Phinney Ridge, King County
A new liner in a Phinney Ridge chimney starts at $1,900. Height is the first thing that moves the price, and on a sloping lot the stack is often taller than it looks from the street. After that come the diameter the appliance calls for, any offset the liner has to bend through, and the chance that existing clay tile will need breaking away so the liner can pass. We measure with a camera before quoting, so the figure rests on the real flue and not on a guess.
Typical investment
From $1,900
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 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
Learn more
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
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.
Two numbers frame this job on the ridge. First, age: in ZIP area 98103, which takes in Phinney Ridge and four adjoining neighborhoods, 34.7% of the housing stock dates to 1939 or before, per the 2020 to 2024 census survey. Second, fuel: utility gas is the main heat in 39.6% of occupied homes there. Put together, that means many flues built generations ago for one kind of fire now carry the exhaust of something else. Seattle's residential code, section R1003.11, says a masonry chimney must be lined to suit the appliance it serves, and it can be met three ways. Clay tile is one, if made to ASTM C315. A listed system is another, UL 1777 being the test. The last is any approved material that shrugs off corrosion and 1,800°F heat.
Every chimney relining we do in Phinney Ridge includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowNo public record says which Phinney Ridge chimneys have sound tile, cracked tile or none, so the only honest way to know is to look. On permits, the city's guide has a brief list of exempt work and says that nearly everything else needs one; mechanical, gas, furnace and fireplace jobs are named. We have found no SDCI page that speaks to liners in so many words. So SDCI gets the question from us ahead of the job, and its answer reaches you in writing. Where a mechanical permit does apply, the department's stated timing is roughly 9 weeks from application for a standard one, or 24 hours for a simple job approved subject to field inspection.
The Western Regional Climate Center places yearly precipitation along the lowlands up to Seattle at 32 to 35 inches. That is modest for western Washington, but WeatherSpark's Seattle record shows how it is spread: in November, 16.7 days count as wet and the month's total is close to 7.5 inches.
Water reaches a liner from both directions. Rain enters at the top when the cap or crown has failed, and exhaust from a gas appliance carries water vapor that condenses on a cold, oversized flue. Either way the result is the same in old clay tile: joints wash out and tile faces flake. A correctly sized stainless liner warms quickly, drains to the appliance connection and is closed at the top by a plate and cap. We size it from the appliance data plate, never by eye.
The camera goes the length of the flue. We note its size, every offset and the state of the existing lining.
You receive the liner type, diameter and length in writing, with the price, before anything is ordered.
The flue is swept, and damaged tile is removed only where it blocks the new liner.
The liner is lowered from the roof, fixed at the top and joined to the appliance below.
Draft is checked with the appliance running and the photos go into your file.
A deep earthquake reaching magnitude 6.0 is, per Seattle's hazard profile, a once in 30 to 50 years event; 1949, 1965 and 2001 were the last three. FEMA's chimney guidance came out of a California event, and we use it only for how masonry behaves in general. For a chimney already damaged it prefers one of two routes. A retired fireplace can have its stack capped at roof level. A fireplace still wanted can be rebuilt above the firebox as a metal flue housed in light framing.
A liner is not that rebuild, and we say so plainly. It is a metal flue inside the brick you already have. Where our survey finds brick in poor condition, the report sets out both paths, relining alone or reconstruction of the upper stack, so you can weigh them with real figures.
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 Relining | From $1,900 | Full-length stainless liner, sized to the appliance |
| 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 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 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.
$1,900 is where it starts, for one appliance on a flue that is short and has no bends. Tall stacks, offsets and tile removal raise the price.
Yes: the camera survey belongs to the inspection, billed $99 plus tax. Once the relining quote is signed, we subtract the $99 from its total.
No. The code allows clay tile to ASTM C315, listed systems to UL 1777 and other approved materials rated for 1,800°F. For an existing chimney, a listed stainless system is usually the one that fits without rebuilding.
A liner protects the masonry from heat and exhaust. It does not reinforce the brick. Those are separate questions and our report treats them separately.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
