Brighton, King County
Creosote removal on a Brighton chimney starts at $245. At that price the deposit is still crumbly, like coffee grounds, and stiff brushes with a power sweep clear it in a single visit. Sticky, tar-like buildup takes rotary chains and more hours; glazed creosote, hard and shiny like enamel, may need a chemical treatment that softens it over days before a return visit. The price follows the grade, and we film the flue so you can see the grade yourself. Mad Hatter Chimney Sweep posts $300 to $600 for heavy creosote work, a Seattle market range that is theirs and not our quote.
Typical investment
From $245
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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 Brighton home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for Brighton 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.
Brighton is one of the Rainier Valley neighborhoods on the Wikipedia list, between Hillman City and Rainier Beach, and the regional clean air agency that covers all of King County watches its air too. Late fall and winter worry that agency most, and the Western Regional Climate Center says why: when the weather turns clear and windless, an inversion lid forms over the lowlands and smoke stops rising out of them. Those are the cold, still nights when people most want a fire, and the same conditions that make chimney smoke hang low make a smoky, creosote-choked flue a problem for the whole street.
Postwar houses weigh heavily in the census picture for Brighton's ZIP area, 98118, where one unit in seven went up in the 1950s and one in eight in the 1960s. HistoryLink's Brighton essay dates the neighborhood's own expansion by its schools, the board's 1948 pick of ground for a junior high and the Graham Hill building of 1960.
When a fireplace in a house of that age has since been given a wood insert, that is where we find some of the worst creosote. An insert vented straight into the old smoke chamber, with no liner running to the top, dumps cool smoke into a space far too big for it; tar collects on the chamber walls and the old tile where no brush from the room can reach. On a house from those years we pull the insert, or film behind it, before quoting a removal.
Every creosote removal we do in Brighton includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowWashington law looks at the smoke itself. A chimney may not show more than 20 percent opacity for six minutes running within any hour, and field staff learn to read that density by sight. When a ban is declared, Washington's curtailment section, WAC 173-433-150, grants three hours for a fire already lit to die down; smoke seen past that point is presumed unlawful. A flue lined with tarry creosote narrows the passage, slows the draft and turns a modest fire into a smoky one, and creosote itself is fuel: the State Fire Marshal counts chimney, flue and fuel-burner fires as 77 percent of Washington's residential heating fires in 2024.
The camera shows whether the deposit is loose, tarry or glazed, and how far up it goes.
The hearth is sealed off and the vacuum runs before any scraping starts.
Tools are chosen for the grade; glazed sections may be treated and left to soften.
A second camera pass confirms the tile underneath is clean and intact.
What this work is quoted at for Brighton homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in Brighton | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| Creosote Removal | From $245 | Priced by creosote stage — glazed stage 3 is the heavy end |
| 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 Brighton. 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.
Brighton is a Rainier Valley neighborhood of Seattle settled in the 1880s and named after the English seaside town, with homes in a part of the valley whose postwar growth brought a junior high site in 1948 and Graham Hill School in 1960.
BrightonKing County, WA · 47.535, -122.279
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.
Usually the wood or the burning habit. Ecology's guidance is to split firewood, stack it covered, let it season a year or longer and confirm it with a moisture meter. Fires kept small and smoldering for hours cool the flue and lay down tar quickly.
Of the three grades it clings hardest, and once lit it burns fiercely. A flue with glazing should not be used until it has been treated and checked.
The grading is done on camera as part of our inspection, $99 plus tax per chimney. When you go ahead with the removal, the $99 counts against its price.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
