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Photograph of a damaged masonry chimney. Chimney Inspection Checklist
15 Most Frequently Found Chimney Defects

Chimney inspection checklists:

This article provides a checklist of the most common chimney defects found during a home inspection. We include links to two additional detailed chimney inspection checklists for outdoors and indoors.

Three other detailed chimney inspection checklists for outside inspection, inside inspection & flue interior inspections are listed at the top of this article.

These articles on chimneys and chimney safety provide 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.

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

Chimney Inspection Checklist of 15 Most Common Chimney Defects

Photograph of a damaged unsafe brick chimney in an attic.

This chimney inspection checklist is a companion to our detailed photo guide to chimney inspections & problem diagnosis found at CHIMNEY INSPECTION GUIDE.

Watch out: no checklist is ever a complete guide to building inspection or diagnosis since no checklist can contain every possible hazard or every clue that suggests a problem.

Therefore do not rely on this or any checklist to assure that your inspection of a chimney is complete.

Instead, use this list to suggest additional topics that you otherwise may have omitted from your inspection.

The more detailed chimney inspection and repair articles at the links at page-left and below suggest further, more-detailed chimney inspection points and procedures.

 

Contact Us by email to suggest changes, corrections, or additions to this material.


16 Frequent Chimney Defects, Problems, Unsafe Conditions

© Copyright 2017 InspectApedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman.

Item # Chimney Defect, Concern, Hazard Comment / More Detail

Building ID & Location: __________________________________________

Date & Time: _________________________________________________

Inspector: ____________________________________________________

1 Chimney cap and crown defects: missing chimney cap, damaged chimney crown or top seal, leaks into the chimney leading to rust damage on metal flues or frost and water damage to masonry flues, leading to an unsafe chimney. CHIMNEY CAP & CROWN DEFINITIONS

CHIMNEY SHROUD, Decorative

CHIMNEY CHASE CONSTRUCTION
2 Creosote or heavy soot in chimneys: a possible chimney fire hazard, especially at wood-burning fireplaces or woodstove flues CHIMNEY FLUE INSPECTION CAMERA
3 Chimney thimble ports abandoned or hidden, covered-over by drywall, wallpaper, or a simple metal "pie-plate" enclosure - a fire and flue gas leakage hazard.

ABANDONED CHIMNEYS

4 Cleaning: chimney has not been cleaned for a protracted time; risks are greater for oil-fired equipment and for fireplaces & woodstoves. CHIMNEY CLEANING PROCEDURE

CHIMNEY CLEANING FRAUD
5 Damaged, blocked, or unsafe chimney flues: a damaged chimney flue risks leaking dangerous combustion gases into the building or risks sparks which could start a building fire.

Movement and cracks in a masonry chimney, rusted metal flues, unlined single-brick wythe flues, water leaks through chimneys, frost damaged chimney clay flue tiles, missing or open chimney cleanouts, dead-end flues, are examples.

Look for conditions likely to rust a metal flue; look for conditions likely to cause cracking, breaking, or spalling of clay flue liners.

Look for improperly constructed clay-tile lined masonry chimneys leaving concrete between joints that prevents thorough chimney clearing, or causing leaks and frost damage to the chimney flue or chimney structure.
CHIMNEY INSPECTION, FLUE INTERIOR
6 Dead end flues - a chimney that is entered by a flue vent from a heating appliance, woodstove, or similar device right into the very bottom of the chimney flue. Common in older homes, such flues are easily blocked by falling debris - an unsafe condition. DEAD END CHIMNEY FLUE HAZARDS
7 Fireplace inserts for wood or coal installed into an existing masonry flue without chimney inspection and if needed, re-lining. FIREPLACE INSERTS INSTALL, INSPECT, REPAIR
8 Inspection: chimney has not been inspected for safety or cleanliness for some protracted interval  
9 Missing chimney cleanout doors, open cleanout doors: a fire hazard as well as a cause of improper, unsafe heating appliance operation CHIMNEY CLEANOUT DOOR
10

Movement in chimneys, especially masonry chimneys: a dangerous condition, movement can cause hidden cracks and breaks that make a chimney unsafe, risking flue gas leakage into the interior or causing a building fire.

CHIMNEY LEANING, SEPARATION, MOVEMENT

BRICK CHIMNEY CRACKS & COLLAPSE

CHIMNEY CRACK DIAGNOSIS

11

Orphaned gas-fired water heaters not venting into any chimney, or a gas-fired water heater venting alone into a large masonry flue. The water heater may never develop sufficient heat in the old masonry flue to establish a working draft - flue gases spill backwards into the building, an unsafe condition.

COMBUSTION GASES & PARTICLE HAZARDS
12 Rusted or damaged chimney or fireplace components: rusted, damaged, inoperative or missing fireplace dampers. Examples include a damper that has rusted through, a metal damper enclosure in the chimney throat rusted through, a metal fireplace insert rusted out at the chimney base. FIREPLACE INSERTS INSTALL, INSPECT, REPAIR

FIREPLACE INSPECTIONS

FLUE TILE DAMAGE in CHIMNEY
13 Support defects: metal chimneys not adequately supported along building walls or above the roof. Example: an un-supported metal chimney extending more than five feet above the roof surface. BRACING for METAL CHIMNEYS
14 Unlined chimney flues in single-brick wythe chimneys of older homes - a fire and flue gas leakage hazard

UNLINED FLUE INSPECTIONS

15

Un-sealed flue-vent connectors at chimney thimbles: metal flues not sealed in the thimble, missing thimble, risking flue gas leaks or sparks; common at woodstove and heating system metal flue connections into a masonry chimney.

FLUE VENT CONNECTORS - Boilers, Furnaces
16 Unsafe fire clearances between metal flues or other types of chimneys and nearby combustibles. CHIMNEY HEIGHT & CLEARANCE CODE

FLUE SEPARATION REQUIREMENTS


PYROLYSIS EXPLAINED

Notes to the table above

Inspection checklist warning: This chimney inspection checklist is a companion to our detailed photo guide to chimney inspections found at CHIMNEY INSPECTION GUIDE.

No checklist is ever a complete guide to building inspection or diagnosis since no checklist can contain every possible hazard or every clue that suggests a problem. Therefore do not rely on this or any checklist to assure that your inspection of a chimney is complete. Instead, use this list to suggest additional topics that you otherwise may have omitted from your inspection. The more detailed chimney inspection and repair articles at the links at Related Links and the citations below below suggest further, more-detailed chimney inspection points and procedures.

Adapted from chimney inspection safety sources including these documents cited atReferences or Citations

 




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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Question: Are HVAC contractors who install a replacement gas heating system also responsible for inspecting/assessing the (interior) chimney for safety/efficiency/proper draft/draw prior to installation?

Thank you so much for offering to answer questions. I am a basically clueless woman who gets shafted constantly when it comes to contractors and repairs because they know I have no clue about such things.

My question is this: Are HVAC contractors who install a replacement gas heating system also responsible for inspecting/assessing the (interior) chimney for safety/efficiency/proper draft/draw prior to installation?

A plumber just happened to notice that I have considerable heat coming off the large pipes and the tank etc in the closet which houses the heating system. He informed me that it is most likely due to a bad chimney which is not drafting or drawing correctly, and that the HVAC installer should have done a chimney assessment prior to installation. Is this correct?

I need to know if the HVAC man is the one I need to contact to correct the situation, before spending hundreds on paying someone different. I really and truly appreciate your help answering my question. - K.M. 7/19/2013

Reply:

We cannot know from just the information in your email whether the heating installation you describe is properly installed and safe or not. I also worry that while you may have heard of a concern, an expert, looking over the system might see something else of far greater concern.

These are my off-the-cuff first prioirty conerns when looking at a newly installed replacement gas heating system for the most fundamental questions of safety and proper installation:

1. Is the heating system safe: does it have adequate combustion air, is the chimney venting properlty, were proper fire clearances respected, are there working CO and smoke detectors installed in the home at proper locations and working properly.

2. Is the heating system functional: does it respond properly to a call for heat?

3. Is the heating system installed in all respects in keeping with the manufacturere's installation instructions (and local codes) - this last item can only be determined by a more detailed examination of the system along with the heater's installation guide.

A heating system installer who was in a rush might assume that a chimney is working properly, but he or she would be foolish to do so. Certainly a confirmation of proper draft and a visual inspection for obvious defects (blockage, leaks, damage, fire clearances), as well as a confirmation that the heater was operating properly (combustion air, temperature, etc) would be basic steps to perform before leaving the job.

I suggest calling the service manager of the company who installed your heater. Don't be confrontational and don't assume the installer fouled up, but do let the manager know you are concerned and that a plumber raised some safety questions. Ask that an experienced, trained expert be sent to check out your system.


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CHIMNEY INSPECTION CHECKLIST at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.


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Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.



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