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A Catalog of Methods to Inspect the Interior of Chimneys & Flues InspectAPedia®  -     Easy methods to inspect the interior of a chimney flue How to use clues to infer the presence of chimney problems or unsafe conditions.

This article describes various methods that can be used to make a visual inspection of the interior of a chimney flue. Inspection methods taking advantage of existing openings such as at barometric dampers or chimney thimbles and cleanout doors can tell a lot about the condition of a chimney interior even though a complete view of the entire flue is not available. Also see ChimScan: Inspecting Flues by Cameras for a discussion of chimney inspection camera systems.

While none of these methods is comprehensive, valuable information can be easily obtained by putting two and two together combining visual clues about a chimney. We recommend that you have any questionable chimney inspected by a professional and if necessary, make use of a remote camera and lighting to complete a detailed examination. But you can also make use of the methods we describe in this article.

This website provides detailed suggestions describing how to perform a thorough visual inspection of chimneys for safety and other defects. Chimney inspection methods and chimney repair methods are also discussed. As with most inspection and safety topics, this material may be incomplete.

© Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Methods Used to Inspect the Chimney Interior

Described in this article are more readily-accessible ways to inspect portions of the chimney flue interior by eye. Also see ChimScan: Inspecting Flues by Cameras for a discussion of chimney inspection camera systems.

First, Some Simple Indoor Clues Can Suggest Very Serious Chimney Hazards

Odors from a chimney or from heating equipment, high levels of indoor moisture, trouble keeping a gas burner going, rust on top of a heating appliance are examples of indoor observations that could indicate a very dangerous blocked chimney even before the homeowner or home inspector has approached the chimney itself.

Evidence of flue gas spillage may be easy to spot, especially with gas-fired equipment. For example, the rust on the top of this gas-fired heating boiler was from a long history of spillage from the boiler's draft hood. The flue gases were spilling out of the draft hood because the chimney was blocked by fallen bricks which had jammed up in the flue right above the thimble for the boiler. The bricks had fallen from loose masonry up in the attic - as we showed by photos just above. The homeowner contacted us to ask for a diagnosis of the high level of water found on basement walls, not because she suspected an unsafe chimney and indoor carbon monoxide hazards.

Chimney Flue View by Barometric Damper or Flue Vent Connector and Thimble

Metal chimney flue liners have to be inspected by removing the vent connector from the chimney breach to check for corrosion. Sight up the liner with a mirror to check straightness, rust, holes, heavy creosote, leak evidence, and for metal flue blockage.

Metal chimney flue interiors & metal chimney liners have to be inspected from the chimney top and inside by removing the vent connector from the chimney breach to check for corrosion. Sight up the liner with a mirror to check straightness and for blockage.

Even when a home inspector cannot see much of the chimney flue through such a limited access opening, certain observations can be critical, such as:

• The chimney is constructed of a single-wythe brick thickness - and is a gas leak and fire hazard
• The chimney is unlined
• The chimney has thick creosote or soot inside
• There are indications of broken, falling masonry or flue tile components
• There is evidence of water leaks or frost damage inside the flue
• The inspector might simply hear the noise from another appliance, perhaps on another floor, indicating a surprise shared-flue

Chimney Thimble Requirements

A chimney thimble is a sleeve embedded in the chimney wall designed to accept the flue connector from an appliance. They must be placed with the chimney end flush with the inside wall of the flue lining and cemented in place with the refractory mortar used in the flue tiles.

Chimney Thimble Damage and Safety Concerns

The thimble is the masonry or clay or insulated metal sleeve that provides an entry passage for a metal flue vent connector to enter a masonry chimney.

The most common defect we see at the chimney thimble is failure to seal the metal flue at the entry to the chimney flue.

A broken or short thimble can allow combustion gases to rise in the air space between the flue liner and the masonry surround. Condensation stains will often appear in the mortar joints and as streaks running down the exterior face of the chimney. Wood or oil burners leave soot that leaches out as black streaks.

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• Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.

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CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS REPAIR
CHIMNEY INSPECTION & REPAIR GUIDE
CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS REPAIR
Chimneys Cleaning Advice, Procedures
Chimney Cleanout Doors
Chimney Crack & Collapse Risks, Repairs
Chimney Draft & Performance
Chimney Inspection Checklist
Chimney Inspection Indoor Procedures
Attic Chimney Inspection
Chimney Inspection Outdoors From Ground
Chimney Crack Detection & Diagnosis
Chimney Inspection Outdoors From Ground
Chimney Height & Clearance
Chimney Inspection Outdoors at Rooftop
Chimney Cap & Crown Inspection
Chimney Types & Materials
Fire Clearances for Masonry Chimneys
Fire Clearances for Metal Chimneys
Fire Clearances, Single-Wall Metal Flues
Flue Sizing of Chimneys
Fire Stopping Between Floors
Flue Vent Connectors - Boilers, Furnaces
Chimney Inspection: Flue Interiors
Flue Interior Inspection Methods
  Barometric Damper view of Flue
  Chimney Thimble Requirements
  Chimney Thimble Damage
  Cleanout Door view of Flue
  Masonry Fragments & Debris at the Cleanout
ChimScan: Inspecting Flues by Cameras
Fuel Changes for Heating Appliances
Metal Chimneys & Flues
Shared Chimney & Shared Flue Hazards
Fireplace Damage & Unsafe Hearths - Settlement
Moisture Problems Damage Chimneys
Wood Burning Heaters Fireplaces Stoves

• Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education, publications, report writing materials, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
• Thanks to Luke Barnes for suggesting that we add text regarding the hazards of shared chimney flues. USMA - Sept. 2008.
• Arlene Puentes, an ASHI member and a licensed home inspector in Kingston, NY, and has served on ASHI national committees as well as HVASHI Chapter President. Ms. Puentes can be contacted at ap@octoberhome.com
• Roger Hankey is principal of Hankey and Brown home inspectors, Eden Prairie, MN, technical review by Roger Hankey, prior chairman, Standards Committee, American Society of Home Inspectors - ASHI. 952 829-0044 - hankeyandbrown.com
• Chimney Building Codes and Chimney, Flue, and Appliance Venting Standards
  • NFPA #211-3.1 1988 - Specific to chimneys, fireplaces, vents and solid fuel burning appliances.
  • NFPA # 54-7.1 1992 - Specific to venting of equipment with fan-assisted combustion systems.
  • GAMA - Gas Appliance Manufacturers' Association has prepared venting tables for Category I draft hood equipped central furnaces as well as fan-assisted combustion system central furnaces.
  • National Fuel Gas Code, an American National Standard, 4th ed. 1988 (newer edition is available) Secretariats, American Gas Association (AGA), 1515 Wilson Blvd., Arlington VA22209, and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Batterymarch Park, Quincy MA 02269. ANSI Z223.1-1988 - NFPA 54-1988. WARNING: be sure to check clearances and other safety guidelines in the latest edition of these standards.
  • Fire Inspector Guidebook, A Correlation of Fire Safety Requirements Contained in the 1987 BOCA National Codes, (newer edition available), Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc. (BOCA), Country Club HIlls, IL 60478 312-799-2300 4th ed. Note: this document is reissued every four years. Be sure to obtain the latest edition.
  • Uniform Mechanical Code - UMC 1991, Sec 913 (a.) Masonry Chimneys, refers to Chapters 23, 29, and 37 of the Building Code.
  • New York 1984 Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code, Article 10, Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning Requirements
  • New York 1979 Uniform Fire Prevention & Building Code, The "requirement" for 8" of solid masonry OR for use of a flue liner was listed in the One and Two Family Dwelling Code for New York, in 1979, in Chapter 9, Chimneys and Fireplaces, New York 1979 Building and Fire Prevention Code:
• "Top Ten Chimney (and related) Problems Encountered by One Chimney Sweep," Hudson Valley ASHI education seminar, 3 January 2000, contributed by Bob Hansen, ASHI
• Chimney Inspection Checklist, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, Ontario
• "Rooftop View Turns to Darkness," Martine Costello, Josh Kovner, New Haven Register, 12 May 1992 p. 11: Catherine Murphy was sunning on a building roof when a chimney collapsed; she fell into and was trapped inside the chimney until rescued by emergency workers.
• "Chimneys and Vents," Mark J. Reinmiller, P.E., ASHI Technical Journal, Vol. 1 No. 2 July 1991 p. 34-38.
• "Chimney Inspection Procedures & Codes," Donald V. Cohen was to be published in the first volume of the 1994 ASHI Technical Journal by D. Friedman, then editor/publisher of that publication. The production of the ASHI Technical Journal and future editions was cancelled by ASHI President Patrick Porzio. Some of the content of Mr. Cohen's original submission has been included in this more complete chimney inspection article: InspectAPedia.com/chimneys/Chimney_Inspection.htm. Copies of earlier editions of the ASHI Technical Journal are available from ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
• Natural Gas Weekly Update: http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/ngw/ngupdate.asp Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government
• US Energy Administration: Electrical Energy Costs http://www.eia.doe.gov/fuelelectric.html

Books & Articles on Chimney Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

• Books, Complete List of Fireplace & Chimney Design, Inspection, Repair Books at the InspectAPedia Bookstore.
• Ceramic Roofware, Hans Van Lemmen, Shire Library, 2008, ISBN-13: 978-0747805694 - Brick chimneys, chimney-pots and roof and ridge tiles have been a feature of the roofs of a wide range of buildings since the late Middle Ages. In the first instance this ceramic roofware was functional - to make the roof weatherproof and to provide an outlet for smoke - but it could also be very decorative.
  The practical and ornamental aspects of ceramic roofware can still be seen throughout Britain, particularly on buildings of the Victorian and Edwardian periods. Not only do these often have ornate chimneys and roof tiles but they may also feature ornamental sculptures or highly decorative gable ends. This book charts the history of ceramic roofware from the Middle Ages to the present day, highlighting both practical and decorative applications, and giving information about manufacturers and on the styles and techniques of production and decoration.
  Hans van Lemmen is an established author on the history of tiles and has lectured on the subject in Britain and elsewhere. He is founder member and presently publications editor of the British Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society. Available at the InspectAPedia Bookstore.
• Chimney Inspection Checklist, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, Ontario
• Chimney & Stack Inspection Guidelines, American Society of Civil Engineers, 2003 - These guidelines address the inspection of chimneys and stacks. Each guideline assists owners in determining what level of inspection is appropriate to a particular chimney and provides common criteria so that all parties involved have a clear understanding of the scope of the inspection and the end product required. Each chimney or stack is a unique structure, subject to both aggressive operating and natural environments, and degradation over time. Such degradation may be managed via a prudent inspection program followed by maintenance work on any equipment or structure determined to be in need of attention. Sample inspection report specifications, sample field inspection data forms, and an example of a developed plan of a concrete chimney are included in the guidelines. This book provides a valuable guidance tool for chimney and stack inspections and also offers a set of references for these particular inspections.
• Fireplaces, a Practical Design Guide, Jane Gitlin
• Fireplaces, Friend or Foe, Robert D. Mayo
• NFPA 211 - Standards for Chimneys & Fireplaces, NFPA
• Principles of Home Inspection: Chimneys & Wood Heating (Principles of Home Inspection), Carson Dunlop
• Woodstove & Fireplace Maintenance & Safety, L. L. Helwig

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• NFPA 211 - 3-1.10 - Relining guide for chimneys
• NFPA 211 - 3-2 - Construction of Masonry Chimneys
• NFPA 211 - 3-3 - Termination Height for chimneys
• NFPA 211 - 3-4 - Clearance from Combustible Material
• NFPA 54 - 7-1 - Venting of Equipment into chimneys
• Brick Institute of America - Flashing Chimneys
  Brick Institute of America - Proper Chimney Crowns
  Brick Institute of America - Moisture Resistance of Brick
• American Gas Association - New Vent Sizing Tables
• Chimney Safety Institute of America - Chimney Fires: Causes, Effects, Evaluation
• National Chimney Sweep Guild - Yellow Pages of Suppliers

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