How Level Two Chimney Kennesaw Was Born in Kennesaw
We remember the exact afternoon. Late summer, 2015. A homeowner in the Kennesaw Station subdivision called us in a panic. Their fireplace had been smoking into the living room for three straight days. Two other companies had been out. One charged them for a “Level 1 inspection” that took eleven minutes and ended with a handwritten note saying the chimney “needed work.” The second company quoted them for a full liner replacement without ever running a camera past the smoke shelf.
We drove out that evening. Ran the scan. What we found was a partially collapsed clay flue tile twelve feet down, not a liner failure at all. A $340 repair, not a $4,200 replacement. The homeowner sat on their porch steps and cried. Not from relief. From anger at what they’d almost paid for.
That night, we decided Kennesaw needed what Level Two Chimney Co. already was elsewhere: a branch that would actually look inside before it spoke. We opened our Kennesaw doors in early 2016, bringing the Haven Standard with us. Clause 4 in particular - the camera archive, the proof before the pitch. We’ve run every inspection to Level 2 standard since. The name is the work.
Corrine Halstead’s Personal Connection to the Chimney Cleaning Trade
Corrine didn’t stumble into this trade. She was pulled into it by the smell of creosote and the sound of a brush hitting a damper plate just right.
Back in 2009, she was working restoration jobs in North Georgia, mostly water damage and mold remediation. A general contractor she respected asked her to help on a historic home in Marietta where the chimney had been sealed for forty years. The homeowners wanted it opened, wanted fires again, but no one would touch it. Too much liability. Too much unknown. Corrine spent three days in that flue with a borrowed camera rig, learning to read what the masonry was telling her. The soot was powdery, not glazed - good sign. The flue tiles had hairline cracks but held their structure. The real problem was a bird’s nest of vintage construction debris wedged above the smoke chamber. She cleared it, documented everything, and sat with the homeowners for their first fire that November evening.
She still remembers the heat on her face from across the room. The way the wife kept looking up at the mantel, then back at Corrine, like she couldn’t believe her house could do this.
That’s what gets her out of bed. Not the sweep itself. The moment after, when someone understands their own home better than they did before. She’s been at this over ten years now, and she’ll tell you straight: if she weren’t doing chimney work, she’d probably be in some other trade where you fix something tangible and hand it back improved. Carpentry, maybe. Something with her hands and someone’s trust.
She’s still got that first camera rig in her garage. Doesn’t work anymore. Keeps it anyway.
Meet Corrine Halstead - The Person Behind Every Job
Corrine Halstead is Owner and Founder of Level Two Chimney Kennesaw. She holds the state license required for chimney and fireplace work in Georgia, carries full insurance and bonding, and has spent her entire career in the North Georgia market. She trained under an old-school sweep who taught her to read a flue the way a plumber reads pipe slope: by eye, by touch, then confirm with the camera.
What separates Corrine from a corporate technician is simple: she’s the one who answers when something goes wrong. Not a dispatcher. Not a regional manager. Her cell number goes on every invoice. She lives in Cobb County, shops at the same Publix as many of her customers, and on weekends you’ll find her trail-running at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park - usually early, before the heat builds.
Her commitment to you is direct: every chimney we touch gets the same documentation she’d want for her own home. Written price before we start. Photos of what we found. No recommendation without evidence you can see for yourself.
Before
AfterOur Promise to Kennesaw Homeowners
Honest pricing, in writing, before anyone climbs a ladder. That’s Clause 1 of the Haven Standard, and it’s how we operate every day in Kennesaw. We learned early that a homeowner with a written scope in hand doesn’t get surprised. Our estimates itemize what we’re doing, what we’re finding, and what we’re not. If the camera shows something unexpected, we stop and show you before we proceed.
Quality parts that last. We source our liners and components from established manufacturers like Gelco and Olympia Chimney. Not because their names look good on a page, but because we’ve pulled out enough failed off-brand liners to know the difference. When we install something in your flue, we expect it to outlast our relationship with you.
Standing behind every job. Our warranty isn’t a piece of paper in a drawer. It’s Corrine’s number on your invoice. If something we did doesn’t hold up, we come back. No argument about whether it was “installation error” or “product defect.” We figure it out and fix it. That’s been our policy since we opened in Kennesaw, and it’s not changing.
Our Credentials
- State-licensed for chimney and fireplace work in Georgia
- Insured & bonded - full coverage for work performed on your property
- Years of local experience in the North Georgia market, with deep knowledge of Cobb County building stock and climate conditions
- Strong local reputation built through documented work and customer referrals across Kennesaw, Acworth, Marietta, and surrounding communities
Each credential matters because chimney work happens inside your home’s structure, often on your roof, always with fire safety as the stakes. A state license means we’ve met Georgia’s training and examination requirements. Insurance and bonding protect your property if something goes wrong. Local experience means we know the 1970s ranch homes off Wade Green Road have different flue configurations than the new construction near Barrett Parkway. And reputation - real reputation, the kind built job by job - is the only credential you can verify by calling your neighbor.
Rooted in Kennesaw
Our trucks roll from a base near the Kennesaw-Acworth line, and our service area covers the neighborhoods we actually drive through: Kennesaw Station, Legacy Park, the homes tucked behind Cherokee Street, the subdivisions stretching toward Woodstock and Holly Springs. Corrine’s kids attended school in Cobb County. We’ve swept chimneys on days when the Battlefield Park was packed with runners and on quiet Tuesdays when downtown Kennesaw felt like a small town again. We’re not pretending to be from somewhere else. This is our market, our license, our neighbors. The Haven Standard is what we agree to work to. The local knowledge is ours alone.
Written by Corrine Halstead, Owner at Level Two Chimney Kennesaw, serving Kennesaw since 2016.