Maple Leaf, King County
Masonry repair on a Maple Leaf chimney, meaning crown work or repointing, has a starting price of $475. A crown alone stays near that figure. For repointing, the price follows the area of joints we cut out and refill, so a chimney with one weathered face costs far less than one that needs all four done from staging.
Typical investment
From $475
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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.
The hill had buildings of substance well before the postwar boom. Waldo Sanitarium was founded in Maple Leaf in 1924 and, as Waldo General Hospital, stayed open until 1985. The plat itself goes back to 1894. Construction from the 1920s and from the 1950s therefore stands in the same neighborhood, and masonry of different ages does not take the same mortar.
Census counts for ZIP area 98115 put 20.2 percent of homes before 1940 and 28.5 percent in the two decades after. Maple Leaf, platted in 1894 and partly outside Seattle until 1954, has both. The practical consequence for a mason is that no single mortar recipe fits the neighborhood. We scratch-test the old joints and choose a mix softer than the brick, so that future movement cracks the mortar, which is cheap to redo, and not the brick, which is not.
On the regulatory side repointing is one of the simpler jobs. The Seattle Residential Code, in section R105.2, lists repointing a chimney among work exempt from a building permit, though the work still has to comply with the code. Rebuilding is another matter. If top courses must be relaid, the finished height has to respect R1003.9: three feet or more above the point where the chimney leaves the roof, and two feet higher than whatever part of the building stands within ten feet of it. We do not shorten a chimney to save brick, and for anything beyond repointing we ask SDCI first.
Every masonry repair (crown / repointing) we do in Maple Leaf includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowDeep cold is rare here and that is exactly the problem for mortar. Sand Point averaged just 3.6 inches of snow a year from 1986 to 2016, and only about one day a year stayed at or below freezing from dawn to dusk. Instead the station's lows touch freezing on roughly two dozen nights each winter, while the joints are wet. A joint that has eroded a quarter inch gives that water a shelf to sit on.
Every face is examined from staging or the roof. The area needing work is measured so the quote is specific.
Deteriorated mortar is removed to sound material without chipping the brick edges.
New mortar is pressed in layers, then struck to a profile that sheds rain.
The crown is brought to a condition where water runs off it and away from the brick.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Masonry Repair (Crown / Repointing) | From $475 | Crown work, repointing and tuckpointing by surface area |
| 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.
In everyday use the words overlap. What matters is the method: old mortar removed to a proper depth and replaced with a compatible mix. A surface smear under either name does not last.
On dry days above freezing, yes, with the fresh mortar protected while it cures. In a wet week we wait. Most repointing is scheduled from April to October.
It is billed as a chimney inspection: $99 plus tax. Accept the masonry quote and we subtract that amount from the total.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
