Level 1, 2 or 3? Choosing the Right Chimney Inspection in Tacoma

NFPA 211 defines the levels, and CSIA's written procedures describe how a technician carries them out. The table sums up the reach of each one.

Whatever the level, the result should be a written report rather than a verbal all-clear. For a Level II, that means still images or video from the flue, notes on each area examined, and a plain statement of anything that should be repaired before the next fire. Keep it with the house papers: the next inspector, a buyer or an insurer may all want to see it.

In NFPA's current committee text and CSIA's procedure, a Level II is called for when an appliance is added, removed or replaced with a different type, before a flue liner is relined or replaced, upon sale or transfer of the property, and after a building fire, chimney fire, weather event or seismic event that may have damaged the chimney. Outside those situations, a Level I each year meets the standard.

Seismic events are not hypothetical here. The Nisqually earthquake of 2001, magnitude 6.8, was centered deep beneath Anderson Island, and a USGS review of the aftermath found that a third of the homes FEMA later examined, 30,000 in all, had damaged chimneys. A chimney that went through a noticeable quake since its last camera inspection has a trigger on the list, even if it looks fine from the yard.

Tacoma's homes are older than most in the county. Census figures for 2020 to 2024 place about 43 percent of the city's housing before 1960 and roughly 64 percent before 1980, and neighborhoods such as the North Slope count buildings from the 1880s through the 1920s. A clay-tile flue of that age can have cracks or gaps between tiles that no one can see from below.

NFPA 211 lists a sale or transfer as a Level II trigger, and CSIA recommends one when a property changes hands. That is a national standard, not a Washington legal requirement, but it is the one worth writing into an offer. Book it early in the contingency period: if the camera finds a problem, you want time to get a repair quote before the deadline.

The City of Tacoma requires a building permit before any wood stove, fireplace, pellet stove or masonry heater is installed, and it asks installers to confirm that an existing masonry chimney is lined before an appliance goes into it. The state residential code likewise requires masonry chimneys to be lined. A Level II before the purchase tells you whether the existing flue can take the new unit or needs a liner first, which is a very different budget.

Our inspection is $99 plus tax per chimney, whichever level the situation calls for, and the fee is subtracted from the job once the written quote has your approval. For comparison, the market range others publish is wide. Chimcare advertises a $69 inspection in Tacoma. Nationally, Fixr lists a Level I at $85 to $950 and a Level II at $150 to $1,000, and HomeAdvisor puts a Level I at $100 to $950 and a Level II at $200 to $1,000. Those are market figures from other companies, not our quote, and several of them bundle a cleaning.