Ballard, King County
Gas fireplace service in Ballard costs $189 to $479. The low end is a routine tune-up of a unit that is in good order; a neglected one whose burner, pilot assembly and glass all have to come apart is higher. Repairs are quoted separately, as a trip charge plus parts. When a unit must be diagnosed before we can say what it needs, we book the $99 plus tax inspection, a fee that is then set against the service once you approve the quote.
Typical investment
$189–$479
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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 Ballard home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for Ballard 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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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.
What sits in a Ballard living room depends on the block. Across ZIP area 98117, which lies to the north and west of the core and includes named parts such as Loyal Heights and Whittier Heights, nearly three housing units in four are detached houses. Near the canal, in ZIP area 98107, one unit in four is, and 29.1% are in buildings of fifty apartments or more. We service gas fireplaces in both settings. In either, the first thing we read is the rating plate, because the maker's manual, not the age of the building, says how the unit is vented and what it needs.
The Census Bureau's fuel table splits Ballard in two. North and west of the core (ZIP area 98117), 48.5% of occupied homes name utility gas as their main heating fuel, ahead of electricity at 41.7%. In ZIP area 98107 the order reverses: electricity 69.9%, gas 26.6%. Wood as a main fuel is close to absent in both.
Those figures describe the furnace or the baseboards, not the fireplace, since the survey records one main fuel per home. They do show where gas already reaches the house. For us that means two kinds of visit. One is a built-in unit that came with the building and may never have been opened since. The other is a gas appliance fitted into an older masonry fireplace, where we also check that the flue it vents through suits it. The rating plate says which one we are looking at; the address does not. Either way the State Fire Marshal's advice applies: working carbon monoxide alarms, and a professional look at the fireplace every year.
Every gas fireplace service we do in Ballard includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowA gas fireplace gives few warnings. Dust and spider webs clog the pilot and burner ports over a summer of disuse. The thermocouple or thermopile weakens until the pilot will not hold. Glass hazes with a white film, and the gaskets of a sealed unit harden. None of it is dramatic, and all of it costs less at a yearly service than in a cold snap. Seattle's cool season starts around November 12 by WeatherSpark's reckoning, so September or October is the time to have the unit looked at.
Make, model and venting type are read off the rating plate, so the service follows the manufacturer's own procedure.
Glass, logs and embers come out and are set aside in order.
Burner, pilot assembly and firebox are cleaned. Millivolt output and gas pressure are compared with the values in the manual.
Logs go back exactly where the maker's diagram puts them, since misplaced logs make soot.
The unit is fired, the flame pattern watched, vent and connections tested, and the readings are left with you in writing.
What this work is quoted at for Ballard homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in Ballard | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| Gas Fireplace Service | $189–$479 | Annual service and tune-up; repairs quoted after diagnosis |
| 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 Ballard. 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.
A tune-up replaces nothing that changes how the appliance was approved, and Seattle's code exempts minor work on a mechanical system, including the replacement of a component part, when the original approval is not altered. Past that point the rules tighten. Outside its short list of exemptions, SDCI's guide expects a permit for most projects, and it cites gas work and fireplace work as examples. The department also notes that its mechanical permit does not cover gas lines. So when a service visit ends with advice to replace the unit or reroute its vent, we check the requirements with SDCI before quoting dates.
On Ballard Avenue, where the city describes shops at street level with rooms above in buildings from the 1890s to the 1940s, a new vent outlet through a wall or roof would alter the exterior, and exterior changes in the landmark district need a Certificate of Approval before work starts. Servicing an existing unit raises no such question.
Ballard is a former mill town that joined Seattle in 1907 and runs from the Ship Canal north to NW 85th Street, on Shilshole Bay and Salmon Bay, with houses from before 1950 north and west of the old town and many newer buildings near the canal. We work every part of it — Loyal Heights, Whittier Heights, West Woodland, Adams included.
BallardKing County, WA · 47.668, -122.384
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.
$189 to $479 for a service visit. Parts and repairs beyond the tune-up are quoted on top, before we do them.
The unit's manual sets the routine, and we follow it. CSIA, pointing to NFPA 211, puts every fireplace and vent on a once-a-year check, gas included.
We service the appliance and test its connections. Altering gas piping is separate work with its own permit rules in Seattle. If the visit shows it is needed, we tell you.
That is a different job from servicing and is not priced on this page. It touches the gas supply, the flue and Seattle's permit rules. We can look at the fireplace and tell you what a conversion would involve.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
