A Level company - serving Rockville, MD

Before & After Gallery - Level Two Chimney Rockville

Every visit starts with

Level 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed

Worth knowing

Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.

Styles & brands we work with

Before & after – our own jobs

Before - Recent Project — Recent Project

Before - Full Restoration — Full Restoration

After - Full Restoration — Full Restoration

Before - Complete Upgrade — Complete Upgrade

After - Complete Upgrade — Complete Upgrade

Chimney Cleaning Before & After in Rockville, MD

Photographs don’t flatter a chimney. They document it. Since 2009, we’ve built a photo record of every one of the 38,000+ chimneys we’ve inspected and cleaned in Rockville. What follows are representative jobs, not cherry-picked exceptions. The before images show what the camera saw. The after images show what the written scope said would be done.

Call (571) 376-7052

Recent Transformations

Class III Creosote Removal in a Twinbrook Split-Level

[PHOTO PLACEHOLDER: Before – Flue interior with Class III creosote buildup, camera still]

Before: Class III creosote, the hardened, tar-like glaze that forms when wood smoke condenses and bakes onto flue walls. This is the stage that fuels chimney fires.

[PHOTO PLACEHOLDER: After – Same flue interior after mechanical cleaning]

After: Flue walls returned to bare flue tile. The whitish residue is cosmetic lime bloom, not remaining creosote.

The problem: a homeowner in Twinbrook near Rock Creek had been burning unseasoned oak for three winters. The camera scan showed Class III creosote, the hard, shiny glaze that doesn’t brush off with standard sweeps. We documented it, wrote the price for removal before any work started, and mechanically removed the buildup with rotary steel rods and chains. The result is a flue you can see tile through. Clause 4 of the Haven Standard required the photo record we sent home with the homeowner that day.

Heavy Soot and Debris in an Antique Row Townhouse

[PHOTO PLACEHOLDER: Before – Soot and bird nesting material at the smoke shelf]

Before: Soot accumulation and nest debris at the smoke shelf in a pre-1900 Rockville row house.

[PHOTO PLACEHOLDER: After – Clean smoke chamber and smoke shelf]

After: Smoke shelf clear, chamber walls brushed, airflow restored.

An Antique Row townhouse off Maryland Avenue had a fireplace that smoked back into the room every time the owner lit a fire. The camera found a smoke shelf packed with old soot and the remains of a starling nest, what we call a fire hazard with wings. We removed the debris, swept the flue from the roof, and showed the owner the before and after on the spot. The fireplace now draws cleanly. No new liner was recommended, and the price covered only what the camera justified.

Chimney Cap Replacement After Animal Entry Near Lakewood

[PHOTO PLACEHOLDER: Before – Bent or missing chimney cap, rusted mesh]

Before: A rusted cap with torn mesh about two miles from Lakewood. Squirrels had pushed through. This cap had stopped doing its one job.

[PHOTO PLACEHOLDER: After – New stainless steel chimney cap installed]

After: New stainless cap with intact mesh, secured and sealed at the flue tile.

The owners heard scratching in the wall near the fireplace and called us out. The old cap had rusted through at the mesh, and a squirrel had made it down to the smoke chamber. We quoted the cap replacement and removal of nesting material in writing, installed a stainless cap from our supplier network, and provided the photo record showing the secured fit. The scratching stopped the same week. An inexpensive cap saved the cost of a full animal extraction and liner cleaning later.

Routine Sweep With Unexpected Findings in King Farm

[PHOTO PLACEHOLDER: Before – Sooted flue with minor glazing, overall structure sound]

Before: Moderate soot with minor glazing in a well-maintained King Farm chimney. This is what a once-a-year-burner’s flue typically looks like after two seasons.

[PHOTO PLACEHOLDER: After – Clean flue tiles after sweep]

After: Clean tile surfaces after a standard top-down sweep with poly brushes.

A King Farm homeowner booked a routine sweep and asked for the camera scan because they’d skipped a year. That’s exactly what the Haven Standard exists for. The scan showed moderate soot and the beginning of Stage II creosote but sound terra cotta tiles throughout. We swept, photographed the clean flue, and wrote a note that no liner work was needed. The homeowner walked away with a video file, a written summary, and a clean fireplace, nothing more.

Smoke Chamber Parging in a West End Rambler

[PHOTO PLACEHOLDER: Before – Deteriorating smoke chamber, missing parge coat, gaps between brick]

Before: Smoke chamber with spalling parge coat, the mortar skim that smooths the transition from firebox to flue. Gaps here disrupt draft and collect debris.

[PHOTO PLACEHOLDER: After – New parge coat applied]

After: Smoke chamber re-parged with a refractory mortar, the transitions smooth.

In a West End rambler near Hungerford Drive, the fireplace draft had gotten noticeably weaker over the course of one fall. The camera showed why: the parge coat inside the smoke chamber was spalling, crumbling away in chunks and leaving rough pockets. We re-parged the chamber and swept the flue in the same visit. The draft returned. The written warranty from that job covers the parge work, and the photo record proves what the chamber looked like before and after we touched it.

Full Liners Replaced in a Montrose Split Colonial

[PHOTO PLACEHOLDER: Before – Cracked original clay liner, visible separation between tiles]

Before: Cracked clay liner in a Montrose home, with separation between tile segments and heat staining visible on the exterior brick.

[PHOTO PLACEHOLDER: After – New stainless steel liner installed]

After: Continuous stainless liner, properly sized and insulated, with a new flue cap at termination.

A Montrose split colonial was sold with an inspection report flagging liner cracks but no photos to confirm. We brought our camera and found the clay tiles had separated in two places. This was a safety issue, not a cosmetic one: the gaps vented heat directly against the chimney structure. The owners approved a stainless liner replacement from our materials supply chain, installed with a proper tee and crown wash. They now have a continuous flue from firebox to cap, photographed and documented on both ends.

Want Results Like These?

Professional chimney sweep cleaning a stone fireplace with a brush tool — Want Results Like These?

Every one of these jobs started the same way: a camera in a flue, a written price before any work, and a documented photo record when it was done. If you want to know what your chimney actually looks like, call (571) 376-7052. We’ll scan it, show you the footage, and put the scope in writing. The second opinion on any written estimate is free.

Written by Corrine Halstead, Owner at Level Two Chimney Rockville, serving Rockville since 2009.

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