​When scanning chimney interiors with a Chim-Scan® interior chimney inspection camera, you need to know the ideal installation practices according to the building codes. What you will see in the field is probably different from the descriptions and illustrations in your code book. There are differences!
When you scan a chimney, what you are looking at must be verifiable. The chimney and installation either match the ideal chimney in the code book or doesn’t. Your opinion in the documentation can be referenced by the guidelines set forth: local building codes, inspection guidelines outlined in NFPA 211 (2024), Chapters 14 (Maintenance) and Chapter 15 (Inspection of Existing Chimneys), the Annex (Explanatory Material), and the INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE (IRC), especially chapters 10, 13, 14, 18, and 24, which are of great benefit.
The International Residential Code (IRC) focuses on the site-built construction of masonry products and the installation of prefabricated products such as chimney liners or chimney and fireplace systems. IRC does not include specifications for inspecting existing installations unless they are new or were built during a previously published IRC Book.
Chimney inspection procedures and Inspection Items are outlined in the NFPA 211 Standard, Chapters 14, 15, and the Annex. These criteria cover when to do the inspection and the Scope of the Levels of Inspection (next page). It also includes items to inspect, listed as examples in the Annex.
It is essential to be familiar with the IRC, to reference what materials to use, how to install them, and the conditions to which chimneys, fireplaces, and vents are to be built. The NFPA 211 Standard tells you when and to what depth the levels of inspection are and the circumstances to use them. Understanding this is the place to verify correct construction is the starting point of scanning.
This is an excerpt taken from the book Chimney Scanning & Inspection Guide, Phase 1, for the Chim-Scan Factory Trained Technician.

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