What to fix after the Level 2 report comes back
Talk through your report
Fill in the form with the address and the items on your report and we will respond.
The fix list, then the cause
A Level 2 can send you toward any of these: cap, leak repair, cricket and flashing, crown, liner, chase cover, damper, mortar, masonry, smoke chamber, firebox or a gas insert.
- Cap: missing, rusted or bent on top of the flue.
- Leak repair: water traced to the crown, flashing or masonry.
- Cricket: water pooling behind a chimney on a sloped roof.
- Gas insert: a wood-burning fireplace being swapped for gas.
What failing means here
No agency stamps a Level 2 pass or fail. When people say a house failed, they mean the paperwork lists items below what NFPA 211 and local building rules expect.
A buyer can ask for repairs, a credit or a second visit. Buyer, seller and agents work that out themselves, since contract and legal advice is not something we give.
Era decides what is likely
We tie each finding to the age and type of the chimney, so a note about a brick crown reads differently from one about a metal flue. Items split into now and later, which keeps a small repair from looking like a big one.
Priced and not priced
A cap runs $160 to $640. Leak repair runs $535 to $3,200. A cricket is $425 to $960, and a cricket with full flashing replacement is $640 to $1,600. A gas insert is $2,650 to $5,350.
Work on the crown, liner, chase cover or damper has no printed price, nor does flashing alone, mortar, masonry, the smoke chamber or the firebox. We quote those after the inspection, because the camera and the roof tell us how big the job is.
Prices for the common fixes
These are the Homestead figures for the repairs we can price before we see your chimney.
- Gas insert supplied and fitted
- $2,650 to $5,350
- Chimney cap, installed
- $160 to $640
- New flashing and a cricket
- $640 to $1,600
- Chimney cricket, installed
- $425 to $960
- Chimney leak repair
- $535 to $3,200
Every other fix is quoted after the inspection.
Questions about a failed report
Does failing mean I cannot use the fireplace?
It means the report lists conditions needing repair before safe use. Read the now items first.
Who pays for the repairs?
That is between the buyer, the seller and their agents. We do not advise on contracts.
Why do some fixes have no price?
Crown, liner, masonry and similar work depends on what is found. We quote it after the inspection.
Tell us what the report names
Tell us the items on your list. We will sort them into now and later, and tell you which ones we can price.
Call (562) 273-2664