New Home? You Need a Level 2 Inspection

When you are buying a home, you must go through several different procedures before the sale can go through, and one of these procedures is a home inspection. Many people believe that the home inspector will be able to examine the chimney to see if it is working safely; however, not all home inspectors are chimney experts.

You need to schedule a Level 2 Inspection by a CSIA certified sweep. 

 

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) established three levels of chimney inspections, and the Level 2 chimney inspection is recommended whenever a home is being bought or sold. You will need a chimney professional to perform this inspection as home inspectors are not required to do so. In fact, many home inspectors simply shine a flashlight up a chimney to look for problems. This is not sufficient as several serious chimney problems are not easily seen from this angle. As Ashley Eldridge, the Director of Education for the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), has said, “Home inspectors are generalists. A CSIA-Certified Chimney Sweep is a specialist.” At Ashbusters, our CSIA-certified chimney technicians are experienced in performing Level 2 chimney inspections for real estate transactions. We would like to tell you more about this type of chimney inspection and why it is more in-depth than the average home inspection.

Level 2 Inspection - Nashville TN - Ashbusters

A Level 2 chimney inspection includes video scans of your chimney’s interior.

You would not want to buy a home that has a dangerous chimney. Several issues that could cause a chimney to work unsafely can only be seen up close inside the chimney. Thanks to closed circuit video technology, Ashbusters can get inside your chimney to see every inch of its interior. Even better, you will have a record of any damage that you can use in negotiations with the seller. If we find damage that you feel the seller should repair, you can show the seller exactly what needs to be repaired.

A Level 2 chimney inspection is more thorough than the basic Level 1 inspection.

When you have your chimney swept every year, the basic Level 1 chimney inspection is included. This is a visual check of your chimney to look for creosote accumulation, damage, and flue blockages. A Level 2 goes further with an examination of the attic, crawl space, and/or basement to look for potential problems in these areas.

A Level 2 chimney inspection is recommended for real estate transactions.

Of course, you want to know everything about the house you would like to buy, and that is why the NFPA and the CSIA strongly recommend that you hire a certified chimney professional to perform a Level 2 inspection. Other situations that require this level of chimney inspection include after changing the fuel type of the heating appliance and after experiencing an earthquake or a major weather event such as a tornado or a hurricane. Your safety is the reason for a more thorough chimney inspection.

Ashbusters did a great job. They were 1/2 the price of another local company. Give these guys a call Jason, Rob and the office staff were pleasant to deal with. I will definitely use again.

Sam

Timmy from Ashbusters was extremely knowledgeable, professional, and friendly. Very clean and helpful with general information as well. He did a great job and we will be using again!

Jessica A.

Ready to Schedule?

WHAT TO EXPECT

Whether you call us or we call you back after you submit a scheduling form, you can expect our team to ask you a couple of questions.

Are you representing the home? We get a lot of real-estate managers, property managers, and personal assistants who call for homeowners. Knowing who owns the home helps us to accurately save files and information relating to your services.

Have you used us for your appliance before? If so, we have all your past services on file and it speeds up the scheduling process.

Where is your home located? This ensures that you are in our service area.

What kind of appliance are you wanting to be serviced? (wood-burning fireplace, wood-burning stove, gas logs, etc.)

How many stories is your home? What is the exterior of your chimney made out of? What do you have on your roof? (metal shingles, terra cotta, etc.)

*If you don’t know the answers to these questions, no worries! Our team can help you.

PRICING

We do not share the pricing of our services on our site. Because each service has multiple variables including the number of flues, the type of appliance, etc., we can only give you an accurate price until we fully understand your appliance and the time and materials it will take to be serviced. If you have questions about cost, please call our office and our team will be happy to answer any questions. If you are still unsure, please check out our reviews and you can find confidence in our work through our happy customers.