Chimney repair and inspection in Aroma Park, IL

By Jacob Dove, founder of Friendship Chimney Sweep · 29 years in the trade

Inspecting a chimney after a tornado or severe storm

A chimney is a tall, heavy, unreinforced masonry column attached to a wood-framed house. In a tornado or a straight-line wind the house flexes and the chimney does not, so the two move against each other. The damage shows up in predictable places. At the roofline, the flashing tears and the mortar joints in the first few courses above the roof crack. At the top, the crown and the courses under it can shift or be blown off entirely. Inside, the clay tile liner, which is stacked in short sections with thin mortar joints, cracks where the chimney was flexed hardest, often just above the roof and at any offset. None of the interior damage is visible from outside.

NFPA 211 lists a weather event that could have damaged the chimney as a trigger for a Level 2 inspection, and that is the right response. We scan the full flue on video, photograph the exterior from the roof, check the flashing and the attic where the chimney passes through, and write the report so an adjuster can follow it. The key is to document before any repair starts and before the fireplace is used. A flue cracked by the storm and then used for a winter of fires is a chimney fire risk and a much harder insurance claim.

Aroma Park after the storm

Aroma Park is a small place with a big river frontage, a boat launch at the confluence, a village campground and the Two Rivers Fest every summer. It is also the smallest town ever to win the Illinois Little League title, which locals will tell you about. The homes are river-village stock: frame houses from the early 1900s through the 1960s, and cottages along the water that have been winterized over the years, usually with a wood stove. Chimney work here has always been a mix of stove flue sweeping, caps for chimneys that never had one, and the foundation and crawlspace issues that come with a flood zone.

Since March 2026 it has been storm work. The tornado that came through the area took the tops off chimneys, cracked liners with the twisting load on the structure, and in some cases pulled flashing and brick loose without any obvious damage from the ground. We have been doing Level 2 inspections across the village so homeowners have the photos and footage their insurance adjusters need, and rebuilding the chimneys that failed. If your chimney was standing after the storm, it still needs to be scanned; a flue can crack top to bottom and look fine from the yard.

Services in Aroma Park

All seven services at published prices. Storm inspections are prioritized.

• Chimney sweeping
• Level 1 and Level 2 inspections — post-storm Level 2 scans with insurance-ready documentation
• Masonry repair — partial and full rebuilds of storm-damaged chimneys
• Stainless relining
• Caps, crowns and dampers
• Gas fireplace tune-ups
• Dryer vent cleaning

Local links for Aroma Park

Aroma Park resources: Village of Aroma Park · Kankakee High School