A Fireplace Store and More · Downers Grove, IL
The fireplace inspection certificate.
An NFPA 211 inspection, Level 1, 2 or 3, that ends in a written report with photos and the camera footage: the document a buyer, an inspector, an insurer or a property manager can read.
- NFPA 211Levels 1, 2 and 3, to the national standard’s own definitions
- Camera scopeThe full flue on video at Level 2, and you get the footage
- Written reportPhotos, findings and what to do about them, per fireplace
- One crewThe people who inspect are the people who quote and repair
Who asks for it
Four reasons the report gets requested.
The inspection is the same. What changes is who reads the report and what they need it to settle.
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01A home saleThe Level 2 camera run a sale asks for, before listing or before closing.
The Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure Report asks the seller about known defects in the fireplace or wood stove. A general home inspection looks at the accessible parts only, and most reports say so in as many words. The Level 2 camera run fills that gap, before listing or before closing, with photos both sides can look at.
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02After a fire, a storm or a lightning strikeNFPA 211 calls for Level 2; the report and the footage go to your insurer.
NFPA 211 calls for a Level 2 inspection after a chimney fire, however small it looked, and after a lightning strike. The camera shows what the heat did to the liner. The report and the footage go to your insurer. If the flue came through it fine, the report says that too.
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03A new insert, liner or fuel changeWhat the existing flue can take, sized to the new appliance.
Before a new insert goes in, a fuel is converted or a liner is fitted, NFPA 211 calls for a Level 2 inspection. The report tells you what the existing flue can take, sized to the new appliance. The quote for a liner comes from the crew that scoped it.
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04Property managers, associations and landlordsOne report per fireplace, in the same format, kept per address.
One report per fireplace, in the same format, kept per address. The units in a building can be scheduled together. Where a flue cannot be brought back, an electric fireplace is often the answer for that unit, and the report says so rather than selling the repair.
What you receive
A report, not a rubber stamp.
Every inspection ends in a written report with photos: the level and what it reaches, each part from the cap to the hearth with its condition, and three plain columns: what needs doing now, what can wait, what we would leave alone. At Level 2 the camera footage comes with it. It carries the name of the technician who was in the house, and if the flue is sound it says so.
- PropertyAddress and the fireplace inspected
- Date and levelThe visit, and which level it reached
- ApplianceMake, fuel and the flue it uses
- CrewThe technician who was on site
- Needs doing now, with the photo that shows whyNow
- Can wait, and roughly how longCan wait
- Sound: what we checked and would leave aloneLeave alone
NFPA 211
Level 1, 2 or 3: which one your situation calls for.
The three levels are not a sales ladder. They are defined by NFPA 211, the national standard for chimneys, fireplaces, vents and solid-fuel appliances, and any competent company works to the same definitions.
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Level 1The annual checkNothing has changed: the readily accessible parts, paired with the sweep.
- When
- Nothing has changed and nothing has gone wrong.
- What it reaches
- The readily accessible parts of the chimney and the appliance, inside and out, and the accessible portions of the flue.
- What you get
- The written report with photos. It is what a routine sweep is paired with, on the same visit.
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Level 2 · the one a sale asks forSale, fire, or any change to the systemThe camera run of the full flue; the report a buyer’s inspector accepts.
- When
- A sale, a chimney fire, a lightning strike, or any change to the system: a new insert, a fuel conversion, a new liner.
- What it reaches
- Everything in Level 1, plus the accessible attic, crawl space and basement, and a video scope of the full flue.
- What you get
- The written report with photos and the footage. If a realtor or an inspector has asked you for “a chimney inspection” before closing, this is the one they mean.
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Level 3When something has to come apartRare, and said before we start.
- When
- A Level 2 finds something it cannot see fully.
- What it reaches
- Parts of the chimney or the wall are opened to reach it. It is rare, and we say so before we start.
- What you get
- The same report, with what was opened, what was found and what closes it up again.
The visit
From the phone call to the written report.
The same sequence for a single fireplace or a building full of them. You get a date and a name at every step.
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1
Book it
Call or send the form. We call back within one business day with a time. Tell us why you need the report: a closing date, a new insert, a claim. It changes what we bring.
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2
From below
The firebox, the damper and the smoke chamber, with lights and mirrors. At Level 2 the camera goes up the flue from the appliance.
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3
From above and around
The roof: the cap, the crown, the flashing and the chimney above the roofline. The attic, the crawl space and the basement where the chimney passes through them.
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4
On the day
Before leaving, the technician walks you through what the camera saw, in plain words, so nothing in the report is a surprise.
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5
The report
The written report with photos and the footage follows the visit. Anything it says needs doing is quoted by the same crew, and where a repair needs a permit, we file it ourselves.
Where we go
Downers Grove, DuPage County and the western suburbs.
From the showroom on 75th Street in Downers Grove: Naperville and Wheaton to the west, Hinsdale, Oak Brook and Burr Ridge to the east, Lombard, Glen Ellyn and Elmhurst to the north, Woodridge and Bolingbrook to the south, and the towns between them. The map shows the nearest of them; the crews go well past it, to Aurora, Plainfield, Joliet and Orland Park and across DuPage, Cook, Will, Kane and Kendall counties. A report for a sale in any of them looks the same, and a closing date is a deadline we plan around.
The town pages say what we see most in each town’s houses; the two chimney pages say what a cleaning visit there includes.
The towns we inspect inNaperville, Wheaton, Hinsdale, Lombard, Woodridge, Bolingbrook and the towns between them.
- Downers Grove
- Naperville
- Hinsdale
- Lombard
- Wheaton
- Burr Ridge
- Bolingbrook
- Oak Brook
- Elmhurst
- Glen Ellyn
- Woodridge
- Lisle
- Westmont
- Darien
- Clarendon Hills
- Willowbrook
- Villa Park
- Oakbrook Terrace
- La Grange
- Western Springs
- Brookfield
- Riverside
- North Riverside
- Aurora
- Plainfield
- Joliet
- Orland Park
Drawn to scale from each village center; the rings are 5 and 10 miles from the showroom on 75th Street. Gold: the towns with their own page. The map shows the nearest towns; the crews go well past it, across DuPage, Cook, Will, Kane and Kendall counties.
Drawn to scale from each village center; the rings are 5 and 10 miles from the showroom on 75th Street. Gold: the towns with their own page; the pale dots are the other towns in the list. The map shows the nearest towns; the crews go well past it, across DuPage, Cook, Will, Kane and Kendall counties.
Request an inspection
Tell us the address, the fireplace and what the report is for.
Send it here or call (630) 241-1919. We call back within one business day with a time. If there is a closing date, say so in the message and we plan around it. A photo of the fireplace and one of the chimney from the street help, and can go to the same number by text once we have called you back.
Straight answers
Questions about the inspection certificate.
Plain answers. Anything else, call or send the form.
What is a fireplace inspection certificate?
It is the written record of an inspection carried out to NFPA 211 at Level 1, 2 or 3: what was inspected, to which level, what was found, with photos, and at Level 2 the camera footage of the flue. It carries the name of the technician who did the work. It is a report of the condition of your fireplace and chimney, not a credential.
Which level do I need for a home sale?
Level 2. It adds the accessible attic, crawl space and basement and a video scope of the full flue to the Level 1 check, and it is the inspection NFPA 211 calls for when a property changes hands. If a realtor or an inspector has asked you for a chimney inspection before closing, this is the one they mean.
Does a general home inspection cover the chimney?
Usually only the readily accessible and visible parts. Home inspection standards do not require the inspector to look inside the flue, and most reports say so in as many words. A Level 2 inspection with the camera is the piece that fills that gap, and the report is written so the inspector, the buyer and the seller can all read the same photos.
Can I get the certificate if the chimney has problems?
Yes. The report says what we found, sorted into what needs doing now, what can wait and what we would leave alone, with the photos. It does not say a flue is fine when it is not, and it does not sell you a repair the photos do not justify. If work is needed, the same crew quotes it, and you decide.
How long does the visit take, and when do I get the report?
It depends on the level and the house: a Level 2 with the camera run takes longer than a Level 1 paired with a sweep, and a chimney with two flues takes longer than one. Tell us the date you need the report by when you book, a closing date for example, and we plan the visit around it.
Do you inspect gas fireplaces and inserts, or only wood?
Both. Gas fireplaces, gas inserts and gas log sets, wood-burning fireplaces, stoves and inserts, and pellet stoves, whatever the make. Electric fireplaces have no flue to inspect; for a building where a flue cannot be brought back, an electric unit is often the honest answer, and the report says so.
Is the certificate a credential?
No. It is the inspection record. Our installers are licensed, our own crew does the work, with a small, hand-picked network of trades when a job calls for one, and we run the job. Inspections follow NFPA 211, Levels 1 through 3, including a video scope of the flue.
Do property managers get one report per unit?
Yes. One report per fireplace in the same format, kept per address, and the units in a building can be scheduled together. Our page for the trade explains how we work with builders, developers and property managers.
Keep exploring
- Chimney sweep, cleaning and repairLiners, caps, crowns, flashing and masonry
- Fireplace repair and serviceEvery make, our own technicians
- Chimney cleaning in NapervilleWhat a visit there includes
- Chimney cleaning in LombardSame crew, next town over
- For the tradeBuilders, developers and property managers
- Gas insertsWhen the report says the flue can take one
NFPA 211 is the Standard for Chimneys, Fireplaces, Vents, and Solid Fuel-Burning Appliances, published by the National Fire Protection Association; the three inspection levels on this page are its definitions. The Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure Report is the seller’s form under the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act. If you smell gas, do not book a visit: leave the house and call Nicor at 888-642-6748 or 911 from outside.
Fireplace inspection certificate · NFPA 211, Level 1 to 3 · written report with photos
A Fireplace Store and More · Downers Grove, IL
Ready when you are.
Tell us the address, the fireplace and what the report is for, and we call back within one business day with a time. Every inspection ends in a written report with photos.
Showroom hoursMon–Fri 10–5Sat 11–4Sun 1–41202-B 75th St, Downers Grove
Our showroom, 75th Street, Downers Grove