Northgate, King County
Masonry repair on a Northgate chimney is priced from $475. For that, a Northgate crown gets a new surface, or a small patch of open joints gets repointed. The area to repoint, the choice between coating the crown and recasting it, and how the stack is reached account for anything above that. Before any of that, we inspect for $99 plus tax; approve the masonry quote and that sum is subtracted from your bill.
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 Northgate home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for Northgate 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.
Snow is rare in Northgate's part of Seattle, and hard cold is rarer, but both happen. The Sand Point record, in northeast Seattle, averages 3.6 inches of snow a year, yet the single month of December 1996 piled up 17.9 inches at that station, and the same station has read 10°F, on December 21, 1990. Its December lows average 36.6°F. Brick and mortar that are saturated when one of those cold snaps arrives are the ones that spall.
Only 7.6% of the housing units in ZIP area 98125 were built before 1940. The bulk came in the three decades after 1950, and the median year is 1974. A masonry chimney of that generation has had fifty to seventy-five wet seasons on its original mortar.
Age alone decides nothing; exposure does. But FEMA's chimney advisory makes a point worth knowing here. It ranks old unreinforced brick stacks whose mortar has gone weak as the first to fail in an earthquake, then warns that a modern, code-built masonry chimney can be badly damaged too. Sound mortar is what holds either kind together. And rebuilding is no longer copying: for a new masonry fireplace, Seattle amendment R1001.7.1 adds requirements the 1960 original never met, namely a flue damper that closes tight, a supply of outside combustion air with a damper of its own, and close-fitting doors of glass or metal.
Every masonry repair (crown / repointing) we do in Northgate includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowThe crown cracks first, because it lies flat and takes rain and sun directly. Water then travels down inside the top courses, and the joints there open from behind. By the time mortar is visibly missing on the street side, the top three or four courses may be loose. Repointing done early is a few hours' work. Left another decade, it becomes a rebuild from the roofline.
Each face is checked by eye and by tapping. Hollow-sounding brick and soft joints are marked.
The quote gives the square footage to repoint and the crown option chosen, with photos showing why.
Marked joints are cut back to firm mortar and the dust is flushed out.
New mortar of compatible strength and color is pressed in by layers and finished to the old joint shape.
The crown is repaired last so that it sheds onto finished work, then the roof is cleared of debris.
What this work is quoted at for Northgate homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in Northgate | 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 Northgate. 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.
Northgate is a district that grew around the shopping mall opened in 1950 and joined Seattle in 1954, with postwar houses and apartments, in a ZIP area whose median build year is 1974. We work every part of it — Haller Lake, Pinehurst, Licton Springs included.
NorthgateKing County, WA · 47.707, -122.327
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.
It starts at $475. Square footage, crown work and access set the final figure, which you hold in writing before we begin.
Seattle does not ask for a building permit to repoint a chimney; its exemption list says so by name. Exempt or not, the work must meet code.
Decades, if the crown above it keeps water out. That is why we never repoint under a failed crown without fixing the crown too.
Closely. We lay a small test patch, let it cure and compare before doing a whole face.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
