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 Easton, PA
A Level 2 chimney inspection is the most thorough examination a homeowner can have done without tearing into walls – it includes a full camera scan of the flue interior, every accessible attic and crawl space connection, and a written assessment of everything we find. Many homeowners schedule this alongside Chimney Cleaning & Sweep service to ensure the flue is clear before the camera goes in. In Easton, PA, we recommend it any time a home changes hands, a heating appliance is replaced, or the chimney has experienced a notable event like a chimney fire, a severe storm, or years of deferred maintenance. At Hearthstone Chimney Co., we’ve been doing this work since 1984, and when Russell Haines says the flue is clear, you’ll have the photos on your phone to confirm it.
If you’re not sure whether a Level 2 is what you need, call us at (610) 756-1504 – a live person answers every hour of every day, and we’ll tell you straight whether your situation calls for a Level 2 or something simpler. Our work is part of our broader Chimney Cleaning & Sweep in Easton service, but a Level 2 inspection stands on its own as one of the most important things you can do for an older home.
Easton sits at the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh rivers, and that geography matters more than most homeowners realize. The humidity that settles into the West Ward and College Hill neighborhoods during summer months accelerates spalling and mortar deterioration inside flue liners, which makes Soot Removal and inspection critical before the first fire of the season. By October, when those same chimneys start taking on their first fires of the season, cracks that looked minor in spring have often widened to the point where products of combustion can breach the liner. A camera inspection in the fall – or after any chimney fire, however small – catches that deterioration before it becomes a house fire.
When You Need a Level 2 Inspection
NFPA 211 sets the national standard here, and the rule is clear: a Level 2 inspection is required in any of the following situations. We see all of these in Easton homes regularly, often in houses that have been in the same family for thirty or forty years.
- You’re buying or selling the home. A home inspection rarely includes a camera scan of the flue. Without one, you don’t know whether the liner is intact. In the South Side and Forks Township areas, we often find deteriorated clay tile liners in homes built between 1940 and 1970 that have never been properly evaluated.
- You’ve had a chimney fire. Even a small chimney fire – one that lasted seconds and left a smoky smell – can crack a clay tile liner along its full length. Creosote burns at over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The liner is rated for much less. A camera scan is the only way to know what happened inside.
- You’re switching fuel types or changing your appliance. If you’re converting from a wood-burning fireplace to a gas insert, or replacing an older wood stove with a higher-output unit, the flue dimensions and liner condition need to be verified before the new appliance goes in. An undersized or cracked liner with a new appliance attached is a serious safety problem.
- The chimney sustained storm or seismic damage. Easton’s Nor’easters can shift chimney crowns and dislodge mortar joints above the roofline. What looks like a cosmetic issue at the top often corresponds to liner cracks lower down, especially in taller chimneys on the College Hill hillside homes where wind loading is higher.
- There’s been any unusual venting behavior. Smoke backing into the house, carbon monoxide alarms tripping near the fireplace, or a persistent sulfur or burning smell after the fire is out – these are signs something has changed inside the flue, and a camera tells us what.
- The chimney hasn’t been properly inspected in more than ten years. A Level 1 visual inspection is adequate for a chimney in continuous, normal use. But if records are unclear or the previous inspector didn’t use a camera, a Level 2 gives you a verified starting point.
Our Level 2 Inspection Process
We do this the same way every time. Not because we’re working from a checklist, but because the same steps done in the same order produce the most accurate result. Russell Haines trained on this process and has refined it over decades of work in Easton-area homes. Here’s exactly what happens when our technician arrives.
- Pre-inspection walkthrough. Before the camera goes anywhere, we do a visual survey of the firebox, the damper, and the exterior of the chimney from ground level. We note any visible cracking, staining, or efflorescence on the exterior masonry – the kind of white salt streaking that shows up on brick faces in Palmer Township after heavy rain seasons. This gives us a baseline for what to look for on the camera.
- Accessible area inspection – attic, crawl space, and basement. We check every point where the flue passes through a floor or ceiling assembly. These transition points are where hidden clearance violations and liner breaches most often occur, and they’re the reason a Level 2 differs from a Level 1. If a liner joint has separated in the attic space, combustion gases can enter the living area without triggering any visible symptom in the firebox.
- Camera scan of the full flue. We run a high-resolution camera the full length of the flue, from the firebox throat to the top of the chimney cap. The camera captures the condition of every liner joint, every mortar joint inside the flue, and any obstruction – including bird nests, collapsed tile fragments, or creosote glazing in the upper sections. You can watch the screen in real time.
- Documentation and photo pull. We pull still frames from the footage at every notable finding – cracks, spalling, offset joints, obstructions. These photos are yours. They go in the written report, and we can email them to your real estate agent, your insurance company, or your contractor.
- Plain-English verdict. We tell you, in plain language, what we found and what it means. If the flue is clear, we say so. If there’s a crack in the liner that needs to be addressed before the appliance is used, we tell you exactly where it is, why it matters, and what fixing it would involve – whether that’s a HeatShield resurfacing application, a DuraFlex stainless liner system, or a full repoint. No codes, no jargon, no upsell pressure.
- Written report delivery. The report is in your hands before we leave the driveway. If you’re in a real estate transaction, we can format the findings to satisfy most lender and attorney requirements. Everything is covered by our 90-Day Done Right Promise: if anything we assessed or repaired isn’t right, we come back and make it right – in writing, no arguing.
Level 2 Inspection Pricing in Easton
A Level 2 chimney inspection in Easton, PA typically runs between $200 and $375 for a single flue. That range reflects real variation – not a bait-and-switch pricing structure. Here’s what moves the number:
- Flue height and configuration: A straight 15-foot flue in a ranch-style home in Palmer Township is faster to camera than a 35-foot offset flue in a three-story College Hill Victorian. Taller and more complex flues take more time and sometimes require additional camera rigging.
- Number of flues: Many older Easton homes have two or three flues in a single chimney stack – one for the fireplace, one for the furnace, and sometimes one for a water heater. Each flue is a separate inspection and priced accordingly.
- Condition on arrival: If there’s significant creosote buildup that has to be cleared before the camera can pass, that’s a cleaning job that needs to happen first. We’ll tell you that upfront, before any work begins, with the full price on the table.
- Accessibility: Attic inspections in homes with very low clearances or finished attic spaces take longer. We don’t charge surprise fees, but we do price the job based on the actual site, not a generic estimate.
The number on our estimate is the number on the invoice. That’s not a slogan – it’s how we’ve operated for over 42 years. We also extend a permanent 5% discount to seniors and veterans, and if you’ve received a written estimate from another company, we offer a free second opinion at no charge.
Call (610) 756-1504 for an exact quote. Estimates are free, and the person who answers knows enough to give you a ballpark on the spot.
FAQs – Level 2 Inspection
What’s the difference between a Level 1 and a Level 2 chimney inspection in Easton?
A Level 1 inspection is a visual examination of the accessible portions of the chimney – no camera, no attic or crawl space access. It’s appropriate for a chimney in continuous normal use with no changes to the appliance or any known events. A Level 2 inspection adds a camera scan of the full flue interior and a physical inspection of every accessible space the chimney passes through. NFPA 211 requires Level 2 any time the appliance or fuel type changes, or after any event that could have damaged the flue – including a chimney fire. In Easton’s older housing stock, where clay tile liners have been in service for fifty or sixty years, a Level 2 is often the right call even when it isn’t strictly required. Call us at (610) 756-1504 if you want a straight answer about which level your chimney needs.
How long does a Level 2 inspection take in Easton?
Most single-flue Level 2 inspections at Easton-area homes take between 90 minutes and two and a half hours, start to finish. Multi-flue chimneys or homes with difficult attic access can run longer. We complete most inspections – and most follow-up repairs – in a single visit, so you’re not waiting for a second appointment to get answers. Our technicians arrive in uniform with everything needed to do the job and document it on the same day.
Is a Level 2 inspection required when buying a house in Easton, PA?
Yes – NFPA 211 requires a Level 2 inspection whenever a property changes ownership. A standard home inspection does not satisfy this requirement; the inspector typically does a visual check only and is not trained or equipped to camera-scan a flue. We’ve worked with buyers, sellers, real estate attorneys, and lenders throughout the Easton area, including Forks Township, Palmer Township, and Wilson Borough, and we can format our written report to meet most transaction requirements. If your closing is on a tight timeline, call (610) 756-1504 – we’ll tell you what we can do.
What happens if the Level 2 inspection finds a problem?
We tell you exactly what we found, show you the photos, and give you a plain-English explanation of what it means and what it would take to fix it. Common findings in Easton homes include cracked or offset clay tile liner sections, deteriorated mortar joints inside the flue, and missing or damaged chimney caps. Depending on the condition, the repair might be a HeatShield resurfacing for a liner with hairline cracks, a DuraFlex stainless steel liner installation for a more seriously deteriorated flue, or masonry repair to the crown and upper mortar joints. We’ll give you the repair price upfront with no obligation. If the flue is not safe to use, we’ll say so plainly – and we’ll explain exactly what the path to using it safely looks like.
Why Easton Homeowners Call Hearthstone
We’ve been working in Easton since 1984. Russell Haines has inspected chimneys in every neighborhood in this city – the older row houses on the South Side, the hillside Victorians in College Hill, the mid-century ranches in Palmer Township, and the newer construction out toward Forks Township. That history matters because Easton’s housing stock is genuinely varied, and a technician who has only worked on newer homes will miss things in a 1920s all-masonry chimney that an experienced eye catches immediately.
Every technician we send is background-checked and uniformed. They arrive on time, explain what they’re doing before they do it, and leave the work area clean. The 90-Day Done Right Promise covers every inspection and every repair – if the result isn’t right, we come back and make it right, backed in writing with no paperwork and no arguing. That promise is governed by what we call the K.E.Y.S. values code: Krafted right, Every time, Your home first, Standing behind it.
We work with professional-grade materials only – no builder-grade substitutes. When a liner repair calls for a flexible liner system, we use DuraFlex. When a resurfacing is the right answer, we use HeatShield. The brands we use are the ones industry professionals specify, not the ones that move the margin on a volume job.
If you want to understand the full scope of what a chimney cleaning and sweep inspection involves, our Chimney Cleaning & Sweep in Easton page covers the broader service from routine annual sweeps to pre-season checkups. The Level 2 inspection sits at the more thorough end of that spectrum – it’s the right tool when there’s real uncertainty about the condition of the flue, and it gives you a documented answer you can rely on.
A camera scan doesn’t lie, and a plain-English report doesn’t leave you guessing. That’s what a Level 2 inspection from Hearthstone Chimney Co. delivers every time.
Schedule Your Level 2 Inspection in Easton
If your chimney is due for a thorough evaluation – whether you’re buying a home, recovering from a chimney fire, or simply overdue for an Annual Sweep and inspection – call (610) 756-1504 today. A live person answers around the clock, estimates are free, and the price we quote is the price you pay. We serve Easton and the surrounding communities throughout the Lehigh Valley and Northampton County, and we’ve been doing this work long enough to do it right the first time.
Done right – and we stand behind it.
Written by Russell Haines, Owner at Hearthstone Chimney Co., serving Easton since 1984.