University Place, Pierce County
Waterproofing a chimney in University Place costs $320 to $795. Stack height, the amount of brick standing above the roofline and whether the crown also needs a coat set where it lands. We use a breathable, vapor-permeable repellent, which keeps rain out of the brick while still letting moisture inside escape.
Typical investment
$320–$795
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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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Top-to-bottom brushing of flue and firebox under drop cloths, with a HEPA vacuum pulling the dust
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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
Learn moreRanges shown for orientation — the exact figure is written up on-site, after the inspection.
Nearly every masonry chimney in town is exposed brick above the roofline, and many are old enough for the brick to have turned porous. A sealer is not a repair, though. Where joints are open or the crown has split, rain just bypasses the treated brick, so the first step is always a look at the mortar and the crown before anything is sprayed.
University Place incorporated in 1995, joining about 8 square miles of what had been unincorporated Pierce County into one city, and part of that ground runs down to Puget Sound. Chambers Bay, the course that opened on the water in 2007, is its best-known stretch of shoreline.
Rain on the open water rarely falls straight down. It is driven sideways into whichever face of a chimney points at the storm, and that face is where brick soaks up the most. When we waterproof a stack on the west side of town, the weather face gets the most attention and the heaviest coat. And the stormy stretch is long: WeatherSpark counts roughly 6.3 windier months in University Place, from October 15 to April 25.
A repellent does its job on sun-dried brick. Oregon State University Extension's top long-term tip against roof moss is to trim back trees so sunlight reaches the roof, and the same shade that feeds moss keeps a chimney damp for days after rain.
Water that collects behind a wide chimney is the other weak spot. The state residential code wants a cricket, a small ridge that sends runoff around the stack, on chimneys over 30 inches wide that do not rise at the peak. Without one, debris and water sit against the brick and no sealer can keep up.
Every chimney waterproofing 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 University Place request comes after a stain: a damp patch on the ceiling next to the chimney, a white bloom on the brick, or water in the firebox after a wet week. Some of those are flashing or crown problems, and waterproofing would not stop them. When the brick itself is soaking up rain, a repellent is the right answer and one of the least expensive ways to protect a stack.
Joints, crown and flashing are inspected. If they need repair, that comes before any sealer, or the sealer is wasted.
The brick has to be dry for the repellent to soak in, so the job is scheduled around the forecast.
Loose grime and moss come off, then the repellent goes on in saturating coats from the crown down.
You get photos and the name of the product used, useful if the chimney is ever treated again.
Over 1982 to 2016, the Tacoma #1 weather station, nearest long record to University Place, saw its wettest months in November and January and its driest in July, at 0.74 inches. Its cold nights cluster in the same stretch, with December and January holding most of the roughly 32 frosts a year. That contrast is the whole scheduling problem for chimney sealing.
The repellent needs dry brick to penetrate, and brick that has been wet since October does not dry out in a day. That is why we book waterproofing for the dry months, and why a stack sealed in summer goes into the rainy season with its best protection.
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 Waterproofing | $320–$795 | Breathable sealer — reapplied every 3–5 years in this climate |
| 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 |
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.
$320 to $795. A short stack showing little brick sits near the bottom; a tall two-story chimney with a crown coat sits near the top.
Not with the product we use. It is vapor-permeable, so it lets water vapor out while stopping liquid rain from soaking in. Paint and plain silicone sealers do not breathe that way.
Only in a dry stretch. The brick needs to be dry and above freezing, so most of this work happens between late spring and early fall.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
