How Much Is a Chimney Sweep in Tacoma? What Quotes Include

These are figures other companies and pricing sites had online when we checked, listed with what each one covers. Read the right-hand column before the middle one: a sweep bundled with an inspection is a different product from a cleaning alone.

National pricing sites give wider ranges because they blend very different markets and jobs. Fixr puts a chimney cleaning anywhere from $100 to $500 across the country, and HomeAdvisor lists a normal range of $129 to $381. Both are useful as a sanity check on a quote that seems far out of line, and not much more than that for a specific house in Tacoma.

The number of flues comes first. A fireplace upstairs plus a wood stove on the lower floor means two separate systems, each with its own flue to clean and inspect. Next is access. Washington's residential code has masonry chimneys rise at least 3 feet above the roof, which on a two-story house puts the top a long way up, and a roof that stays wet or mossy through the long rainy season takes more setup to work on safely.

Deposits are the third factor and the least predictable. Light, dry soot brushes out. Thick or glazed creosote, usually the result of wet wood or a flue that went several winters without service, needs more passes or a separate removal. That is why one of the Tacoma offers in the table above warns that its figure can move once buildup is found.

Finally, the appliance. An open masonry fireplace is the simplest case. An insert may have to be pulled out to reach the flue, and a stove connected through a liner has its own parts to check.

Timing can matter too. A visit booked in the dry months, before the first cold snap, is easier to schedule around roof work, and it leaves time for any repair the inspection turns up before you want to light a fire.

Relatively few homes here burn wood as their main heat. Census estimates put the figure at about 744 homes in Tacoma, under 1 percent, and about 1.9 percent across Pierce County. Far more homes have a fireplace or stove they light only now and then. NFPA 211 still calls for an inspection every year either way, and whether the flue actually needs cleaning depends on what that inspection finds and how much you burned.

Burning rules also affect how much a flue collects. In this region, the only fuel Puget Sound Clean Air Agency accepts is dry, seasoned firewood or manufactured logs, and wet wood is the most common reason a chimney fills faster than expected.

Our chimney sweep is $189 to $449, and heavy creosote that needs a removal treatment is quoted separately, from $245 to $585. Everything in the tables above was published by someone else and is shown for comparison only. The inspection itself is $99 plus tax, credited against the sweep or removal if you go ahead on the written quote.

Whoever you call, ask four things before comparing: how many flues are included, whether an inspection and written report are part of the visit, what happens if heavy deposits are found, and whether an insert or stove has to be moved. Two quotes that answer those the same way can be compared fairly.