Level 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterMeet the Gaithersburg Team Behind Level Two Chimney Gaithersburg
We’re a local crew of chimney technicians, installers, and coordinators who work across Gaithersburg, Rockville, Germantown, and the surrounding Montgomery County neighborhoods. What unites us is simple: we write down the price before we start, we take photos of everything we find, and we don’t recommend work you can’t see with your own eyes on camera. Since 2009, this team has handled more than 38,000 chimney inspections and cleanings under one standard. Corrine Halstead owns and operates this location, and she still walks job sites weekly.
Our People
Marcus T. – Lead Technician
Marcus has been sweeping and repairing chimneys in Gaithersburg for eleven years. He holds an NFPA 211 Level 2 inspection certification and does most of our camera-scan work, the kind that finds cracked flue liners and hidden creosote buildup before they become a chimney fire. His specialty is diagnosing draft problems in older homes in the Kentlands and Washingtonian Woods areas, where flue design from the 1980s and 1990s doesn’t always play well with modern gas inserts. He grew up in Silver Spring and claims he can identify any Montgomery County neighborhood by the style of its chimney caps. Marcus is the technician you’ll most likely see on your service call, and he’s the one who’ll walk you through every photo before any repair is recommended.
Dana R. – Senior Installer
Dana leads our liner installation and rebuild work, and she’s been with Level Two Chimney since 2015. She’s certified in DuraFlex and HeatShield system installation and has rebuilt more smoke chambers than she cares to count. Her specialty is crown repair and cricket installation on steep-pitch roofs in the older sections of Gaithersburg, where water damage is the most common reason a chimney starts spalling brick by brick. Before chimneys, Dana worked in commercial roofing, so she’s comfortable with high work and particular about flashing details most people never see. She lives in Frederick and brings the same lunch to every job site: a thermos of black coffee and a sandwich she makes at 5:15 a.m.
Elena S. – Service Coordinator
Elena is the voice on the phone when you call (240) 220-9395, and she’s been answering our lines for six years. She schedules every job, assigns the named technician, and sends the text when they’re on the way, which is part of the Arrive on Schedule standard we follow on every visit. Elena worked in emergency restoration dispatch before joining us, so she’s good at calm conversations when someone calls about smoke backing up into the living room at 10 p.m. She keeps the service board organized and remembers the details: which customer’s flue has that odd offset in the attic, which one wanted the stainless cap with the larger mesh. If you’ve called us once, Elena probably remembers you.
Sam W. – Apprentice Technician
Sam joined our crew two years ago as an apprentice and works alongside Marcus on most cleaning and inspection jobs. He’s completing his chimney sweep training hours and learning how to read the creosote classes: from the light, flaky Class I material that brushes off easily to the hard, tarry Class III glaze that requires mechanical removal and carries the highest fire risk. Before chimneys, Sam worked as a bike mechanic, which shows in how methodically he handles tools and in his habit of wiping down every piece of equipment before it goes back in the truck. He’s a Gaithersburg native and knows the back roads well enough to avoid 270 on a Friday afternoon, which matters when you’re trying to keep appointments on time.
One Standard, Every Job
Every technician on this page works under the same set of rules, and those rules have been in place since 2009. Clause 1 means you get a written price, written scope, and written warranty before anyone touches your chimney, never after the tech is already in your home. Clause 4 means a documented photo record is included on every single visit, no add-on fee, no request required. When Corrine visits a job site for quality review, she checks two things first: the written quote and the photo file. If both are complete, the rest usually is too. That standard holds across all ten Level Two locations, and the Gaithersburg crew is held to it with the same expectations as every other market.
Written by Corrine Halstead, Owner at Level Two Chimney Gaithersburg, serving Gaithersburg since 2009.