finds three things: a flue with no liner, open joints between the bricks, and no cap; about a quarter of the city's homes date from those years.
An unlined flue means smoke travels over bare brick and crumbling lime mortar; a fireplace anyone plans to use needs a stainless liner sized to it. Open joints show as dark seams on the camera and as efflorescence outside. A missing cap explains the water in the firebox and the nest on the smoke shelf.
Houses of any era can add a different finding: a furnace upgraded to a sidewall vent that left the brick flue to the water heater alone, cooling and condensing inside. The report calls that out because it is easy to miss.
Oregon's home-sale removal law and the stove in the basement
Oregon law requires an uncertified wood stove or fireplace insert to be removed and destroyed when a home is sold, and the chimney inspection is a good place to catch it.
The test is the DEQ or EPA label on the device's back. With no label, the law puts the removal on the seller before closing, unless the seller and buyer agree in writing that the buyer will do it within 30 days after closing, and DEQ gets a written confirmation either way. Open fireplaces, pellet stoves and ornate antique stoves built before 1940 are among the exemptions.
We photograph the label or its absence, say which category the device falls in, and point to our guide for the forms and the disposal receipt.
Oregon also requires working carbon monoxide alarms for the sleeping areas before a house with a fireplace or a fuel-burning appliance is conveyed, so we note what we see on the way through.
What moves the price of a real estate chimney inspection
The posted price covers a Level 2 of one flue with the report, and the add-ons are the ones below.
- A second or third flue in the same house: the basement fireplace, the furnace stack, the kitchen flue in an older house.
- A stove or insert that has to be disconnected and moved so the camera can enter the liner behind it.
- A steep, wet or tile roof that needs a second ladder setup to reach the crown.
- A flue so sooty the camera sees nothing but soot, which means a sweep first on the same visit.
- A rush inside the last days of the inspection period, when other work gets reshuffled to make the deadline.
Using the report in the negotiation
The report is evidence, not a position; it lists what is wrong, what fixes it and which trade does the work, and the two sides take it from there.
A buyer can ask for the repair, a credit toward it, or nothing, and a seller can get a second quote from the report alone because the photos are positioned. We quote the work from our own price board and are glad to be one of those quotes.
Whether to buy, what to offer and what the house is worth are between you and your agent. What we can tell you is whether the fireplace is fit to light this winter.
When a repair stops making sense
Some findings move a chimney from repair to replace, and a sale is the moment to say so. An unlined flue with soft mortar and broken tiles is a liner, not a patch; a leaning stack is a rebuild from the roofline up.
An uncertified stove or insert goes out under state law whichever side handles it, and a hearth dealer sizes the replacement; we sweep and inspect whatever gets installed.
Real estate inspection: common questions
How late in the inspection period can a real estate chimney inspection be scheduled?
It can go into the last days of the inspection period. Calling as soon as the offer is accepted fits it in the same week in most cases, and the visit takes about two hours with the report usually the same day, so even a short period works.
Who owns the report from a real estate chimney inspection, the buyer or the seller?
Whoever ordered and paid for it. That person decides whether it goes to the other side, the agents or a lender. A seller who orders one before listing can share it with every buyer; a buyer who orders one can share the summary with the seller when asking for repairs or a credit.
Does a real estate chimney inspection cover a wood stove in a workshop or outbuilding?
Yes, every solid fuel device on the property gets its label read. Oregon's home-sale removal law counts stoves in a workshop or an outbuilding as well as the house. We photograph each label or its absence and list the exempt types, such as pellet stoves and open fireplaces, so nobody removes something that could stay.
Is a Level 2 real estate chimney inspection required by Oregon law to sell a house?
No. The standard recommends a Level 2 inspection when a property changes hands, and a buyer can ask for it inside the inspection period, but we know of no Oregon statute that makes it a condition of closing. What Oregon law does require is removal of an uncertified wood stove or insert, and working carbon monoxide alarms for the sleeping areas.
What happens if the real estate chimney inspection finds the fireplace cannot be used?
The report says so plainly and names the repair that would change the answer, such as a stainless liner or smoke chamber work. Nothing burns there until that work is done, whoever ends up owning the house. Buyer and seller then decide between a repair, a credit, or leaving it as it is.
Will the real estate chimney inspection say whether the old brick chimney needs earthquake bracing?
It tells you what the stack and its ties look like today, and it says plainly when the brick above the roof shows no ties or bracing. Bracing options, and what a quake does to that brick, are in our guide on unreinforced masonry chimneys. The report gives the buyer the facts to plan with.
Related pages
Where we do this
We schedule real estate inspections around closing dates anywhere on the map below, from the pre-1940 blocks of Irvington and Sellwood to the 1970s subdivisions of Beaverton and Lake Oswego.
Ready to book a sweep?
Call with what the fireplace is doing, or text a photo of the opening and one of the chimney top, and we will name the service and its posted price before we come out.