University Place, Pierce County
A chimney sweep in University Place costs $189 to $449, and the number depends mostly on the flue: one straightforward flue on a one-story house sits at the low end, while a steep pitch, a tall stack or thick buildup pushes it toward the top. Each visit includes a Level 1 look at the chimney, so you learn what state it is in as well as getting it clean.
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 University Place home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for University Place 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.
University Place became a city only in 1995, but most of its houses are older than the city itself. Close to half of the homes were built before 1980, which means plenty of fireplaces have seen forty winters of use, sometimes with gaps of several years between cleanings when a house changed hands. Across town we clean wood-burning fireplaces, stoves and inserts, whether near Chambers Bay or on the streets bordering Tacoma and Fircrest.
University Place has waterfront on Puget Sound, and the Chambers Bay golf course, opened in 2007, sits on that shoreline. Homes along that edge of town face open water, with little to break the weather. By WeatherSpark's reckoning, the windy part of the local year lasts about 6.3 months, overlapping almost exactly with fireplace season.
By state code a brick stack must top the spot where it exits the roof by at least 3 feet, which leaves the flue top as the highest, most weather-beaten point of any house. An uncapped flue there collects rain, leaves and nesting material, and all of it ends up in the sweep's bucket.
Moss grows well on shaded Northwest roofs, and Oregon State University Extension explains why it matters: the mat traps soil and debris that stay wet, and over time it can pry shingles up enough to let water into the roof beneath. Against a chimney, debris washing down the slope stops at the brick and piles up.
During a sweep we look at that corner from the roof. If moss is packing the joint between roof and chimney, we tell you, because that is where a slow leak into the chimney chase usually starts.
Every chimney sweep we do in University Place includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowThe typical call here is a fireplace that has not been swept since the current owners moved in. On a long, damp heating season, a fire that smolders on wet wood leaves a sticky glaze instead of dry soot, and that layer is what narrows the flue. We also find nests and blown-in debris on open flues without a cap, which is common on houses near the water where nothing blocks the weather.
Drop cloths go down in front of the hearth, and the vacuum is set up before any brush touches the flue.
The flue is brushed in sections while the vacuum pulls the loosened soot out, so the living room stays clean.
With the flue clean, we check the damper, the firebox joints, the liner we can see and the cap on top.
You get the photos and a plain note on anything worth fixing. Nothing is done beyond the sweep without your say.
There is no long weather record kept inside University Place itself, so we lean on the Tacoma #1 station next door. From 1982 through 2016 its yearly total came to 39.76 inches on average; November was the heaviest month at 6.82 inches, January close behind. Its temperature record shows roughly 32 lows a year at 32°F or colder, clustered in the heart of winter.
That is exactly when fireplaces here get used most, often with wood that never dried out over a short summer. Damp logs burn cool and leave more creosote on the flue walls, which is why a fireplace lit through a whole University Place winter should see a brush every year.
What this work is quoted at for University Place homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in University Place | 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 University Place. 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.
University Place is a city incorporated in 1995 and named for a university campus planned in the 1890s but never built there, on Puget Sound, with homes with a median build year of 1981, about half of them built before 1980.
University PlacePierce County, WA · 47.250, -122.552
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.
Between $189 and $449 per flue. Access, height and how much buildup there is set the final number, and you see it before we start.
The fire code standard, NFPA 211, wants the chimney looked at once a year; whether it also needs sweeping depends on what that look turns up. A fireplace used most winter evenings usually needs a yearly sweep; one lit a few times a season may go longer.
Yes. Stoves and inserts are swept through their flue or liner, and we look at the connector and the top of the liner at the same time.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
