Sumner, Pierce County
Sumner sits on the floor of the Puyallup River Valley, and it holds some of the oldest houses in this corner of Pierce County. Roughly one home in eight was built before 1940, and the valley sees about twice as many freezing nights as the city on the bay. Below is what that means for a chimney in Sumner, with the public record behind every figure.
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$99 plus tax, deducted when you approve the repair
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Pick what you're seeing at your Sumner home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for Sumner homes.
Top-to-bottom brushing of flue and firebox under drop cloths, with a HEPA vacuum pulling the dust
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Level 1 or Level 2 as needed; Level 2 includes a camera run through the entire flue
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A full-length stainless-steel or cast liner, firebox to chimney top
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Loose or damaged brick, open joints and firebox panels repaired
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A stainless cap sized to your actual flue dimensions
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Crown patched, or recast entirely if it can't be saved
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A breathable repellent that lets masonry release moisture
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Resealing of flashing that's still sound; replacement where it isn't
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Burner, pilot assembly and valve cleaned and adjusted
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Staging of the buildup, from flaky Stage 2 to glazed Stage 3
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Cleaning of the full duct run, dryer to exterior hood
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Supply and return ductwork cleaned end to end
Learn moreRanges shown for orientation — the exact figure is written up on-site, after the inspection.
Service-area map — Sumner, WA. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Sumner incorporated on February 7, 1891, in the Puyallup River Valley, and it still calls itself the Rhubarb Pie Capital of the World. Census estimates for 2020 to 2024 put the town's median home at 1989, yet about 24.5% of its housing units are older than 1960 and about 38.5% are older than 1980. For comparison, the median home across Pierce County dates from 1986.
About 12.5% of Sumner's housing was built in 1939 or earlier. Among the twelve Pierce County cities we serve, only Tacoma has a larger pre-war share. The median, though, is a 1989 house, so a street of century-old homes and a cul-de-sac from the nineties can be a short drive apart.
That spread is why we never quote a Sumner chimney from a phone description. A flue laid before the Second World War and a flue framed into a 1990s house age in different ways, and each gets measured against the lining and clearance rules of the current state code.
Every job starts on site. The visit is $99 plus tax; if you approve the written quote that follows, that $99 is deducted from the repair.
You get photos of what the technician saw, top and bottom, and a quote in writing. Nothing is scheduled until you say so.
Census estimates for 2020 to 2024 count wood as the main heating fuel in about 1.4% of Sumner's occupied homes. Across all of Pierce County the figure is about 1.9%, some 6,700 households, and statewide it is about 2.8%. A small share, but for those homes the stove runs every cold day, and the flue takes a full season of smoke.
Relying on wood does not by itself free a household from burn bans. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency only lets a home burn during a ban when wood is truly its sole adequate heat and the agency has approved an exemption in advance. A pricey furnace or one that happens to be broken that week does not qualify, and even an exempt stove may not put out visible smoke.
WeatherSpark's model of Sumner's weather gives the town about seven wet months a year, roughly October 10 through May 8. November brings the most rain, near 8.4 inches on average, against barely 0.7 inches in July, and a breezier half-year runs from about October 18 to April 15.
The nearest long-record weather station to Sumner, Puyallup 2 W at the state experiment station, logged about 39.84 inches of precipitation a year between 1931 and 1995, with December the wettest month at about 6.16 inches. Snow was light, about 6.3 inches a year.
The cold is what sets the valley apart. The same station averaged about 69 days a year with a low at or below 32°F, more than twice the count at the Tacoma #1 station near the bay. Mortar joints and chimney tops that soak up rain through the autumn are the ones those freezes pry open, a little more each winter.
For Sumner, burn bans come from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, which declares them across Pierce County. A Stage 1 ban leaves an open wood hearth unlit, and an older stove without certification too; campfires and every other outdoor fire are off as well. Stage 2 goes further: certified stoves and inserts join the list, and so do pellet stoves. Washington's curtailment rule, WAC 173-433-150, is where both stages come from.
Before lighting on a cold, still evening, check the day's status. The agency posts it on its website, sends it by email alert and reads it out on 800-595-4341.
The grid we quote from for Sumner homes — the $99 inspection comes first, the written quote before any work.
| Service | Price in Sumner | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| Chimney Sweep | $189–$449 | Full flue swept, Level 1 inspection included |
| Chimney Inspection | $99 plus tax | Level 1 visual; Level 2 adds a full camera scan |
| Chimney Relining | From $1,900 | Full-length stainless liner, sized to the appliance |
| Chimney Repair | From $375 | Masonry repair — brick and mortar, scoped after diagnosis |
| Chimney Cap Installation | $265–$750 | Stainless cap fitted; multi-flue and custom at the top |
| Masonry Repair (Crown / Repointing) | From $425 | Crown work, repointing and tuckpointing by surface area |
| Chimney Waterproofing | $320–$795 | Breathable sealer — reapplied every 3–5 years in this climate |
| Chimney Flashing Repair | $330–$1,500 | Reseal at the low end, full flashing replacement at the high |
| Gas Fireplace Service | $189–$475 | Annual service and tune-up; repairs quoted after diagnosis |
| Creosote Removal | From $245 | Priced by creosote stage — glazed stage 3 is the heavy end |
| Dryer Vent Cleaning | $105–$260 | Full run cleaned; roof or upper-floor terminations at the top |
| Air Duct Cleaning | From $535 | Whole HVAC system — trunks, branches and every register |
Ranges are what these jobs are quoted at in Sumner. The exact figure is set on site after a $99 inspection (credited toward the job if you go ahead), and you approve it before any work starts.
Washington's 2021 building codes, including a Residential Code based on the 2021 IRC, took effect statewide on March 15, 2024. Its chimney chapter requires a masonry flue to be lined, with clay liners, a listed lining system or another approved material rated to resist cracking and corrosion up to 1,800°F. It also sets the clearance to wood framing: 2 inches of airspace for an interior chimney, 1 inch for an exterior one.
For Sumner's pre-war houses, those two lines are usually what the assessment turns on. Whether a given job also needs a city permit is for the City of Sumner's building department to say, and it is worth asking before work begins.
Before and after
Illustrations of what each repair changes on a typical chimney — not photos of a specific job.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
After
Four steps, each one on paper — so you always know what happens next.
Choose a genuine opening on the crew's calendar. Confirmation is immediate.
Liner, crown, cap, flashing and masonry examined in order — each finding photographed.
One document, plain numbers, covering only the work your chimney genuinely needs.
The repair is completed, then handed over with before-and-after photos of every item.
Part of it. About 12.5% of Sumner homes date from 1939 or earlier, the second-highest share among the cities we cover, even though the median Sumner home was built in 1989.
$99 plus tax, per chimney. When you approve the quote, the $99 comes off the price of the work.
It can. The long-running Puyallup valley weather station averaged about 69 nights a year at or below freezing. Water that has soaked into a chimney top expands each time it freezes, which is why cracks found in autumn are worth closing before winter.
Not in an open wood fireplace, under either stage. The only exception is a home whose wood device is its only adequate heat and which already holds an approved exemption from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.
Choose a genuine opening on the crew's calendar. We inspect, quote in writing, and hand over a photo record of every repair.
