Tacoma, Pierce County
Chimney masonry work in Tacoma begins at $425, typically for rebuilding or resurfacing a small crown. Repointing is priced by how much of the stack needs new joints, which is why we measure before quoting. The goal on an old Tacoma chimney is restoration that lasts, with materials the original brick can live with, not a hard shell that traps water behind it.
Typical investment
From $425
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$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.
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.
Brick in Tacoma's older districts was laid with lime-rich mortar, softer than today's mixes, and much of it has been patched over the decades with whatever was at hand. On a North Slope or Stadium house the first job is often undoing a past repair that is now doing more harm than the original wear.
The North Slope Historic District was built in three bursts: 1888 to 1893, 1902 to 1915 and 1919 to 1929. Close to 80 percent of its buildings date from before 1930, spread across 1,285 recorded resources on 228 acres.
Each boom used the brick and mortar of its day, so two chimneys on the same block can need quite different repairs. A big house from the first boom may have one massive stack serving several fireplaces; its crown covers all of them, and a crack in it lets water into every flue at once.
Every masonry repair (crown / repointing) we do in Tacoma includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowThe typical Tacoma list: a thin mortar crown cracked through and letting water into the core of the stack, joints eroded half an inch deep on the weather side, brick faces popped off where hard cement was smeared over soft brick, and white mineral bloom showing where water is travelling through the wall.
Old chimneys here are unreinforced masonry, the category Washington's Tacoma fault scenario singles out as prone to partial or full collapse in its modeled magnitude 7.1 event. The geologic record shows the fault zone has done this before, roughly 850 to 1,240 years ago, and the county's most recent strong shaking came from a different source, the deep 6.8 Nisqually quake of 2001 under Anderson Island.
Repointing will not make a chimney quake-proof, but loose joints and a cracked crown are where failure starts. Restoring the bond between brick and mortar, especially in the unsupported part above the roof, is the most useful masonry step an owner can take.
Where a wide chimney meets a sloped roof, Washington's residential code (R1003.20) calls for a cricket on any stack over 30 inches across that is not on the ridge. We check for one whenever water is getting into the masonry from the uphill side.
The state updates that code on a cycle: the 2021 edition became mandatory on March 15, 2024, and the 2024 edition is set to follow on May 3, 2027. Separately, Tacoma's local historic districts can require design review for permitted changes to a contributing building's chimney.
Crown, joints and brick faces are checked course by course, and old patches are tested to see what they are made of.
Mortar is chosen to be no harder than the brick, so that future movement and moisture pass through the joint, not the brick.
Failed joints are cut out to a sound depth and packed in layers; the crown is formed with an overhang and a slope away from the flue.
New mortar is covered against rain until it sets, and each stage goes into a photo set you keep.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Masonry Repair (Crown / Repointing) | From $425 | Crown work, repointing and tuckpointing by surface area |
| 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 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.
Owners who restore a chimney often rethink what burns in it. The regional clean air agency has a cash offer for exactly that moment: $500 for hauling a still-working uncertified stove or insert, or a certified model below the 2020 EPA limits, to an approved recycler yourself.
Whatever you burn, Stage 1 bans still close open wood fireplaces and uncertified devices, and Stage 2 closes every wood and pellet appliance, unless a home has an approved exemption as its only adequate heat.
Tacoma's main climate record gives a yearly precipitation average of 39.76 inches and about 31.8 nights at or under 32°F, with December alone accounting for some 9.3 of those. Hard freezes are the exception; months of wet brick are the rule.
That changes how masonry fails. Frost plays a smaller part; Tacoma brick mostly wears from saturation, with joints eroding and faces loosening where water sits. Good repointing and a crown that throws water clear are what break that cycle.
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.
From $425, usually for a crown. Repointing depends on the surface involved; a full stack costs well above a patch, and the quote lists each part.
Sealant over failed joints hides the problem for a season and can trap water in the brick. The joints have to be rebuilt; waterproofing comes after.
We aim to. Mortar color and joint profile are matched to the sound parts of the stack, and salvaged brick is used where it helps.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
