A Free Fireplace Inspection, Gas Unit Lit and Tested

Short answer: yes, our fireplace and chimney inspection is free. Phoenix-area companies that publish a price charge $89 to $150 for an inspection; ours covers that same top-to-bottom visual check at no charge. When something points to damage out of sight in the flue, we quote a camera scan on the spot and run it only with your okay.

What we check depends on what you have. In older parts of Phoenix, Tempe, Glendale, Mesa and Sun City, it is often a brick fireplace with a masonry chimney, sometimes with gas logs added later. In homes built after 1998, which is most of Buckeye, Queen Creek, San Tan Valley, Goodyear and Surprise, it is almost always a factory-built gas fireplace in a stucco chase. Each gets its own checklist, and both end the same way: photos, a plain list of what we found, and a written number beside every item that needs work.

Signs you need this

• The fireplace sat unused all summer and you want it ready for cooler nights
• A monsoon storm hit and you want the top checked for damage
• You just bought the house and have no record of the last service
• The gas flame looks different, or the unit takes several tries to light
• You smell something when it runs, or see soot where there was none

How we do it

1. Book a 3-hour windowPick a window Sunday to Friday: 8 to 11, 11 to 2 or 2 to 5. We call ahead to confirm.
2. Outside and on the roofTop of the stack, chase lid, metal at the roof joint, stucco or brick, and the attic beside the flue when reachable.
3. Inside and at the unitFirebox, glass, damper and the visible flue; on gas, pilot, burner, valve and vent, with the flame running.
4. Photos and a written pricePictures of anything worth fixing, a number per item, and no work until you say yes.

What a gas fireplace inspection covers

A gas unit fails in ways a wood fireplace does not. After five months of idle heat, the pilot assembly collects dust, spiders nest in the burner ports, and the battery or receiver for the remote dies. We light the unit, watch the flame for color and height, check the glass and its gasket, and check where the vent exits the house for blockages or damage from wind.

We also ask about your carbon monoxide alarm. Phoenix's residential code requires CO alarms in new homes and in permitted remodels; wherever a gas fireplace runs, we suggest keeping a CO alarm that works near the bedrooms, required or not.

What a wood-burning fireplace inspection covers

For a masonry fireplace we look at the firebox brick and mortar, the damper, the smoke chamber, the flue as far as light reaches, plus whatever tops the stack. How much soot and creosote has collected decides whether a sweep is needed; the sweep is priced at the inspection.

Owners in central and west Phoenix sometimes ask us about the Maricopa County Fireplace Retrofit Program, which pays toward a gas log set for homes inside a set boundary. One of its steps is a homeowner-paid inspection and cleaning whose receipt states the fireplace is safe for retrofit, and the home needs a chimney cap and a working damper. We can do that inspection and the cap or damper work. Funding status is not stated on the county page, so check current availability with the county.

What we will not do at an inspection

We will not hand you a scare list. A hairline crack in a firebox panel or a faded chase cover is noted with a photo and an honest read on whether it matters this year. Each item is priced separately, so you can handle what is urgent now and schedule the rest.