Herriman · Salt Lake County
The First Inspection a Herriman Home Ever Gets
Herriman grew from a small farm town into a large suburb in about two decades. A consequence nobody plans for is that thousands of chimneys here are on their first or second owner and have never been inspected by anybody.
What "never inspected" actually means
A building inspector signs off a fireplace at the framing and final stages, which confirms it was installed to the approved drawings. It does not confirm the state of the system after twenty years of use, and it certainly does not confirm what got left inside it. Between the final inspection and the first fire, a house goes through drywall, paint, flooring and cleanup. Debris ends up in fireboxes and smoke chambers with impressive regularity: offcuts, packaging, drywall dust, and occasionally the cardboard the appliance itself was shipped with. Some of it burns off harmlessly on the first fire and some of it does not.
The other thing that goes unnoticed on a young system is the venting connection. Vent sections are a friction and lock fit, and a section that was never fully seated can work loose. That is invisible from the room and consequential, because the joint is what keeps exhaust inside the pipe.
Which inspection to book
Level 1 is a visual check of accessible components and suits a system in unchanged, regular use with no symptoms. Level 2 adds a video scan of the full flue and covers accessible attic space where the chimney passes through, and it is the correct scope for a sale, a change of appliance or fuel, or a first look at a system whose history nobody knows. For most Herriman homes coming up for their first inspection, that is Level 2.
What we tend to find
Chase covers holding standing water. Storm collar sealant cracked by two decades of sun. Caps missing fasteners after enough seasons of wind off the Oquirrhs. Vent terminations that were compliant at handover and are now partly buried by a deck, a patio cover or a landscaping change that came later. None of those are catastrophic on the day we find them. All of them are cheap to correct at that point and expensive to correct after the water has been getting in for another five years.
You get written findings with photographs, and safety items separated from maintenance ones, so you can act on the first list and plan for the second.
Questions
Inspection in Herriman — common questions
Our place went up around fifteen years ago. Surely the chimney is fine?
It may well be, and that is worth confirming rather than assuming. Age of construction says nothing about whether debris was left inside, whether a vent section has worked loose, or whether the chase top has been holding water for a decade.
Should the fireplace be checked before we light it for the first time in a new house?
Yes, particularly in a newly built or newly purchased home. Construction debris in the firebox or smoke chamber is common, and a first fire is a poor way to discover it. It is a short inspection and it settles the question.
We are selling. What does the buyer usually ask for?
A Level 2 with photographic documentation. It covers the video scan of the flue that a general home inspector cannot do, and having it in hand before listing tends to keep chimney findings from becoming a late negotiation.
Can you inspect an outdoor fireplace or fire pit?
Yes. They are common on newer Herriman patios and they weather far faster than an indoor system because nothing shelters them. Caps, crowns and mortar joints on an outdoor stack are worth a look every couple of years.
Also in Herriman
Our other services here
Chimney Sweep Chimney Repair Fireplace Repair Installation Gas Fireplace Caps & Dampers Dryer Vents All Herriman services
Nearby
Inspection in neighboring cities
Salt Lake City Sandy South Jordan South Salt Lake Taylorsville