Northgate, King County
Installed, a chimney cap in Northgate costs $265 to $850. The lower figure is a standard stainless cap on one masonry flue. A listed replacement cap for a factory-built chimney, a cover spanning several flues or a custom fit raises it, and so does a steep roof. Not sure what is up there? Our inspection, $99 plus tax, answers that, and the fee is subtracted from the cap price if you go ahead.
Typical investment
$265–$850
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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 Northgate home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for Northgate homes.
A Level 1 review of everything reachable, raised to a Level 2 camera scan when a question stays open
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The whole flue brushed, using heads picked for the liner's size and shape
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A photo assessment that distinguishes surface wear from structural damage
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Camera survey and measurements taken before any liner is chosen
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Glass removed, cleaned and checked for a sound gasket
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Crown and all four sides photographed before any work
Learn moreRanges shown for orientation — the exact figure is written up on-site, after the inspection.
Rain at the Sand Point station, in northeast Seattle, falls often and seldom hard. From 1986 to 2012 about 158 days a year had measurable precipitation, yet only some 20 of them reached half an inch and about 4 reached a full inch. The wettest day on record there, December 3, 2007, brought 4.15 inches. For an open flue in Northgate that means water coming in on roughly three days out of seven, year after year, and now and then a great deal at once.
Four housing units in ten in ZIP area 98125 were built between 1950 and 1979, the Census Bureau estimates. A house from those decades can carry either of two chimney types, and a cap is not interchangeable between them.
On a Northgate masonry chimney, the flue tile sticks up an inch or two past the crown. The cap clamps to that tile or anchors into the crown, and if it carries spark mesh, section R1003.9.2 of Seattle's residential code governs the opening size and requires the open mesh area to be no less than four flue outlets' worth. A factory-built chimney is a listed assembly under R1005.1, pipe and termination together, and where it serves a wood-burning appliance in a house it must be the Type HT kind tested to UL 103. A masonry-style cap on such a pipe, or a cap from another brand, takes it outside its listing. We check the label before ordering anything.
Every chimney cap installation we do in Northgate includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowWater is half the story. An uncapped flue is also an open door for birds and squirrels, and for whatever a windstorm strips from nearby trees; Seattle's emergency management office attributes much of the structural damage in the city's big windstorms to trees coming down. On a factory-built chimney the cap belongs to the listed system, and when it goes missing rain runs down inside the pipe to the firebox.
Where a label survives we read the chimney's brand and model. A factory-built chimney takes the cap its manufacturer lists; a masonry flue takes one sized to its tile.
Dimensions are taken on the roof. A stock size we carry can go on during the same visit.
A rusted cap or torn screen comes off, and the crown or chase cover beneath is checked for damage.
The new cap is fastened mechanically and sealed wherever the system calls for it.
A photo from the roof shows the result, and we verify that the flue still draws.
What this work is quoted at for Northgate homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in Northgate | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| Chimney Cap Installation | $265–$850 | Stainless cap fitted; multi-flue and custom at the top |
| Chimney Sweep | $209–$459 | 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 Northgate. 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.
Northgate is a district that grew around the shopping mall opened in 1950 and joined Seattle in 1954, with postwar houses and apartments, in a ZIP area whose median build year is 1974. We work every part of it — Haller Lake, Pinehurst, Licton Springs included.
NorthgateKing County, WA · 47.707, -122.327
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.
$265 to $850 installed. The type of chimney, the number of flues and roof access decide where in that range you land.
No. Seattle's code requires factory-built chimneys to be listed and labeled, and a listed system is tested with its own termination. We fit the part the manufacturer specifies or an approved replacement for it.
Yes. Seattle's code holds arrestor mesh to openings no smaller than three-eighths of an inch and no larger than half an inch. Tighter mesh plugs with soot, while looser mesh lets sparks and wildlife pass.
One Seattle chimney firm's published estimates: galvanized, 5 to 10 years; stainless, 15 to 20 and beyond. Ours are stainless.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
