Level 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
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AfterLevel 2 Inspection in Downers Grove, IL
A Level 2 chimney inspection in Downers Grove covers every accessible part of your chimney system – interior flue liner, smoke chamber, firebox, exterior masonry, and the attic and crawl space areas where the system passes through – using a video camera that records what a flashlight never could. Most inspections in Downers Grove run $199 to $349, depending on flue height and configuration, and you’ll have a written price in hand before any camera goes down the flue - see how much chimney cleaning & sweep costs in 2026 for related pricing. The written report, with still photos pulled from the footage, is yours to keep at the end of the visit.
If you’ve used our Chimney Cleaning & Sweep in Downers Grove service or are scheduling one now, a Level 2 inspection is the logical companion – it’s the only way to confirm the condition of the liner and the smoke chamber once the creosote is out of the way. Since 2009, Emberly Chimney Cleaners has completed more than 38,000 chimney inspections and cleanings, every one documented with a photo record and quoted in writing before work started. Corrine Halstead leads the team that serves Downers Grove, and that standard hasn’t changed once.
Call (331) 253-4980 – a live person answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – or read on to see exactly what a Level 2 inspection covers, what it costs, and what you walk away with.
What Puts a House in Level 2 Territory
NFPA 211, the fire protection standard that defines inspection levels, is specific: a Level 2 is required any time a property changes hands, any time the appliance or fuel type changes, and any time there’s been a chimney fire or weather event affecting the system. It’s not an upsell – it’s the documented standard, and skipping it leaves a gap in your home’s record.
In Downers Grove specifically, a few situations come up repeatedly:
- Real estate transactions. Whether you’re buying or selling a home in Downers Grove – especially older bungalows and colonials in the Fairmount and Lacey Knolls neighborhoods, where terra-cotta flue tile is standard – a Level 2 is the baseline a home inspector can’t replicate with a mirror and a flashlight. Buyers’ attorneys in DuPage County are increasingly asking for the written report before closing.
- Recent chimney fire. A chimney fire can reach temperatures above 2,000°F inside a flue that looks perfectly intact from the exterior. Hairline cracks in a clay liner and honeycombing in the mortar joints are invisible without a camera scan. A Level 2 after any chimney fire is non-negotiable under NFPA 211 – and for good reason.
- Change of appliance or fuel type. Installing a gas insert into a wood-burning fireplace, or moving to a wood-burning stove that vents into an older masonry flue, changes the thermal and moisture load on the liner. The liner that worked fine for one appliance may not meet the clearance and integrity requirements for another.
- Storm damage or freeze-thaw damage. Downers Grove winters cycle through freeze and thaw repeatedly from November through March. That cycling expands water in mortar joints and flue tiles. If a storm took down a tree near your chimney, or if you noticed spalling – small chips of brick or tile face breaking off – on the exterior crown or chase, a Level 2 documents the extent before you commit to repairs.
- Extended period of non-use. A fireplace that hasn’t been used in five or more years – which we see often in Downers Grove homes where a gas insert was added in one room and the secondary wood-burning fireplace was simply left alone – can develop liner deterioration, animal intrusion damage, or moisture-related crown cracking that a Level 1 visual check won’t catch.
- Smoke or odor problems that returned after cleaning. If you had a chimney cleaned elsewhere and still have smoke rollout, a persistent sulfur or creosote smell on humid days, or drafting problems, the issue is structural – not a debris problem. A camera scan locates the breach or obstruction that the cleaning missed.
Our Level 2 Inspection Process
Every Level 2 inspection we perform in Downers Grove follows the same documented sequence. Nothing gets skipped based on how the exterior looks or how new the house is.
- Written price and scope delivered before we start. Under Haven Standard Clause 1 – H.A.V.E.N.’s “Have it in writing” – you receive a written price, written scope, and written warranty before the technician opens a single tool case. There is no “we’ll see once we get up there” pricing at Emberly.
- Exterior survey: crown, cap, flashing, and chase. The technician photographs the chimney cap (or its absence), the crown, the step flashing and counter-flashing at the roofline, and the exterior masonry. Spalling brick, open mortar joints, and crown cracks are measured and noted. In Downers Grove, we frequently find crown deterioration on homes built in the 1970s and 1980s where the original crown was poured thin and without the proper overhang to shed water off the masonry below.
- Firebox and smoke chamber inspection. Inside the home, the technician examines the firebox floor and walls, the smoke shelf, and the smoke chamber above the damper. The smoke chamber is where creosote accumulates in its most concentrated form and where the corbelled brick can crack under thermal stress. We document the damper operation, the smoke shelf condition, and any visible liner deterioration visible from below.
- Camera scan of the full flue length. A video camera travels the full length of the flue, from the firebox to the flue termination at the top of the chimney. The footage captures liner condition – tile cracks, missing mortar joints, separation between liner sections, liner displacement – in real time. This is the step that separates a Level 2 from every other inspection type. The footage is the record; still photos are pulled from it for your written report.
- Attic and crawl space clearance check where applicable. NFPA 211 Level 2 requires inspection of accessible portions of the attic and crawl space where the chimney passes through structural components. In two-story Downers Grove homes, this means confirming clearances at the attic floor framing and verifying that insulation or structural modifications haven’t compressed the required air space around the flue.
- Written report with photo documentation delivered same day. Clause 4 of the Haven Standard requires a documented photo record on every job. After the inspection, you receive a written report naming each component inspected, the condition found, and – if a repair is warranted – a written repair price. You’re not left waiting for an emailed PDF three days later. The report is produced on-site.
BeforeAfterLevel 2 Inspection Pricing in Downers Grove
Level 2 chimney inspections in Downers Grove typically fall in the range below. The price you’re quoted is the price you pay – no diagnostic fee added after the camera comes up, no “additional charge for the report.”
| Situation | Typical Price Range |
|---|---|
| Single flue, standard height (up to 20 ft) | $199 – $249 |
| Single flue, taller or complex configuration | $249 – $299 |
| Two-flue system (fireplace + furnace or boiler) | $299 – $349 |
| Level 2 bundled with chimney cleaning (same visit) | Quoted as a single written price – call (331) 253-4980 for your specific range |
A few things affect where your job lands in that range:
- Flue height and access. A chimney that rises two stories from a basement fireplace is a longer camera run and a longer exterior survey. That takes more time, and the price reflects it honestly.
- Number of flues. Many older Downers Grove homes have two flues sharing one chimney stack – one for the fireplace, one for the furnace or boiler. Each flue gets its own camera scan; each adds to the inspection scope.
- Combining the inspection with a cleaning. If you’re scheduling a chimney cleaning and a Level 2 inspection in the same visit, the camera scan is most useful after the flue is clean – creosote coating on the liner walls can obscure cracks and joint separations. We sequence the work in that order and quote both together as a single written price.
If you’ve received a written estimate from another company, bring it. We offer a free second opinion on any written competitor estimate – no obligation. Call (331) 253-4980 and a live person will schedule it.
What You Walk Away With
After a Level 2 inspection from Emberly Chimney Cleaners in Downers Grove, the documentation in your hands includes:
- Still photos pulled from the camera footage, labeled by flue section and component
- A written inspection report naming each component, its observed condition, and the relevant NFPA 211 reference where a deficiency was found
- A written repair scope and price for any deficiency identified – produced on-site, not emailed later
- The written warranty covering the inspection findings, backed by the 365-Day Done Right Promise
This is the file that matters when your mortgage company asks for a chimney inspection at closing, when your homeowner’s insurance carrier wants documentation after a claim, or when you’re simply deciding whether the HeatShield liner resurfacing the previous inspector recommended three years ago was ever actually done. A flashlight inspection can’t produce this file. A camera scan can.
FAQs – Level 2 Inspection in Downers Grove
How much does a Level 2 chimney inspection cost in Downers Grove?
A Level 2 inspection in Downers Grove costs $199 to $349 for most single-flue systems, with two-flue jobs running toward the upper end of that range. The written price is delivered before work starts – you’ll know the exact number before the camera goes down the flue. Call (331) 253-4980 for your specific written quote; estimates are free.
What’s the difference between a Level 1 and Level 2 chimney inspection?
A Level 1 inspection covers accessible portions of the exterior and interior that can be seen without specialized tools – essentially a visual check. A Level 2 inspection adds a video camera scan of the full flue interior, inspection of the attic and crawl space where the chimney passes through structural areas, and a documented photo record of the findings. NFPA 211 requires a Level 2 when a property changes hands, when the appliance or fuel type changes, or after a chimney fire. In practical terms: a Level 1 can tell you the cap is missing; a Level 2 tells you the liner has a longitudinal crack two-thirds of the way up the flue that’s been letting combustion gases into the chase for three heating seasons.
Do I need a Level 2 inspection when buying or selling a home in Downers Grove?
Yes. NFPA 211 defines a change of ownership as a trigger for a Level 2 inspection, and that standard exists because a new owner has no prior documentation of the system’s condition. In DuPage County real estate transactions, we’re seeing attorneys and buyers’ agents increasingly require the written Level 2 report – not just a general home inspection note – before closing. The written report we produce names every component, its condition, and any deficiency found, which is exactly the document a real estate attorney or insurance carrier is looking for. Call (331) 253-4980 to schedule before your closing date.
Can I schedule a Level 2 inspection and a chimney cleaning on the same visit?
Yes, and that’s often the better sequence. The camera scan is most useful after chimney cleaning & sweep clears the flue, because a heavy creosote coating – particularly Class II or Class III creosote – can obscure liner cracks and missing mortar joints. When you schedule both services together, we clean first and camera-scan second, then produce a single written report covering both. The price for both is quoted in writing before we start either. Call (331) 253-4980 and the person who answers can give you the combined written price range for your specific system on the first call.
Why Downers Grove Homeowners Choose Emberly
Downers Grove has a housing stock that spans from 1920s brick bungalows near Main Street to 1980s colonials in the Farmingdale Village area to newer construction off Belmont Road. Each generation of home came with its own chimney construction standards – and its own failure modes. The terra-cotta tile liners in pre-war homes crack in predictable patterns after decades of freeze-thaw cycles. The prefabricated metal systems in 1980s homes deteriorate at the inner liner seams. The newer gas-log inserts sometimes get retrofitted into flues that weren’t sized or rated for them.
Since 2009, Corrine Halstead and the Emberly Chimney Cleaners team have run a camera down more than 38,000 flues under the Haven Standard – including a significant number right here in Downers Grove and the surrounding DuPage County communities. That volume of documented inspections means the technician arriving at your door has seen the specific liner pattern your house was built with, knows what fails first, and isn’t going to miss it on the footage.
The 365-Day Done Right Promise applies to every inspection we perform. If we documented a finding incorrectly, or if a repair we recommended and performed doesn’t hold, we make it right – that’s stamped on every job, not offered selectively.
Background-checked, uniformed technicians. A text when the tech is on the way. A live person on the phone right now if you call (331) 253-4980. A written price before anyone opens a tool case. That’s the whole system – and it starts with the home page if you want to see the full picture of what Emberly Chimney Cleaners covers.
Schedule Your Level 2 Inspection in Downers Grove
If your home is changing hands, you’ve had a chimney fire, you’re switching from wood to gas, or you simply want a documented record of what’s inside that flue before the next heating season, call (331) 253-4980. A live person answers every call, day or night. You’ll get a written price on the first conversation – not after a technician is already in your home. The inspection is scheduled, the camera goes down, the report is in your hands the same day.
Free second opinion on any written estimate you’ve already received. No obligation to book a repair. The report is yours either way.
Written by Corrine Halstead, Owner at Emberly Chimney Cleaners Downers Grove, serving Downers Grove.