Frequently Asked Questions

We arrive at the scheduled window, protect the floor around the fireplace, set up a HEPA vacuum, and run brushes down the full flue to remove soot and creosote. Then the camera goes down and we show you what the flue actually looks like inside. You get a written scope, photos, and a reading of flue condition when we leave. That's The Haven Standard: Evidence on every job, not a verbal summary. The process usually takes 45 to 90 minutes depending on the chimney and how much buildup we find.

The National Fire Protection Association says chimneys should be inspected at least once a year, and swept as needed. In Clifton, where winters push furnaces and fireplaces hard from October through March, once a year before burning season is the practical answer. If you burn wood more than twice a week, or burn green wood, you may need a mid-season sweep. We'll tell you honestly if your chimney can go another year. Our standard is camera evidence, not a calendar. If we can show you it's clean, you decide.

Most single-flue sweeps with a Level 2 camera inspection run 45 to 90 minutes from setup to photo report. Older Clifton homes with taller chimneys or difficult roof access, like the Victorians near Main Memorial Park, can push that toward two hours. We give you a real arrival window when you book, with a named technician and a text when they're on the way. Clause 2 of The Haven Standard. No four-hour "someone might show up" window.

Every single time. We cannot look inside your flue with a flashlight and call it an inspection. The camera goes down on every cleaning and the footage is archived. That is the practice that made the brand worth acquiring in the first place, and the reason it's Clause 4 of The Haven Standard. You'll see the images yourself, even the parts you'd rather not. If there's a cracked tile or a bird nest mid-flue, you'll have the photo, not our word.

You can, but you shouldn't, and here's the honest reason. A brush from a hardware store removes loose soot, but it doesn't remove glazed creosote effectively and it doesn't inspect the flue. You still don't know if the tiles are cracked behind what you can't see, and a cracked tile is how chimney fires start. This is one area where the trained eye and the camera matter. We're not going to tell you it's rocket science, but we are going to tell you it's dangerous to burn in a chimney you haven't had inspected. If you're unsure, call (551) 282-9640 and ask us what a Level 2 inspection actually shows.

Level 1 is the right check when nothing has changed: a visual look at the accessible parts of the chimney, firebox, and flue with a flashlight. Level 2 adds a camera scan of the entire flue from top to bottom, and is what a home sale, a chimney fire, or a new appliance actually requires. Level Two Chimney Clifton performs a Level 2 camera inspection on every job as the standard, not the upgrade. The name is literally the standard we work to, not a branding exercise.

We take the same care on your roof as we do inside your home. We use roof protection where needed and clean up after ourselves. Clifton's older homes often have slate or older shingles that need to be walked carefully, so our crews run roof harnesses and treat your roof like it belongs to someone who lives there. Because it does. If you have specific roof concerns, mention them when you book and we'll note it for the crew.

We install Olympia Chimney and Copperfield caps most often, because they hold up to Clifton's snow, rain, and the freeze-thaw cycles that wreck cheap caps in two seasons. A cap is not a decoration. It keeps water out of the flue and animals out of your house. If the camera shows a rusted or missing cap, we'll quote a replacement at the same time and show you the photo. Some Clifton homes still have original caps from the 1950s and 1960s that have been gone for years. The homeowner never knew.

We use DuraFlex and Famco liners, depending on the application and the fuel type. A furnace flue and a wood-burning fireplace flue have different requirements, and the wrong liner is a safety issue, not an aesthetic one. If the camera shows a failed clay tile liner or a rusted steel liner, we'll quote the replacement in writing, with photos, and explain exactly why it's needed. Some liners can wait. Some can't. The camera tells us which is which, and we'll tell you plainly.

You're welcome to compare, but we supply the parts because we need to warranty the whole system, not just our labor. When we install an Olympia or Copperfield cap, or a DuraFlex liner, the part carries its manufacturer warranty and our work carries our workmanship guarantee. If a customer supplies their own part, we can install it, but if it fails we can't stand behind it. The written quote will always separate parts from labor so you can see exactly what you're paying for. Clause 1: Have it in writing.

Every pro working under the Level Two name is required to hold the license and insurance their state requires, and the license number is on the page for you to verify. We're independently owned and operated here in Clifton, led by Corrine Halstead. The Haven Standard is the operational backstop: verified crews, written pricing, and documented work. You should expect to verify our license the same way you'd verify an electrician's. If a sweep won't show you their license number, that's your answer.

The crews who enter your home are verified through the standards set by The Haven Standard, which requires background checks for every pro carrying the brand name. When strangers are walking through your house and climbing onto your roof, you have a right to know they've been screened. We'll put the technician's name on your appointment confirmation before they arrive, so you know who to expect. You shouldn't be meeting a surprise at the door.

For the first appointment, yes. We need access to the fireplace, a walkthrough of any known issues, and you'll want to see the camera footage yourself. For return appointments after we know the house, some Clifton customers leave a key or have a neighbor let us in, but we prefer you're there for the photo report. It's your chimney. Seeing the images of what we found is the whole point.

Call 911 first, always. Then call us after the fire is out. A chimney fire in Clifton is what it is: a real fire in your house, not a maintenance problem. After everything is safe, you need a Level 2 camera inspection before you burn again. That camera run will show whether the flue tiles cracked, whether the liner held, and whether the chimney is safe to use. You cannot see those things from the firebox. Don't burn until we've looked inside. Call (551) 282-9640 to schedule the inspection.

Yes, and we recommend it. A home inspector does a Level 1 visual check, but a Clifton home with a 60-year-old chimney needs a Level 2 camera scan before you sign. We've caught failed liners in houses where the home inspector wrote "chimney appears okay" because nobody looked inside the flue. The seller often won't volunteer this, and the buyer shouldn't inherit a chimney they've never seen inside. Corrine Halstead and the team do pre-purchase inspections throughout Clifton, Passaic, and Garfield regularly.

Our phones are answered around the clock, and we schedule sweeps and inspections based on the real calendar, not a promise of impossible speed. During the weeks before burning season, which in Clifton is usually late September through November, we schedule one to two weeks out. If you have a specific need, like a home closing or an appliance installation, tell us the date and we'll work with you. You'll get a real window and a named technician when you book. That's the arrival part of The Haven Standard.

Yes. The flue for your furnace or boiler is a chimney too, and it gets cleaned and camera-inspected the same way as your fireplace flue. Furnace flues in Clifton's older homes are often terra cotta tile that has been running for decades. If that tile cracks or the mortar joints open up, carbon monoxide can escape into the house instead of going up the flue. We clean and inspect furnace flues year-round, not just in burning season. Your CO detector is not a maintenance plan. Call (551) 282-9640 to have the flue inspected.

Every chimney we clean leaves with a documented record of what we found and what we did. If something we touched doesn't perform, we come back. The workmanship carries a written guarantee, and parts like Olympia and Copperfield caps and DuraFlex liners carry their manufacturer warranties, which we'll put in writing. The guarantee is not a handshake. It's a document. Clause 1 of The Haven Standard says have it in writing: flat price, written scope, written warranty, before anyone starts.

The Haven Standard is the code we work under: Have it in writing. Arrive on schedule. Verified crews. Evidence on every job. No surprises. That means a flat price before work starts, a named tech with a real arrival window, licensed and insured pros, photos and readings of what we found, and no upselling at the door. It covers how we operate, not just what we sell. And since 2009, every chimney our parent brand has inspected and cleaned has come with a written price before we started and a documented record when we left.

Then you'll see it with your own eyes. We show you the camera footage, explain what it means in plain language, and quote the repair separately in writing. If it can safely wait until spring, we tell you that. If it can't, we tell you that too, with the photos to prove it. No door upsell, no manufactured urgency, no "while we're in here" scope creep. That's Clause 5 of The Haven Standard. You decide with the evidence in front of you, not on our word alone.

Written by Corrine Halstead, Owner at Level Two Chimney Clifton, serving Clifton, NJ and surrounding Passaic and Bergen County communities since 2009.