Chimney services in Normandy Park
- Chimney InspectionA close look at the flue, firebox, masonry and roof flashing, with photos you keep and a plain account of what’s urgent, what can wait and what can be left alone.
- Masonry Repair & TuckpointingRepointing worn mortar joints and replacing spalled brick on chimneys, using new mortar matched to the old so the repair does not harm the brick around it.
- Chimney Crown RepairSealing, resurfacing or recasting the slab on top of your chimney, with a real overhang, a drip edge and a flexible joint around the flue.
- Chimney Leak & Flashing RepairTracing where water really gets in around your chimney, then repairing the flashing, crown, cap or masonry responsible, with a written scope before any work.
- Chimney Cap InstallationChimney caps measured to your flue, single or multi-flue, to help keep rain, animals, debris and embers out, with the crown checked before anything is fitted.
- Chimney RebuildingTaking a failed chimney down to sound masonry and building it back up, above the roofline or further down, with the stopping point named in a written scope.
A town of mid-century houses
By Census estimates, the median Normandy Park home was built in 1962. About 47 percent of homes predate 1960, about 80 percent predate 1980, and fewer than 1 in 10 were built in 2000 or later. Roughly 84 percent are detached single-family houses.
A masonry chimney of that era has had six decades or more of wet winters. Crowns, mortar joints and the flashing where the stack meets the roof are the usual places to look first, and whether any of them needs work is something an inspection settles, with photos you keep.
Gas heat and shared chimneys
About 56 percent of Normandy Park households heat mainly with utility gas — a higher share than in Burien, SeaTac or Des Moines, by the same Census estimates.
In a house from the 1950s or 1960s, the chimney may carry more than fireplace smoke: a gas furnace or water heater can vent through its own flue in the same stack. That makes the liner, the cap and the masonry around that flue matter even if nobody has lit a fire in years. If an appliance is replaced or removed, the venting arrangement is worth checking at the same time.
How permits work in Normandy Park
Permits are issued by the City of Normandy Park through its Community Development Department and online permit portal. The city contracts its building official, plan review and inspection services to an outside consulting firm, but applications, fees and inspection requests all go through the city.
The city’s “Do I Need a Building Permit?” memo says a permit is required to alter or repair a building or structure, or to install, alter or replace any gas or mechanical system. Its short list of exempt work does not apply in a special flood hazard area or anywhere critical area review is required. Chimney work is not on that list, so ask the permit counter before a repair, reline or stove installation.
What you can tell us about
You do not need to know the cause. These are things homeowners describe when they get in touch — each one is something to assess on site, not a diagnosis.
Water where it should not be
Drips in the firebox, stains on a ceiling or wall beside the chimney, or a damp smell after rain.
Leak & flashing repairLoose mortar or damaged brick
Crumbling joints, brick faces flaking off, or bits of masonry on the roof or in the gutter.
Masonry repairA missing or damaged cap
No cap on the flue, a bent or rusted one, or signs that birds or animals have been getting in.
Cap installationSmoke or draft trouble
Smoke rolling into the room, a fire that is hard to keep going, or odors when the fireplace is not in use.
Chimney inspectionBuildup and a sweep that is overdue
You cannot remember the last cleaning, or you have bought a house and do not know the chimney's history.
Chimney sweepingA gas fireplace that will not light
A pilot that will not stay lit, ignition trouble, or soot on the glass. If you smell gas, leave the house and call 911 or your gas utility from outside.
Gas fireplace service
How a visit works
- 1Send the short form or call. Say what you have noticed; photos you took are welcome when we talk.
- 2We arrange a time with you, look at the chimney, and photograph what we find.
- 3You hear plainly what is urgent, what can wait, and what does not need doing.
- 4Repair work comes with a written scope and price. Nothing starts until you approve it.
- 5We photograph the finished work from the same angles, and the photos are yours to keep.
What affects the price
Prices come after the chimney has been seen, in writing. These are the things that move them:
- Condition
- What the inspection finds, and whether the cause of the damage is still active.
- Access
- Roof pitch, height, how many stories up the chimney sits, and whether staging is needed.
- Chimney size
- Height above the roof, width, and how many flues the stack carries.
- Materials
- Brick and mortar matched to what is there, crown and cap materials, liner type.
- Scope
- One targeted repair, several at once, or rebuilding part of the stack.
- Permits
- Whether the work needs a permit from the city or county that has jurisdiction at the address.
Normandy Park chimney questions
Who decides whether my chimney job needs a permit in Normandy Park?
The City of Normandy Park, through its permit counter and contracted building official. The city’s memo treats repairs and alterations as permit work unless they are specifically exempt, and the exemptions fall away in flood hazard and critical areas.
Is a wood fire allowed in Normandy Park during a burn ban?
Not in a fireplace. Normandy Park falls under the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, whose Stage 1 and Stage 2 bans both keep wood fireplaces unlit. Households that rely on wood as their only adequate heat can apply to the agency for an exemption, which must be approved before use.
Our furnace vents through the chimney. Should that change how we look after it?
It is a good reason to have the chimney checked even if the fireplace is never used. A furnace or water heater flue needs to be clear, lined and capped, and a problem there can be less obvious than one in a fireplace.
Does the weather here differ from the rest of the area?
Not much. The nearest long-term NOAA station, at Sea-Tac airport under 2 miles away, averages about 39 inches of precipitation and about 25 nights at or below freezing a year. It is the steady wet season, more than hard freezes, that wears on older masonry.
Useful local links
- Permits and Inspections — City of Normandy Park (opens in a new tab)
- Do I Need a Building Permit? (PAM #009) — City of Normandy Park (opens in a new tab)
- Air Quality Burn Ban Status — Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (opens in a new tab)
- Census profile: Normandy Park, WA — U.S. Census Bureau data via Census Reporter (opens in a new tab)