Tacoma, Pierce County
One price covers a Tacoma chimney inspection at either level: $99 plus tax per chimney. Say yes to the repair quote that follows and those $99 are taken off the job. You get photos, camera footage where the flue calls for it and a written list of what we saw, sorted into what is urgent, what can wait and what is fine.
What we charge
$99 plus tax
Book an inspection
Book your $99 inspection
$99 plus tax, deducted when you approve the repair
Not sure where to start
Pick what you're seeing at your Tacoma home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for Tacoma homes.
Top-to-bottom brushing of flue and firebox under drop cloths, with a HEPA vacuum pulling the dust
Learn more
Loose or damaged brick, open joints and firebox panels repaired
Learn more
A full-length stainless-steel or cast liner, firebox to chimney top
Learn more
A stainless cap sized to your actual flue dimensions
Learn more
Burner, pilot assembly and valve cleaned and adjusted
Learn more
Crown patched, or recast entirely if it can't be saved
Learn moreRanges shown for orientation — the exact figure is written up on-site, after the inspection.
Tacoma asks more of an inspection than most places. Many houses in the North End, the Stadium area and the Wedge were built when coal and wood were the only heat, and their chimneys have been patched, relined or converted over a century. The inspection is how we read that history before anyone recommends a repair.
Tacoma's own preservation office lists nine historic districts. Four sit on the city's local register; eight appear on the National Register, and eight on Washington's Heritage Register. One is the Wedge, a middle-class neighborhood from before the Second World War.
Across the whole city, census data put the median home at 1967, with about 43.4 percent of housing built before 1960. In houses that old we inspect each fireplace and each flue on its own, and charge per chimney, because two openings sharing a stack rarely share the same condition.
Every chimney inspection we do in Tacoma includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowWhat we most often write up in Tacoma: clay flue tiles cracked or missing sections, flues that were never lined at all, a newer stove or insert vented into a chimney built for an open fire, and crowns that have been letting water in for years. Home sales and a first winter in an older house are the two moments people call us most.
State emergency planners have run the numbers for a shallow 7.1 on the Tacoma fault zone, which the geology says last produced a big quake somewhere from 850 to 1,240 years back. In that model, buildings of unreinforced brick and block are the ones that may partly or completely come down.
A brick chimney is unreinforced masonry. That is why shaking is on the short list of events, with a chimney fire, a swapped appliance and a planned relining, after which the fire code and CSIA want a Level 2 rather than a routine look.
Inside a locally designated district, a permitted change to the outside of a contributing house, and Tacoma names the chimney specifically, can land in front of the city's landmarks commission for review.
The technical yardstick is the 2021 Washington State Residential Code, effective March 15, 2024. The next cycle, based on the 2024 IRC, is scheduled to take effect on May 3, 2027. Our report notes where what we see departs from the current code, and where a fix could trigger review.
We ask how many fireplaces and appliances the house has, the fuel, and whether a sale or a change of appliance is behind the call.
Firebox, damper, smoke chamber and any visible flue are checked, and accessible attic or crawl space areas near the chimney.
Crown, cap and flashing are looked at from above; a camera goes down the flue for a Level 2 or wherever the liner cannot be seen.
You receive the photos and findings. If work is needed, a written quote comes separately, with the $99 credited if you approve it.
What this work is quoted at for Tacoma homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in Tacoma | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| Chimney Inspection | $99 plus tax | Level 1 visual; Level 2 adds a full camera scan |
| Chimney Sweep | $189–$449 | Full flue swept, Level 1 inspection included |
| 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 |
Ranges are what these jobs are quoted at in Tacoma. 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.
A stove or insert without certification has been off-limits in Tacoma's smoke reduction area since October 2015: no sale, no gift, no reinstall, no fire in it. Open hearths are not covered by that rule, though they too must stay dark on burn ban days.
How do you tell? Look behind or beside the stove for the EPA compliance plate. A unit with all-steel doors, or with double glass doors, is usually an older uncertified design, and a UL sticker proves nothing about emissions. Finding that plate is part of every stove inspection we do.
Tacoma's long-record weather station shows January, at 6.08 inches, nearly as wet as November, and a summer that dries out almost completely, with July averaging just 0.74 inches. Across 1982 to 2016 the yearly total came to 39.76 inches.
Freezing nights are few, about 31.8 in a typical year at that station, so most chimney damage here comes from water soaking in over months rather than hard frost. Spalled brick, a stained chimney breast and rust on the damper are what we look for.
Tacoma is the port city the Northern Pacific Railroad chose in 1873 as the western terminus of its transcontinental line, on Commencement Bay, with the territory's oldest housing — about 27% of homes built in 1939 or earlier, in Queen Anne, Craftsman and Foursquare styles. We work every part of it — North Slope, Stadium-Seminary, Proctor, College Park, Buckley's Addition included.
TacomaPierce County, WA · 47.253, -122.444
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.
$99 plus tax for each chimney, Level 1 or Level 2 alike. Approve the quote we write afterward and that sum is subtracted from the work.
No state law requires one. The national standard names a change of ownership as a Level 2 occasion and CSIA backs that, which is why buyers in Tacoma often request it.
For a yearly check of a chimney that has not changed, usually yes. A sale, a new appliance, a relining plan or a quake or chimney fire calls for Level 2.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
