Buying a Home in Seattle? Why a Level 2 Chimney Inspection Belongs on Your List

Should you get a chimney inspection before buying a house? If the home has a fireplace or wood stove, yes, and specifically a Level 2 inspection with a camera. A general home inspector looks at the fireplace from the room and the chimney from the ground or roof. They do not run a camera up the flue, and the flue is where the expensive problems hide. NFPA 211 recommends a Level 2 inspection whenever a property changes hands for exactly that reason.

In Seattle this matters more than in most markets. The median home in Seattle was built in 1976, in Tacoma 1967, and in Shoreline 1969. Much of the pre-1970 stock has brick masonry chimneys with clay tile liners, and a tile liner can look fine from the firebox and be cracked or missing tiles partway up. The home inspection report will often say something like "fireplace and chimney not fully evaluated, recommend inspection by a chimney professional." That line is your cue. Here is how to act on it inside a Seattle purchase timeline.

Why the general home inspection is not enough

A home inspector is a generalist covering the whole house in a few hours. For the fireplace, that typically means opening the damper, shining a light up, looking for obvious cracks in the firebox, and noting the chimney's condition from outside. That catches missing caps, visibly crumbling crowns, and obvious firebox damage. It does not catch:

• Cracked, shifted or missing flue tiles above the smoke chamber
• Open mortar joints between tiles that let heat and combustion gases reach the brick
• Glazed creosote deep in the flue, a sign of heavy use and fire risk
• Rust, gaps or separation in a stainless or prefab metal liner
• Evidence of a past chimney fire the seller may not know about
• Old nests and debris packed on the smoke shelf

Every one of those is a camera find. A Level 2 chimney inspection adds a full-length camera scan of the flue plus a look at the attic, crawlspace and roof areas around the chimney, with nothing opened up or removed. It is the inspection built for real estate transactions. For more on how the three levels differ, read our explanation of Levels 1, 2 and 3.

What a Level 2 inspection finds in older Seattle homes

Pre-1940 Craftsman and bungalow chimneys

Seattle's Craftsman neighborhoods, north Everett, and Tacoma's older districts have a lot of chimneys from before clay tile liners were common. Some are unlined brick. A camera scan tells you whether there is a liner at all, what condition the brick is in from the inside, and whether the flue is sized for the fireplace. An unlined flue serving a wood fireplace is a finding a buyer should know about before closing, because the fix is usually a liner, not a patch.

Mid-century ramblers

The 1950s and 1960s ramblers across Shoreline, Lakewood, Lynnwood and Edmonds usually have clay tile liners. These are the chimneys where tile cracks and open joints show up most often, and where decades of wet-season water from the top have worked on the mortar. The camera finds the liner problems; the roof and exterior portion of the inspection finds the water problems.

1980s-and-later prefab chimneys

Post-1985 infill, townhomes and subdivisions in Renton, Redmond, Bothell, Gig Harbor mostly have factory-built fireplaces inside a framed, sided chase. Here the camera checks the metal pipe for rust and separated sections, and the exterior check looks at the chase cover, which is usually galvanized steel and rusts through after enough Seattle winters. Rust streaks down the siding are the tell. A rusted cover lets water into the chase, and rot in the chase framing is a bigger repair than the cover. Our chase cover replacement starts at $299; a full chase rebuild starts at $299.

Water damage: the Seattle-specific risk

Sea-Tac's 1991-2020 normal annual rainfall is 40.34 inches, and about 73 percent of it falls October through March. Winter normal lows hover just above freezing, so wet brick goes through repeated freeze and thaw cycles rather than staying frozen. The Brick Industry Association's technical notes explain the result: water that saturates brick and then freezes expands, and repeated cycles cause cracking, spalling and disintegration.

On a chimney, that damage starts at the top and works down. In a pre-purchase inspection we check the crown for cracks and separation, the cap, the top courses of brick for spalled faces and open joints, and the flashing where the chimney meets the roof. Flashing that has been sealed with caulk rather than properly stepped and counter-flashed is a common find on homes that have had a roof replaced. Flashing repair and crown repair are routine fixes, but you want them in the negotiation, not discovered the first November after you move in.

How to fit the inspection into your purchase timeline

Seattle-area contingency periods are short, so plan for it:

• Before you write the offer: if the listing shows a fireplace, ask your agent to allow a chimney inspection under the inspection contingency. Ask the seller for any past sweep or inspection records.
• Day one of the contingency: book the general home inspection and the Level 2 chimney inspection at the same time. Same-day service is often available, and we can schedule alongside the home inspector so you are not burning contingency days waiting.
• Same day or next day: you get a written report with camera stills and photos of every finding, sorted into safety issues, water issues, and items to watch.
• Before the contingency expires: use the report and our free repair quote to negotiate a credit, a seller repair, or a price adjustment. If the seller comes back with their own contractor's number, we offer a free 2nd-opinion quote on it.

What the report gives you as a buyer

A good Level 2 report does three things. It tells you whether the fireplace is safe to use as-is. It lists the repairs that are needed, with photos and a quote. And it separates the must-do from the nice-to-have, so you can negotiate on the real items and not the cosmetic ones. Typical findings on Seattle purchases, roughly in order of how often we see them: crown cracks, missing or damaged caps, rusted chase covers, open mortar joints at the top courses, flashing problems, cracked firebox brick or refractory panels, and cracked or offset flue tiles.

For the repairs themselves, we price match plus 10 to 25 percent off any written competitor quote, and the work carries our guarantee: if you're not happy, we're not done. Sellers sometimes prefer to have the work done before closing; buyers sometimes prefer a credit and their own contractor. Either way, the inspection report is what makes the conversation concrete.

Selling a home with a fireplace

The same logic works in reverse. If you are listing a Seattle home with a fireplace, a Level 2 inspection and sweep before you list lets you fix small items on your own terms and hand buyers a clean report. A fireplace with a current inspection report and a fresh sweep is one less thing for a buyer's inspector to flag and one less negotiation point. Our sweep and inspection special starts at $299, with the Level 2 camera scan quoted free.

What to do next

• Check the listing and the home inspection report for any fireplace, wood stove or insert. If there is one, a Level 2 inspection belongs on your contingency list.
• Call 206-453-2045 or request a free quote online and tell us your contingency deadline. We schedule around it and serve Seattle, Tacoma, Everett and the road-accessible Puget Sound, including Gig Harbor via the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
• Get the written report with photos, then use it with your agent to negotiate repairs or a credit before the contingency expires.

Related

• Chimney Inspection Levels 1, 2 and 3 Explained
• What a Chimney Camera Inspection Actually Finds
• Chimney Inspection service