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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Before
AfterLevel 2 Inspection in Kennesaw, GA
A Level 2 chimney inspection in Kennesaw covers every accessible interior and exterior surface of your chimney system – flue liner, smoke chamber, firebox, crown, and chase – using a camera fed into the flue so every finding is documented on video and in photos, not described from memory. Most Kennesaw homeowners need one when they buy a home, switch fuel types, or after any event that could have stressed the masonry: a hard chimney fire, a storm, or even a significant settlement crack in the foundation. Level Two Chimney Co. has performed this inspection on more than 38,000 chimneys since 2009, and the written price is on paper before the camera ever goes down the flue.
If you have questions before booking, a live person answers at (678) 535-2204 around the clock – no voicemail, no callback queue. And if you want context on the full scope of our work, the Chimney Cleaning & Sweep in Kennesaw page explains how inspections and cleanings connect.
NFPA 211 defines three inspection levels. A Level 1 is a visual check during a routine annual sweep – flashlight and mirrors, no obstructions removed. A Level 2 goes further: video scan of the flue liner’s full length, inspection of accessible attic and crawlspace areas adjacent to the chimney, and a written report with photographic evidence. It’s the standard insurers, real estate attorneys, and code officials in Cobb County require when something has changed – ownership, fuel source, or a documented event. Level Two Chimney Co. made the camera-scan the default on every visit in 2009, and that practice is now codified as Clause 4 of the Haven Standard: a documented photo record on every job, included as standard, not sold as an upgrade.
When You Need a Level 2 Inspection
The National Fire Protection Association is specific about when a Level 2 is required. Below are the situations we see most often in Kennesaw, where older Craftsman bungalows near downtown sit alongside newer builds in subdivisions off Barrett Parkway and Cherokee Street.
- Buying or selling a home. Cobb County real estate contracts increasingly call for a Level 2 before closing. A flashlight inspection from a general home inspector does not satisfy the NFPA 211 standard, and many title companies and insurers now ask for the camera footage specifically. We can schedule same-week in most Kennesaw zip codes.
- After a chimney fire. Chimney fires in Kennesaw homes often burn hotter than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit inside the flue. That heat can crack terra cotta liner sections or split a factory-built metal liner without leaving any visible sign at the firebox opening. A camera scan is the only way to see what actually happened.
- Switching fuel types. Converting from wood to gas logs, or adding a gas insert to a wood-burning firebox, changes the flue temperature profile and the byproducts the liner is exposed to. NFPA 211 requires a Level 2 before any fuel-type change. We see this frequently in Kennesaw’s older neighborhoods where homeowners are upgrading for convenience.
- After storm damage. Kennesaw sits in a corridor that takes direct hits from late-spring severe weather and the occasional wind event off Kennesaw Mountain. A crown crack, displaced cap, or shifted chase cover can admit water that migrates down into the liner – not always visible from the ground or even from the roofline without a camera.
- Visible spalling or efflorescence on the exterior. Spalling is the flaking or popping of brick faces caused by freeze-thaw cycling or moisture intrusion; efflorescence is the white mineral deposit left behind when water moves through masonry. Both signal that water is moving somewhere it shouldn’t be, and a Level 2 locates exactly where.
- After a significant structural event. An earthquake, a foundation shift, or a vehicle impact nearby can crack the firebox or separate liner sections without touching the exterior brick. Kennesaw’s clay-heavy soil shifts more than most homeowners expect, and we regularly find liner separations in homes that show no exterior cracking at all.
Our Level 2 Inspection Process
Every inspection follows the same sequence. Nothing is skipped, nothing is added to inflate the scope. The price you get in writing before we start reflects exactly these steps – no more, no less.
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Written price and scope delivered before arrival.
Clause 1 of the Haven Standard – what we call the “Have it in writing” clause – means you receive a written price, a written scope of what the inspection covers, and a written warranty before any technician is dispatched. You’re not agreeing to anything on a tablet after someone is already in your home. If the price doesn’t work, we part ways cleanly. -
Exterior survey: crown, cap, flashing, and chase.
The assigned technician – background-checked, uniformed, and named before they arrive – walks the exterior first. The chimney crown (the concrete or mortar cap that seals the top of the masonry) is checked for cracking and step separation. The chimney cap condition is documented. Flashing joints are examined for open gaps that allow roof-level water to enter. In Kennesaw homes with a wide chimney stack, we also check the cricket – the small diverter built behind the chimney to redirect rain runoff – because a failed cricket is one of the most common sources of interior water damage we find in this market. -
Firebox and smoke chamber inspection.
Inside the home, the firebox lining, smoke shelf, and smoke chamber are visually inspected. The smoke chamber is the area above the damper and below the flue – it’s often parged (coated with a layer of mortar) to smooth the transition, and that parging is one of the first things to deteriorate in older Kennesaw homes. We note the creosote class: Class I is light, dusty, and normal; Class II is tar-like and harder to remove; Class III is a glazed, carbonized deposit that requires chemical treatment and is a documented fire risk. -
Camera scan of the full flue liner.
A high-resolution inspection camera travels the full length of the flue liner from bottom to top. For a standard single-story Kennesaw home with an 8-inch round liner, that’s typically 12 to 18 feet of liner footage. The camera captures cracks, liner separations, mortar joint failures, and any obstruction – including bird nests, which are common in flues that went unused through a mild Kennesaw winter. The footage is saved and becomes part of your documented record under Clause 4 of the Haven Standard. -
Accessible attic and crawlspace check.
NFPA 211 Level 2 requires inspection of accessible areas adjacent to the chimney, including attic space above the firebox and any crawlspace where the chimney base is visible. We check for clearance violations between the chimney structure and combustible framing – a common finding in Kennesaw additions built in the 1980s and early 1990s before current code. -
Written report with photos delivered same day.
Before the technician leaves, you receive a written report: what was found, what condition it’s in, and – if any repair is needed – a written repair price before you decide anything. Photos from the camera scan and exterior survey are included. You keep the record. If you need it for a real estate transaction, an insurance claim, or a future service visit, it’s yours. If any follow-on repair requires a material order, we source through our buying network – including Copperfield and Olympia Chimney – which keeps the material cost to you honest.
Before
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A Level 2 chimney inspection in Kennesaw typically runs $199 to $349 as a standalone service. The range reflects variables that are real, not manufactured to justify a call: chimney height, number of flues (some Kennesaw homes have two-flue chimneys serving a fireplace and a furnace), accessibility of attic and crawlspace areas, and whether chimney cleaning & sweep is performed at the same time.
| Scenario | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| Single-flue Level 2 inspection, standard-height chimney | $199 – $249 |
| Two-flue inspection, same chimney stack | $289 – $349 |
| Level 2 inspection bundled with chimney sweep | $279 – $379 |
| Real-estate-transaction inspection with same-day written report | $199 – $299 |
These are real numbers from Kennesaw jobs, not placeholder ranges. The written price you get before we arrive will fall in this window. If it doesn’t, ask us why in writing and we’ll show you the math.
If you’ve already received a written estimate from another company, bring it to us. We offer a free second opinion on any written estimate – no obligation, and no need to have us do the work afterward if you prefer not to.
Every inspection is backed by the 365-Day Done Right Promise: if something we inspected or documented isn’t right, we make it right. That’s in writing too.
What the Documentation Actually Looks Like
This matters more than most people realize, and it’s worth being specific. When a Level 2 inspection is complete at a Kennesaw property, you receive:
- A written report naming each component inspected and its condition in plain terms – not “acceptable” or “marginal” but something like “terra cotta liner, two hairline cracks in section 3 from top, no separation, monitor annually” or “smoke chamber parging, approximately 30% delaminated, replacement recommended before next use.”
- Still photos from the camera scan keyed to the written findings.
- A written price for any recommended repair, delivered before you’re asked to decide.
- A written warranty covering the inspection itself under the 365-Day Done Right Promise.
That archive is yours to keep. If a future owner, an insurer, or a code official asks for documented chimney condition history, you have it. Level Two Chimney Co. has been building this kind of documented record on every job since 2009 – well before insurers began requiring camera footage on claims and well before real estate attorneys in Cobb County started asking for it by name.
Kennesaw-Specific Notes on Level 2 Inspections
Kennesaw’s housing stock is diverse in ways that affect chimney condition. The neighborhood around Old Town has homes dating to the early 1900s with hand-laid masonry and unlined or clay-tile-lined flues that predate modern sizing codes. Off of Cherokee Street and Lewis Street, you’ll find mid-century brick ranches where the original clay liner is now 60-plus years old – serviceable in many cases, cracked in more than you’d expect. In the newer subdivisions along Barrett Parkway and near the Town Center area, factory-built fireplaces are the norm, and those metal fireboxes and liners have their own failure modes: rust, seam separation, and corroded damper assemblies.
Kennesaw Mountain itself affects microclimate. The north-facing slopes in the immediate area around the National Battlefield Park get noticeably more freeze-thaw cycling than the flatter neighborhoods to the south. That means masonry chimneys on the north side of older homes in that corridor absorb and release moisture repeatedly through winter, and we see a higher rate of crown cracking and spalling in those locations than in comparable homes five miles southeast toward Marietta.
We also see more bird intrusion – primarily chimney swifts and the occasional starling – in Kennesaw flues than in some surrounding areas. Chimney swifts are a federally protected migratory species, and their nests cannot be removed while they are actively occupied. A Level 2 inspection identifies the obstruction; if swifts are present, we document it and advise on timing. This is not something every inspection company in the area knows to flag, and it’s caught us a few times when homeowners had been told a flue was clear when it wasn’t.
FAQs – Level 2 Inspection in Kennesaw
How much does a Level 2 chimney inspection cost in Kennesaw?
A Level 2 inspection in Kennesaw runs $199 to $349 depending on the number of flues, chimney height, and whether it’s bundled with a soot removal sweep. The written price is confirmed before we arrive – you don’t see it for the first time when the work is done. Call (678) 535-2204 and we’ll give you an exact number for your specific chimney.
Is a Level 2 inspection required when buying a home in Kennesaw?
NFPA 211 requires a Level 2 inspection on any change of ownership, and Cobb County real estate transactions increasingly reflect that standard in contract language. A general home inspector’s visual check does not satisfy the NFPA 211 Level 2 requirement – it requires a camera scan of the full flue and a written report. If your contract or your insurer is asking for one, the Level 2 is what they mean. Call us at (678) 535-2204 and we can typically schedule within the week.
What’s the difference between a Level 1 and Level 2 chimney inspection?
A Level 1 inspection covers the accessible portions of the chimney interior and exterior without removing any obstruction or using specialized equipment – it’s the standard check during a routine annual sweep. A Level 2 adds a video camera scan of the full flue liner, inspection of accessible attic and crawlspace areas adjacent to the chimney, and a written photographic report. Level 2 is required by NFPA 211 after any event – sale, fuel change, chimney fire, or storm damage – that may have affected the system. Level Two Chimney Co. has included the camera scan as a default since 2009 under Clause 4 of the Haven Standard.
Can a Level 2 inspection find problems that caused a homeowner’s insurance claim to be denied?
Yes, and this is one of the more practical reasons to have the documented record before you need it. Insurers handling fire or smoke damage claims in Georgia often ask for pre-loss chimney condition documentation. Without it, they may dispute whether a defect was pre-existing. A Level 2 inspection with a written report and camera footage creates a dated baseline – if your chimney was in documented good condition before an event, that record matters. The photo archive we maintain under Clause 4 of the Haven Standard is exactly what adjusters ask for. Call (678) 535-2204 to schedule.
Ready to Schedule in Kennesaw?
Corrine Halstead and the Level Two Chimney Kennesaw team are ready to put a camera down your flue and give you a written record of exactly what’s there. The written price arrives before the technician does. The photo report leaves with you the same day. And if anything we document isn’t right within 365 days, we make it right – in writing.
Call (678) 535-2204 to book your Level 2 inspection or get a free estimate. A live person picks up, any hour. If you’d like to review our full approach to chimney care first, the home page covers the complete scope of services and the Haven Standard we work to on every job.
Written by Corrine Halstead, Owner at Level Two Chimney Kennesaw, serving Kennesaw.