Northgate, King County
Our chimney inspection in Northgate has a single rate per chimney: $99 plus tax. Approve a repair in writing afterward and the whole of that rate is credited against it. A camera run, a climb into the attic or an hour spent identifying an unlabeled insert does not change it. What you get is a written report with photos, sorted by urgency.
What we charge
$99 plus tax
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 Northgate home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for Northgate homes.
The whole flue brushed, using heads picked for the liner's size and shape
Learn more
A photo assessment that distinguishes surface wear from structural damage
Learn more
Camera survey and measurements taken before any liner is chosen
Learn more
Measurement of each flue, or of the crown when a single cap will span several
Learn more
Glass removed, cleaned and checked for a sound gasket
Learn more
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.
Northgate's housing is mixed. In ZIP area 98125, detached houses are 46.0% of housing units and buildings with 50 or more apartments are 24.5%, by the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 estimates. Wikipedia lists Haller Lake, Pinehurst and Licton Springs among the district's sub-areas. Nearly all of it postdates 1940, and the ZIP area's median year built is 1974. An inspection here seldom concerns century-old brick. More often the question is what a previous owner added, and whether it went in the way its maker required.
A fireplace as old as the median home in ZIP area 98125, built in 1974, may have been altered two or three times: an insert pushed in, a gas log set later, a liner added or not. The codes treat each layer separately. Section 905.1 of the 2021 Seattle Mechanical Code puts fireplace inserts under UL 1482 and pellet appliances under ASTM E1509. A factory-built chimney must itself be listed and labeled, and where it serves a solid-fuel appliance in a dwelling it must be Type HT, tested to UL 103.
So the first minutes of the inspection go to reading metal plates. A label gives the model, the required clearances and the chimney the unit was tested with; without it nobody can confirm that the installation matches. When the plate is gone, we photograph whatever identifies the unit and tell you plainly that conformity could not be established.
Every chimney inspection we do in Northgate includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowThree things get checked that a homeowner cannot see. First, the label: Seattle's mechanical code wants a fireplace insert to carry a UL 1482 listing and to be set up the way its manual says, so a missing or unreadable label is a finding in itself. Second, the connection between appliance and flue. Third, the top. The residential code wants a chimney's outlet three feet clear of the roof at the point of exit and standing two feet above whatever part of the house lies within ten feet of it, and a dormer or second story added since can leave it short.
We note the age of the house, known remodels, and which appliances have come and gone.
The fireplace, insert or stove is examined and its rating label photographed. If there is none, the report says so.
A light, mirror or camera follows the vent path from appliance to cap, looking for gaps, corrosion and blockages.
Chimney height, cap, crown or chase cover, and flashing are checked from the roof or by pole camera.
Your report separates safety items from maintenance, each with a price where we can do the fix.
Two stages make up an air quality burn ban in Seattle, and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency declares both. Stage one keeps a Northgate fireplace unlit, together with any wood stove or insert that lacks an EPA certificate. Under the second, certified stoves and pellet stoves go cold too. One exception exists at both stages, for homes with no other adequate heat that obtained the agency's exemption beforehand.
That is why our report states whether the appliance is an open fireplace, a certified unit or an uncertified one: the answer decides on which days it may be lit. For the exemption, adequate has a definition. The agency measures it as 70°F kept in lived-in rooms, read three feet off the floor. A Northgate furnace that works but costs a lot to run still counts as adequate heat.
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 Inspection | $99 plus tax | Level 1 visual; Level 2 adds a full camera scan |
| Chimney Sweep | $209–$459 | Full flue swept, Level 1 inspection included |
| 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 |
| Chimney Cap Installation | $265–$850 | Stainless cap fitted; multi-flue and custom at the top |
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.
A flat $99 plus tax per chimney. Sign the repair quote afterward and that $99 is deducted from it.
From the label, when there is one. Failing that, the Clean Air Agency suggests counting doors: one glass door plus an EPA label suggests a certified unit, whereas a pair of doors, solid metal or glass, generally marks an uncertified one.
We know of no city rule that demands one, and we will not invent it. Buyers ask because a chimney defect is expensive to discover after closing.
Allow about an hour and a half for one chimney, more when several appliances share it.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
