Maple Leaf, King County
Removing creosote from a Maple Leaf chimney costs $245 and up. We set the price after a camera has shown how far the buildup has gone. Flaky deposits that a rotary whip can knock down stay near the minimum. A hard glaze covering the whole flue, or one that has run down into the smoke chamber, takes product, waiting time and a second pass.
Typical investment
From $245
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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 Maple Leaf home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for Maple Leaf 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.
Nobody is certain where the name Maple Leaf came from. HistoryLink offers two candidates: a Maple Saw Mill that once operated to the east, on the lake, or simply the maple trees that grew on the hill. Either way the neighborhood is named for wood, and wood is the subject of this service. Which species you burn matters far less than how dry the wood is and how much air the fire gets.
A masonry fireplace built in Seattle today must meet amendment R1001.7.1 of the residential code: a flue damper that closes tightly, tight-fitting doors in metal or glass, and outside combustion air arriving by way of a 6-square-inch or larger opening fitted with its own damper. Fireplaces that predate the requirement are not obliged to have any of this, and 48.7 percent of the homes in ZIP area 98115 were built before 1960, long before the current amendment.
Those features bear directly on creosote. Without doors and a dedicated air supply, the fire draws its air from the room and burns as the room allows, often slowly once the house is warm. Smoke from a slow fire is cooler and condenses more readily on the flue. We cannot change when a fireplace was built, but after a removal we can say which of the three items it has and which, such as doors, could be added.
Every creosote removal we do in Maple Leaf includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowSeattle winters are cool, not cold. By WeatherSpark's calendar the cool season opens on November 12 and closes on March 1, some 3.6 months, with December averaging a 47-degree high and a 38-degree low and readings seldom under 28. In weather that mild people keep a fire low to avoid overheating the room. A low fire in a wide flue sends up cool, slow smoke, and that smoke leaves tar on the walls on its way out.
The camera establishes the kind of deposit and the share of the flue it has coated.
Rotary tools remove sooty and flaky buildup, with a vacuum running at the hearth.
Chemical remover is applied where the creosote is glazed. After it has reacted, the softened layer is swept out.
A second video shows the flue walls. Any crack that was hidden by the deposit is reported.
Heavy creosote and heavy smoke have the same origin, a fire burning badly, and smoke is what the regulations measure. Under WAC 173-433-150, once a burn ban has been declared, a chimney still showing smoke three hours later is, in the rule's words, prima facie evidence that the ban was broken. Anyone who already had a fire going is expected to stop feeding it.
Outside of bans there is a quieter rule. Smoke that bothers the people next door is classed by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency as a nuisance (Regulation I, Section 9.11), enforceable at any time of year. In a residential neighborhood, a chimney that smokes thickly is noticed. A flue cleared of glaze, dry wood and a fire given enough air produce far less to see, which is the outcome both the agency and the next sweep are after.
What this work is quoted at for Maple Leaf homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in Maple Leaf | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| Creosote Removal | From $245 | Priced by creosote stage — glazed stage 3 is the heavy end |
| 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 Maple Leaf. 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.
Maple Leaf is a hilltop neighborhood that reaches 466 feet at 92nd Street and Roosevelt Way, with houses from before 1940 through the 1950s, on both sides of the old city limit at 85th Street.
Maple LeafKing County, WA · 47.696, -122.317
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.
Smoke that cools before it leaves the chimney. Unseasoned wood, a starved fire and an oversized or exterior flue are the usual reasons. Fix the cause and the glaze is far less likely to return.
They can dry out light deposits and make them easier to brush. They do not remove glaze by themselves, and they are no substitute for seeing the flue on camera.
The camera inspection is $99 plus tax per chimney. If creosote removal follows and you approve the quote, that charge is deducted from it.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
