Lakewood, Pierce County
Sweeping one flue in Lakewood costs between $189 and $449. The bottom of that range fits a single-story ranch with an open fireplace that was cleaned last winter; the high end is a steep roof, a stove that has run hard all season, or a flue nobody has touched in years. Either way the brush goes the full height of the flue, the smoke chamber gets scraped, and you see photos of the inside before and after.
Typical investment
$189–$449
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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 Lakewood home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for Lakewood homes.
Level 1 or Level 2 as needed; Level 2 includes a camera run through the entire flue
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Loose or damaged brick, open joints and firebox panels repaired
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A full-length stainless-steel or cast liner, firebox to chimney top
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A stainless cap sized to your actual flue dimensions
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Burner, pilot assembly and valve cleaned and adjusted
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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.
Most Lakewood chimneys we sweep belong to houses built in the 1960s and 1970s, on the residential streets back from the water. Those are usually one brick flue serving a living-room fireplace, sometimes with a wood insert added later. A smaller group of older lake houses along American Lake carry taller stacks and, now and then, a second fireplace downstairs, and each flue on those is swept and photographed on its own.
Lakewood's median home was built in 1975, going by the newest five-year Census estimates, and nearly six in ten homes here predate 1980. So the typical flue we brush here has been in service for about half a century, lined with the clay tiles it was built with.
Brushing is when those tiles show themselves. Once the soot is off, a missing mortar joint or a cracked tile near the smoke chamber is visible in the photos, and on a fireplace that now carries an insert we also check that the insert's pipe reaches all the way up rather than stopping at the damper.
Every chimney sweep we do in Lakewood includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowThe Lakewood burning season is long and damp. WeatherSpark puts the wetter stretch of the year at about 6.7 months, from early October to May 1, with November averaging roughly 8 inches of rain. A fire that is fed wet wood, or damped down overnight in that weather, burns cool and smoky, and that is how glazed creosote builds inside a flue. The state fire marshal's office recommends having a professional check and clean the chimney once a year; in a Lakewood home that burns most nights, treat that yearly visit as a floor.
The 2001 Nisqually earthquake, magnitude 6.8, started about 52 km beneath Anderson Island, in Pierce County's own corner of the Sound. Across the region, FEMA found chimney damage in roughly one of every three homes it inspected.
A sweep looks at the flue from its ends. If your chimney has never been examined since a shake, the standard NFPA 211 and CSIA practice is a Level II inspection with a camera run through the whole flue, which we can add to the same visit.
Drop cloths go down around the hearth, the opening is sealed and the vacuum runs for the whole job, so soot stays out of the room.
The flue is brushed its full height, from below or from the roof depending on the chimney, then the smoke shelf and chamber are scraped by hand.
With the deposits gone, we check the tile joints, the damper and the top of the chimney, and photograph anything that needs attention.
You see the before and after pictures on site. Anything beyond a sweep is quoted in writing, and nothing more is done without your go-ahead.
What this work is quoted at for Lakewood homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in Lakewood | 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 |
Ranges are what these jobs are quoted at in Lakewood. 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.
Puget Sound Clean Air Agency calls burn bans for Pierce County in two stages. In Stage 1, wood fireplaces and uncertified stoves and inserts must stay cold; in Stage 2, every wood fireplace, stove and insert, certified or not, joins them, and so do pellet stoves. The only exception is a home approved in advance because the device is its only adequate heat.
Before lighting a freshly swept fireplace on a cold, still evening, check the agency's status page or its line at 800-595-4341. Those calm winter nights are the ones most likely to bring a ban.
Lakewood is a city incorporated in 1996 around a string of lakes where Tacoma families first built lodges in the late 1800s, on American Lake, with homes with a median build year of 1975, about 59% of them built before 1980.
LakewoodPierce County, WA · 47.172, -122.519
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.
$189 to $449 for each flue. Access, the amount of buildup and the type of appliance set where your job falls, and you hear the price before the brushes come out.
At least once a year if you use it, which is what the state fire marshal recommends. A wood stove or insert burned most evenings through the wet months may need a second visit.
Yes. A steep or high roof takes more setup and sits toward the top of the price range, and we tell you that when you book.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
