A Level 2 inspection adds a camera scan of the inside of the flue plus a look at accessible attic, crawlspace and basement runs, which a Level 1 does not include. It starts at $199, against $99 for a Level 1, and you need it in four situations: you are buying or selling the home, you have had a chimney fire, you are changing the appliance or the fuel, or a Level 1 found something it could not see the full extent of. Outside those cases, an annual Level 1 is the right call.
What the camera actually shows that a flashlight cannot
A Level 1 inspection is a visual check of everything readily accessible: the firebox, the damper, the smoke chamber as far as you can see it, the exterior masonry, the crown, the cap and the flue from the top and bottom. It catches the majority of ordinary problems, and for a chimney in continued service with no changes, it is the correct annual inspection.
The limit is that a flue is a long dark shaft and you can only see so far into it from either end. A Level 2 sends a camera the full length. What that turns up, over and over, is cracked clay tiles at the joints, gaps where mortar between tiles has washed out, tile faces that have spalled and flaked, and liner sections that have shifted out of alignment. None of that is visible from the firebox. All of it matters, because a cracked liner lets heat and combustion gases reach the wood framing that the chimney passes by inside the wall.
The camera also settles arguments. When a homeowner is told they need an expensive reline, the correct response is to ask for the footage. We show it on the screen and explain what you are looking at, and if the liner is sound, you have documentation that it is sound.
The four times you actually need one
A home sale. This is the most common reason we run them in Yorkville. A general home inspector looks in the firebox and up the flue with a light and writes “recommend evaluation by a chimney professional,” which is the correct thing for them to write and tells the buyer nothing. A Level 2 converts that into a specific answer with images attached, before anyone negotiates a credit. Yorkville has a lot of turnover in the older housing near the river and a lot of newer stock north of Route 34, and both produce this line in the report.
After a chimney fire. Even a fire that went out on its own and seemed minor can crack tiles from thermal shock. The damage is inside the liner and it is invisible from the room. If you ever heard a roar, smelled a hot metallic burning, or saw sparks and debris coming off the top of the chimney, that flue needs a camera in it before the next fire.
Any change to the appliance or the fuel. Installing a wood stove insert, converting an open fireplace to gas, or swapping in a different-size unit changes what the flue has to handle. A flue sized for an open fireplace is usually far too large for a modern insert, which cools the exhaust and causes condensation and rapid buildup. This is worth resolving before installation, not after.
When a Level 1 finds a symptom without a cause. Water stains inside the firebox, an unexplained draft problem, a smell that will not clear, or heavy buildup that returns quickly all point somewhere the eye cannot follow. Upgrading is not upselling in those cases, and we say so plainly when it is not necessary.
What we do not do with the results
We do not quote a reline off a Level 1. Relining is the single most expensive thing a chimney can need, and quoting one without camera evidence is guesswork at best. That is why relining is the one service on our list without a published starting price: the specification depends on the flue size, the appliance and the actual condition of the existing liner, so we quote it only after an inspection.
Everything else, we publish. A sweep starts at $119, a cap starts at $159, crown repair starts at $319, tuckpointing starts at $399, and the rest is on the pricing page. If an inspection turns up work, you will see the same number we published, not a number invented on your driveway.
You can book either level on the inspection page. If you are unsure which one you need, describe the situation on the phone and we will tell you, including when the answer is the cheaper one.
Book the inspection that matches your situation
Ember Chimney Sweepers is run by two brothers from Oswego with 35 years of combined experience, insured and bonded, working seven days a week from 7am to 9pm. If you are under contract on a house and need a chimney answer this week, that schedule is usually the difference between making your inspection deadline and asking for an extension.
Written by Josh Amber, co-owner of Ember Chimney Sweepers, Oswego IL. Published October 5, 2026.