The clock is running. Here is what happens first.

Before a tool comes inside, covers go down over the floor and around the hearth. It is the same on every visit. You can leave the room as it is and expect to find it as you left it.

Only then does the work begin.

We start on the roof and work down to the firebox, always in that order. On a Level 2 the camera travels the flue end to end, and we also check the attic and crawlspace sections where they are reachable. Each part is photographed as it is checked, so nothing depends on memory later.

A Level 1, by comparison, is a visual check of the accessible parts. It carries no camera.

While we are at the house, we go over the photos with you. You see what the camera saw, and you can ask about anything that is unclear. The written report and the full set of photos reach you on the day of the visit.

On a sale or transfer, the NFPA 211 standard points toward a Level 2. Three more situations do the same. They are flames in the flue, a damaging earthquake and a change of the fuel burned. You may name your agent, the buyer or both as recipients of the report. Hearthly works from Carson, with Gardena, Torrance and Long Beach nearby, and each visit follows the identical order of steps.