Othello, King County
Removing creosote from an Othello flue starts at $245. Light, flaky first-stage deposit comes out with ordinary brushing and costs least. Crunchy, puffed second-stage buildup takes rotary tools and more hours. Third-stage glaze, the shiny tar that coats a liner like enamel, may need a chemical treatment and a return visit before it lifts. We grade the deposit with the camera and quote by stage.
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 Othello home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for Othello 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.
A ban on burning changes how a fire ends, and that matters here. When Puget Sound Clean Air Agency declares an air quality burn ban, the state rule gives households three hours; past that point, smoke you can see is treated as proof of illegal burning, so a fire already going gets no more fuel. A fire left to die with the air turned down smolders, and smoldering is how creosote forms fastest. Across Seattle, including the blocks between Othello station and Othello Playground, the clear, still winter spells that bring bans is also the weather in which people most want a fire.
Roughly a quarter of ZIP 98118's housing went up between 1950 and 1969, Census tables show. Where a house of that period has had a wood insert set into its original fireplace opening, the question we ask is whether a liner was run from the insert to the top. Without one, the insert's narrow outlet empties into a passage many times its size, the smoke slows and cools, and creosote condenses on the masonry above.
CSIA's guidance treats that kind of deposit seriously: sweep an open brick fireplace when soot reaches 1/8 inch, or right away if any glaze is present. Glaze in an unlined, oversized flue is hard to remove and easy to ignite. When we find it above an insert, removal is the first step and a correctly sized liner is the recommendation that follows, because the same fire in the same flue will rebuild the same coat.
Every creosote removal we do in Othello includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowWood is rarely anyone's furnace here: across the 98118 ZIP area, Othello included, the Census finds only a few dozen households relying on it. Occasional fires are the norm, and they have their own risk. A cold flue never warms fully during a two-hour fire, so smoke condenses on the walls instead of leaving. Wet wood makes it worse. Washington's Department of Ecology advises splitting firewood, stacking it under cover and letting it season a year or more, then checking it with a moisture meter. Wood bought in October and burned in November has not had that year.
The camera shows which stage of deposit coats the flue, and where it is thickest.
Brushes for flaky deposit, rotary heads for crusted layers, a chemical modifier for glaze.
We work in passes from the smoke chamber up, vacuuming as we go so nothing settles in the room.
A second camera pass confirms the liner surface is clean, and shows any cracks the deposit hid.
You get notes on firewood, air settings and how soon to look again.
What this work is quoted at for Othello homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in Othello | 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 Othello. 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.
Othello is a Seattle light-rail neighborhood beside the rebuilt NewHolly community, with NewHolly houses and townhomes finished by 2005 on the site of a 1943 wartime housing project.
OthelloKing County, WA · 47.538, -122.276
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 $245. First-stage deposit is at the low end; thick stage-two flakes or stage-three glaze, which take chemicals and a return trip, cost more, quoted once graded.
Mad Hatter Chimney Sweep, another Seattle company, publishes $300 to $600 and up for heavy second- and third-stage removal. Their figure, not our quote.
It can loosen some light deposit, but it does not remove glaze or replace brushing. We would rather look first.
If you are not sure what stage you have, it is the right start: $99 plus tax, and credited toward the removal if you approve the quote.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
