Phinney Ridge, King County
Fixing chimney flashing on Phinney Ridge runs from $375 for the smallest job to $1,495 for the biggest. The smallest: a counterflashing that has worked loose from its mortar joint, put back and sealed. The biggest: all of the old metal off, new step pieces and counterflashing on, and a saddle built at the back of a broad stack. In between, how steep the roof is and what it is covered with decide the hours of metalwork.
Typical investment
$375–$1,495
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$99 plus tax, deducted when you approve the repair
Not sure where to start
Pick what you're seeing at your Phinney Ridge home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for Phinney Ridge 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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Measurement of each flue, or of the crown when a single cap will span several
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Glass removed, cleaned and checked for a sound gasket
Learn moreRanges shown for orientation — the exact figure is written up on-site, after the inspection.
Flashing is where two trades meet, and on an old house it has usually been touched by several roofers. Each re-roof is a chance for the metal to be reused, bent back or buried in tar. Seattle makes re-roofing easy to do without paperwork: a new roof covering on a single-family house or a duplex is permit-exempt provided the envelope of the building stays as it was and the replacement is no worse than what came off. With about a third of the housing in Phinney Ridge's ZIP area dating from before 1940, many roofs here are on their fourth or fifth covering, and the chimney joint has been reworked every time.
Every chimney flashing repair we do in Phinney Ridge includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowWidth matters at the back of the chimney. Under R1003.20 of the Seattle Residential Code, once a chimney spans over 30 inches in the direction the ridge runs, a cricket must sit behind it, the small peaked saddle that splits the water and sends it around. Without one, a wide stack acts as a dam: rain and needles pile up on the uphill side and sit against the metal. A missing cricket is among the first things we look for when a leak shows on the ceiling above the fireplace.
Flashing is designed for water that runs downhill. It laps like shingles, each piece over the one below. Wind changes the direction of travel. In the Western Regional Climate Center's account, the lowlands around Puget Sound get their wet-season wind from the south or southwest at average speeds below 10 mph, and Seattle's emergency management office notes that winds speed up over hills and ridges and that major storms bring gusts as high as 90 mph.
On a ridge, then, rain can be pushed up and under a lap that would stay dry on sheltered ground. That is why we cut counterflashing into the mortar joint and do not rely on a surface bead of sealant, and why the laps on the south and southwest sides of a Phinney Ridge chimney get extra coverage. There is no wind gauge on the ridge to cite, only the pattern we find in the attic stains.
Attic first, roof second: we rule out the crown and the brick before blaming the flashing.
The shingles next to the stack come up and the old metal comes out, exposing the deck.
Step pieces go in course by course, then a groove is sawn into the mortar to receive the counterflashing.
The groove is sealed, the shingles are relaid, and the joint is run with water if the day is dry.
What this work is quoted at for Phinney Ridge homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in Phinney Ridge | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| Chimney Flashing Repair | $375–$1,495 | Reseal at the low end, full flashing replacement at the high |
| 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 Phinney Ridge. 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.
Phinney Ridge is a ridge-top neighborhood between Aurora Avenue N and 8th Avenue NW, named for Guy Phinney, with houses that followed the Phinney Avenue streetcar north between 1906 and 1909.
Phinney RidgeKing County, WA · 47.679, -122.355
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.
$375 to $1,495. A reseal sits at the bottom of that range and a complete replacement with a new cricket at the top.
Water near a chimney has several possible routes: the crown, the brick itself, or the metal. Our inspection sorts them out for $99 plus tax, with that sum applied to the repair once you approve it.
Sealant over failed metal lasts a season or two and hides the real condition. We reseal only when the metal underneath is sound.
Seattle exempts re-roofing on houses and duplexes when the envelope is unchanged. For flashing work tied to chimney reconstruction, we ask SDCI before starting.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
