Columbia City, King County
Inspecting a Columbia City chimney costs $99 plus tax per flue system. We look at the stack from above, at the firebox and smoke chamber from within, send a camera up the flue, and write it all up with photos. Should a repair follow and you accept our price for it, we deduct the $99.
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 Columbia City home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for Columbia City homes.
Full-height brushing with a head chosen for clay tile or metal liner
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Photo assessment sorting surface wear from structural failure
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Video survey and flue measurements taken before ordering anything
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Flue-by-flue measurements, or the whole crown for a multi-flue hood
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Cleaning and testing of the burner, pilot assembly and igniter
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Starting photos: crown on top, then each side of the stack
Learn moreRanges shown for orientation — the exact figure is written up on-site, after the inspection.
The Columbia City Historic District went onto the National Register in 1980 with a period of significance that runs from 1891 to 1937; about 80 percent of the district's buildings date from those years. The nomination describes vernacular houses on the side streets and around the Columbia Green, where shopkeepers and workers lived. Paperwork for a chimney rarely survives that many owners. An inspection replaces the missing file: what the flue is lined with, whether it is lined at all, what was patched and when it stopped being sound.
Every chimney inspection we do in Columbia City includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowA sale is the usual moment to ask what shape a chimney is in, and the ground gives a reason to ask. The Seattle Fault runs through the center of the city, emergency planners note, and deep quakes above magnitude 6.0 recur every 30 to 50 years or so. When FEMA went through 30,000 houses after the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, a USGS open-file report says, roughly every third one had a damaged chimney. None of those sources maps damage street by street in Columbia City, so we do not guess: the camera and a look at the mortar above the roof tell us whether this particular stack has moved.
Three questions decide the paperwork for a chimney repair in this neighborhood, and an inspection answers each of them. The first is depth. Under Seattle's Director's Rule 5-2004, a repair that reaches lower than the smoke chamber's top stops being a repair: chamber and chimney both get rebuilt the way new construction would be, with a building permit, at any price. The camera shows exactly where the damage stops.
The second is cost. That same rule, in effect since December 1, 2004, lets chimney work under 4,000 dollars proceed without a permit. The 2021 Seattle Residential Code draws its own line at R105.2: minor repair work worth 6,000 dollars or less, counted over six months, is exempt. We have found no city document that reconciles the two, so the report states the scope and the city's construction department, SDCI, rules on which figure applies.
The third is the address. The core of Columbia City has been a Landmark District since 1978; there, outside alterations need a Certificate of Approval, and no permit is issued until it is granted. The city's page does not mention chimneys by name; visible masonry work falls under exterior changes, so our report records which faces of the stack can be seen from the street.
From the roof we photograph the crown, cap, flashing and every face of the stack.
Firebox, damper, smoke chamber and any exposed chimney in the attic are examined and measured.
A video camera travels the flue so cracked tiles, gaps at the joints and missing liner sections are recorded.
You receive the findings in writing, sorted by urgency, with a price for each repair we recommend.
What this work is quoted at for Columbia City homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in Columbia City | 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 $425 | Masonry repair — brick and mortar, scoped after diagnosis |
| Chimney Cap Installation | $235–$850 | Stainless cap fitted; multi-flue and custom at the top |
Ranges are what these jobs are quoted at in Columbia City. 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.
Columbia City is a former streetcar town in Seattle's Rainier Valley, founded in 1891 and annexed in 1907, with vernacular houses on the side streets of a brick commercial core, in a district whose buildings mostly date from 1891 to 1937.
Columbia CityKing County, WA · 47.560, -122.287
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.
No ordinance says so. The yearly check comes from NFPA 211, a consensus standard that CSIA quotes, and from the Washington State Fire Marshal's advice. It covers soundness, deposits and clearances, including for flues that are rarely used.
The fee covers the visit; the written report and photos remain yours. The deduction applies only to a quote you approve.
Yes. We open what can be opened without damage, run the camera from the top if the firebox is sealed, and tell you what it would take to bring the fireplace back into use.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
