Chimney service in Seattle
Unlined and clay-lined masonry flues, and mortar repointed with the wrong mix. What we run into here, and why it is not what we run into three miles away.
What Seattle chimneys are actually like
Seattle’s pre-war housing stock is where we find the most unlined flues in the region — it was legal when those houses went up, and a great many of them have never been touched since. The second recurring problem is self-inflicted: soft lime mortar repointed at some point with modern high-strength Portland mix, which is harder than the brick and pushes the failure into the units it was supposed to save.
Add the tree cover and the moss that comes with it, and crowns here hold water for months at a time. On the steeper roofs in Queen Anne, Magnolia and Capitol Hill, access is its own consideration and we will tell you honestly if the weather makes roof work a bad idea that week.
The details
What to book in Seattle
- Maintenance plans The sweep, on a schedule
- Chimney sweeping The annual sweep
- Inspections Levels 1, 2 and 3
- Repair Crowns, leaks, masonry
Hearing something move in there? That one does not wait for a booking — stop using the fireplace and read this first.
A safer chimney starts with an honest look at it.
Booking takes a minute. Peak season here runs September through November.