Three levels, three situations
The levels are not tiers of thoroughness you pick from by budget. Each one exists for a particular circumstance, and the circumstance decides which you need.
In practice almost everything is a Level 1 or a Level 2. Level 3 is uncommon and nobody arrives at it by choice.
Level 1: the annual check
A Level 1 covers the readily accessible parts of the chimney and the appliance, inside and out. The technician verifies that the structure is sound, that the flue is clear of obstruction and combustible deposits, and that the basic installation is correct.
This is the right inspection when nothing has changed. Same appliance, same fuel, same chimney as last year, in continued service. It is what should accompany a routine sweep.
Level 2: sales, changes and events
A Level 2 includes everything in a Level 1 and adds the accessible parts of the attic, crawl space and basement, plus a camera survey of the full length of the flue.
It is required, not merely advisable, in three situations: when a property changes hands, when the appliance or the fuel changes, and after any event that could have damaged the chimney. Earthquakes and chimney fires are the obvious ones. So is a serious roof leak.
The camera survey is the substance of it. Clearances, joints, cracked or displaced tiles, gaps in the liner and the true condition of the smoke chamber are not assessable any other way, and they are precisely the defects that matter.
Level 3: opening things up
A Level 3 involves removing parts of the building or the chimney to reach a concealed area, which might mean taking out a section of wall or removing the crown.
It is only performed when a Level 1 or Level 2 has produced serious evidence of a hazard that cannot be evaluated any other way. It is destructive by definition, so it is never a starting point.
What this means for a home sale
California does not require a chimney inspection by statute when a house changes hands. Buyers, agents and insurers ask for one anyway, and an unexamined chimney is one of the easier things for a buyer to reach for in a negotiation.
From the seller's side, a Level 2 report with photographs typically costs a small fraction of the credit you would otherwise be asked to give. From the buyer's side it is the difference between inheriting a known chimney and an unknown one.
What you want out of it is a document: written findings, photographed defects, and a plain description of what each one means. Something you can hand to an agent or an adjuster without needing to interpret it for them.
What a good report should tell you
Three things, in this order. What is wrong. What it means. And what actually needs doing about it, separated into what is urgent, what can wait a season, and what is simply worth knowing.
It should also be willing to say nothing is wrong. If a chimney is sound, the report should say so. That is a perfectly good outcome, and the inspection is worth the same either way.
Want a professional to take a look?
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Frequently Asked Questions
A Level 1 is usually around forty-five minutes. A Level 2 with a full camera survey runs an hour and a half or more, depending on the number of flues and how accessible the roof is.
Someone needs to let us in, but you do not need to follow us around. The report and the camera footage come to you afterwards either way, and we will go through the findings with you rather than leaving you to decode a document.
Yes, though heavy buildup can obscure the flue wall enough that a meaningful camera survey needs the sweep done first. Where that is the case we will tell you before starting rather than producing a report full of qualifications.