Fremont, King County
Waterproofing a Fremont chimney runs $320 to $795. What separates the two ends is square footage and reach. A short stack treated from the roof deck, joints already sound, is the $320 visit. A wide chimney exposed on three sides down to the foundation, or one that needs ladders moved around a tight side yard, climbs toward $795. The product is a vapor-permeable water repellent, brushed or sprayed on until the brick stops drinking it. It is not paint and leaves no film.
Typical investment
$320–$795
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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 Fremont home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for Fremont 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.
Fremont began as a mill settlement. Its sawmill company dates from May 1888, and promoters handed out a hundred lots to people willing to build and live on them, one of them later recalled. Take ZIP area 98103, where the Census files Fremont: of 28,631 housing units, 9,936 were standing by 1939. That is 34.7 percent, where Seattle as a whole manages 22.8. Brick that has stood in the weather since before 1940 has had a long time to open its pores, and a water repellent of today's kind did not exist when it was laid.
Just under 38 inches of precipitation a year: that was the average at Portage Bay, the gauge on the Lake Union side, during its 26 years of readings. Fremont lies along that lake's outlet, the cut finished in 1916. On WeatherSpark's calendar Seattle's wetter season opens October 10, closes April 30 and so fills more than half the year; the same source finds clear or partly clear skies in January barely 29 percent of the time.
Rain alone does not ruin brick. Rain without drying does. Through the dark months a chimney is wetted again and again and gets almost no sun to dry it, so the water it absorbed in November is still there in February. A repellent shortens that cycle by keeping most of the water from entering at all, while its open pores allow what is already inside to evaporate on the rare clear day.
Every chimney waterproofing we do in Fremont includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowWaterproofing fails when it is applied over a problem. Repellent on a stack with open joints seals nothing, because water walks in through the gaps. Repellent over a film-forming sealer or paint cannot soak in. And a non-breathable coating locks existing moisture inside the brick, where frost can work on it. So the order matters: joints and crown first, a wash to remove soot and algae, a dry spell, then the repellent. We say no to a treatment when the masonry underneath is not ready for it.
Flashing, crown and cap are looked at first; a repellent does nothing for those.
The stack is cleaned and left to dry, since repellent only penetrates dry pores.
We work upward from the lowest course, wetting the brick until the liquid runs, so every pore takes its fill.
Water sprayed on a treated area beads and rolls off; that test is in your photos.
What this work is quoted at for Fremont homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in Fremont | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| Chimney Waterproofing | $320–$795 | Breathable sealer — reapplied every 3–5 years in this climate |
| 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 Fremont. 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.
Fremont is a neighborhood platted in 1888 beside what became the Ship Canal and annexed to Seattle in 1891, on Lake Union, with houses built mostly between 1902 and the end of the 1920s.
FremontKing County, WA · 47.651, -122.350
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.
One local chimney firm publishes a life of 5-10 years for repellent on masonry and tells Seattle-area owners to plan on a fresh coat at year 5, 6 or 7. We tell customers to judge by the brick: when it darkens in rain again, the treatment has worn.
No sheen and no color shift once dry. On a street-facing chimney we treat a small test patch first if you want proof.
An assessment on the roof is an inspection: $99 plus tax, counted per chimney. Book the waterproofing we quote from it and you pay $99 less for the treatment.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
