What we found in a 1920s Kankakee flue nobody had opened in thirty years
A homebuyer near the Riverview district asked for a camera inspection before closing. Here is what the flue looked like and what it would have cost to find out the hard way.
The call
The buyer was under contract on a four-square a few blocks from the river, built around 1922. The general home inspection said the chimney “appeared serviceable,” which is inspector language for “I looked at it from the yard.” The buyer wanted to burn wood, so they called us for a Level 2 inspection, the one NFPA 211 calls for when a property changes hands.
What the camera showed
The first twelve feet of flue looked like a lot of Kankakee chimneys that age: clay tile with mortar joints mostly intact, some stage one creosote, a smoke shelf full of mortar crumbs. At eighteen feet, where the flue offset to clear a second-floor closet, one tile had shifted about three-quarters of an inch, and the joint above it was open. You could see the brick of the chimney cavity behind it. From the firebox with a flashlight, the flue looked fine. From the roof looking down, it looked fine. The only way to see it was the camera stopped at that joint.
An open joint at an offset means combustion gases and, in a chimney fire, flame can get into the cavity between the tile and the brick, and from there into any wood framing that touches the chimney. On a house that old, the framing often does.
What it meant
The flue could not be used for wood as it stood. The fix was an insulated stainless liner sized for the fireplace, which we quoted from the inspection at a little under two thousand dollars, and the buyer negotiated it into the purchase. Without the inspection they would have moved in, lit a fire in November, and found out in one of two ways: a chimney fire, or a Level 2 years later during their own sale. Either is more expensive than the inspection.
Kankakee has the oldest housing stock in our service area, and this is the ordinary case, not the dramatic one. Every pre-1940 flue we scan has a story. Most are fixable. All of them are worth knowing before you burn.
If this sounds like your house: we handle Level 2 chimney inspections across Kankakee County, and our Kankakee page covers what we usually find there. Call (815) 449-4264, 7am to 9pm, any day.
Quick questions
Does a general home inspection cover the chimney?
No. It notes the chimney exists. A chimney inspection scans the flue, checks the smoke chamber, crown and connections against NFPA 211, and gives you photos.
Can I ask the seller to pay for the liner?
Often, if the inspection is done during the contingency window. That is exactly what this buyer did.
How long does a Level 2 inspection take?
About an hour for one flue. We schedule to meet closing deadlines.
Is a shifted tile always a liner job?
Usually. A single cracked tile high in the flue can sometimes be repaired in place, but a shifted tile at an offset means the flue is no longer continuous.
Published September 21, 2026 · Updated September 26, 2026 · By Jacob Dove, Friendship Chimney Sweep, Bourbonnais IL