Is this masonry chimney installed wrong?

Hi all. I am buying a house and I noticed in the inspection photos that the chimney looks really low to the roof line. I was wondering what everyone here thought. Is this chimney high enough, or was it installed wrong?

Also, follow up question... how rough of shape is this chimney in? It's only 22 years old but it's never been cleaned or maintained, as you can see the cap is all gone. There's 2 old wood stoves connected to it (one in the basement, one on the main floor). I am thinking of tearing it out and just using propane. Thoughts? Thanks a lot!

 

Welcome to the forums! When it was built, it was probably fine. Today's codes will probably call for a little more elevation. My concerns in looking at your pictures is that I can't see where the step flashing goes UNDER the shingles. It may, and I just can't see it in the pictures. In addition, there should be a cricket on the upper side to divert water to the sides rather than relying on tar to keep water from leaking. The chimney cap concrete is deteriorated and a metal cap with proper kick out on the perimeter would be a good solution, as well as screened chimney caps on both terracotta pipes.

 

The top of the chimney is supposed to be 2' higher than the peak. There is a rule that allows for the top to be lower if it's further down the roof but yours is near the peak and it doesn't look like it's 2' high ...... but pics can be deceiving

While switching to propane is an option, if you use the chimney you should have it inspected and cleaned [competent sweep can do both] Personally I like wood stove.

 

The general rule is that the top of a chimney should be two feet above any other point on the roof within a ten foot radius.

What kind of equipment do these flues serve?