Chimney Inspection in Prospect Heights, IL

Chimney facts specific to Prospect Heights houses

Much of this town sits on heavy clay. Clay moves with moisture. Chimneys on exterior walls settle away from the house first. Check the caulk line where flashing meets siding. A gap that reopens every spring is settlement, not caulk failure. We shim a level against the stack and sight the roofline.

Wells and septic systems persist in unincorporated pockets near Palatine Road. Sulfur water and softener discharge sit in basements with the water heater. That air is corrosive to galvanized flue pipe. We pull the draft hood and look inside the first elbow. Flaking there means the vent, not the chimney.

Willow Trails and the subdivisions off Camp McDonald Road run heavy to prefab fireboxes in framed chases. Refractory panels crack at the back corners. Owners stuff them with mortar. Mortar is not refractory cement and will not hold.

O'Hare arrival paths cross overhead all day. People blame plane noise for a rumble that is actually loose flue tile. We listen with the damper open and closed.

Honest limits: we will not line a chimney that has no footing left. We will not seal a crown over tiles already spalled. Those are teardown conversations. Hearing that early saves you a second opinion.