Seward Park, King County
Waterproofing a Seward Park chimney costs $285 to $795 with us. The spread follows the surface: a short stack with one flue on an easy roof is near the bottom, a tall two-flue chimney that needs scaffold planks or a lot of cleaning is near the top. The product is a vapor-permeable repellent, which lets moisture inside the brick escape while keeping rain from soaking in.
Typical investment
$285–$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 Seward Park home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for Seward Park homes.
Level 1: every reachable component checked, with a Level 2 camera run added if something stays unclear
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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
Learn moreRanges shown for orientation — the exact figure is written up on-site, after the inspection.
HistoryLink's 2001 sketch of Seward Park put home ownership at roughly 80 percent, and a later essay lists the neighborhood among the more affluent parts of the 98118 ZIP area. People who own and stay tend to ask about upkeep in terms of years, and water repellent belongs in that conversation. It is not a one-time fix: a coat lasts a few seasons, and it only works on brick that is clean and mortar that is sound. We treat it as the final step after repairs, never as a cover for them.
A 2.4-mile path follows the edge of the park's peninsula, Wikipedia notes, so the neighborhood sits beside a long run of open water. The Western Regional Climate Center records prevailing winds from the south or southwest during the wet season and gives the lowlands from the border down to Seattle an annual total in the low-to-mid thirties, in inches. We have no figures for wind on this shore in particular.
For a repellent job, that wind direction decides where we spend the effort. A chimney face turned toward the south takes rain at an angle, often for hours, and dries last. We check that face first, saturate it most carefully, and test it again before calling the job done.
Every chimney waterproofing we do in Seward Park includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowThe wet half of the Seattle year, as WeatherSpark tallies it, opens around October 10 and closes at the end of April. November is the soggiest month, about seven and a half inches spread over close to seventeen wet days. Brick takes that water in like a sponge. A breathable repellent cuts how much it absorbs during those months, which slows spalling and keeps moisture off the flue and the framing beside it. A film-forming sealer would do the opposite, trapping water behind a skin, so we do not use one on masonry.
We wet a section and watch how fast it drinks, which tells us whether repellent will help or whether repairs come first.
Moss, dirt and loose material come off; joints that are open get filled and allowed to set.
Repellent goes on in a dry window, saturating the face from the bottom up, with a separate crown treatment.
Water beads on the treated brick when we test it. You get photos and the product details.
What this work is quoted at for Seward Park homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in Seward Park | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| Chimney Waterproofing | $285–$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 $425 | Masonry repair — brick and mortar, scoped after diagnosis |
Ranges are what these jobs are quoted at in Seward Park. 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.
Under the canopy that spreads from the park's old forest, moss and algae find brick quickly. Oregon State University Extension advises cleaning a surface before applying any moss treatment and notes that growth returns unless shade and moisture change. The same order holds for repellent: it soaks into clean brick, not into a living film.
So the first hour of a waterproofing visit is cleaning. We remove growth with a soft brush and a gentle rinse, never a high-pressure wand that would scour the brick face, and let the stack dry before anything is applied. Where a branch keeps the chimney in permanent shade, we suggest trimming it, because the treatment will last longer in light.
Seward Park is a Seattle neighborhood named for the 300-acre park on its peninsula, on the lakeshore, with homes in a ZIP code area (98118) where about six in ten housing units are detached houses and the median build year is 1968.
Seward ParkKing County, WA · 47.551, -122.258
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.
Several years on a stack in good condition. The faces that take the most weather wear first, and a quick wet test tells us when to recoat.
We wait for a run of dry days. Wet brick refuses the product, which is why the bulk of this work is scheduled from late spring through early fall.
If there is a leak, yes, since repellent will not stop water coming through flashing or a cracked crown. The inspection runs $99 plus tax per stack and is credited against the work if you approve it.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
