Rainier Beach, King County
Removing creosote from a Rainier Beach chimney starts at $245. That covers buildup a standard brush leaves behind but rotary chains or a scraper can break loose in one visit. Shiny glaze that needs a chemical softener first, or buildup heavy enough for a return trip, costs more; the camera tells us which applies.
Typical investment
From $245
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 Rainier Beach home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for Rainier Beach 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.
This neighborhood began as wood country. When an 1898 landslide wrecked the millhands' homes farther up the lake, the valley's last sawmill relocated to Rainier Beach, by the account of HistoryLink and Seattle's Mount Baker survey; Kubota Garden itself started in 1927 on five acres of logged-off swamp, Wikipedia notes. The forests are long gone and today's firewood arrives by the cord, which is where creosote usually starts. Washington's Department of Ecology says to split wood, stack it under cover and let it season a year or more, checking it with a moisture meter before it goes in the firebox. Wet wood burns cool and smoky, and the tar that does not leave by the top condenses on the flue walls.
Every creosote removal we do in Rainier Beach includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowCreosote is a fire risk first, and in this region it is also an air quality issue. State law limits chimney smoke to 20 percent opacity, and agency inspectors, trained to judge it by sight, cite six straight minutes above that within an hour. During a declared burn ban, WAC 173-433-150 starts a three-hour countdown, after which any visible smoke from a chimney counts as evidence of illegal burning. A flue choked with glaze makes a fire smolder and smoke more, so removing the deposit is part of staying on the right side of both.
On video we can tell powder from flakes from glaze. Each needs a different tool and the price follows that.
Rotary chains or scrapers for brittle deposits; for glaze, a treatment is applied and given time to work.
Loosened material is brushed down, vacuumed from the smoke chamber and carried out in sealed bags.
A second camera pass checks the liner underneath. Glaze can hide cracks from an earlier chimney fire.
What this work is quoted at for Rainier Beach homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in Rainier Beach | 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 Rainier Beach. 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.
Rainier Beach is a neighborhood in the southeast corner of Seattle, just inside the city limits, on the lakeshore, with homes in a ZIP code area (98118) where roughly one unit in four was built between 1950 and 1969.
Rainier BeachKing County, WA · 47.523, -122.262
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.
For heavy creosote, other Seattle companies publish $300 to $600 and up; that range comes from Mad Hatter Chimney Sweep's cost page, read October 4, 2026, and is not our quote. Ours starts at $245 because not every deposit needs the heavy approach.
Creosote-removing logs can soften light deposits, but they do not take glaze off a flue and nobody sees what is left. A camera is the only way to know.
Dry wood, smaller loads and fires that burn hot for the first half hour. The state fire marshal also asks that ashes cool completely and then wait outdoors, away from the house, in a lidded metal can.
The camera passes are part of this job. If the liner looks cracked we will say so, and a full inspection of the rest of the chimney is $99 plus tax, an amount we take off any repair quote you agree to.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
