Chimney services in Pacific
- 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.
- Gas Fireplace Service & RepairService and repair for gas fireplaces and gas inserts: pilot and ignition trouble, sooty glass, odd flames, odors, and the vent or chimney the unit uses.
- Chimney RepairCrowns, caps, flashing, mortar joints, spalled brick and damaged flue liners, traced to the cause and quoted in a written scope before any work begins.
- 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 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 Sweeping & CleaningCreosote, soot and debris cleared from the flue, smoke chamber and firebox, with before-and-after photos and a plain account of what the cleaning turned up.
If your fireplace took water in the December 2025 flood
The City of Pacific keeps a recovery page for the December 2025 flood. For damaged homes it asks owners to find out whether the property is in a mapped flood hazard area and to make sure repairs get the building permits and floodplain development approvals the city requires.
A fireplace, hearth, gas insert or chimney base that sat in water is part of that picture. The Washington State Department of Health’s flood cleanup guidance says to turn off the gas if floodwater put out a gas appliance, and to have heating equipment that was in floodwater cleaned and checked before it is turned back on.
An inspection of a flood-affected gas fireplace or wood-burning fireplace looks at what the water reached and photographs it, and the photos are yours to keep. Any repair comes as a written scope for you to approve first.
One city, two counties, two burn ban calls
Pacific grew up in the valley that runs from south King County into northern Pierce County, as the city’s own history puts it, and its limits still cross the county line. Its mechanical permit form even asks whether a septic approval came from King or Pierce County’s health department.
For wood burning, the county is what counts. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency sets ban stages for each county separately and splits Pierce County into three zones of its own. It also notes that Pierce, held to a lower pollution threshold under state law, sees bans more often. A home on the Pierce side can therefore be under a ban while one across the county line is not.
Pacific’s houses
Census estimates for 2020–2024 put the median Pacific home’s build year at 1987. Roughly three in eight homes predate 1980 and about one in seven predates 1960, while about a quarter date from 2000 or later. Most households heat mainly with electricity or utility gas; only a handful rely mainly on wood.
Permits: City of Pacific Community Development
Every address in Pacific, King or Pierce County side, gets its permits from the City of Pacific. Community Development Services reviews plans, issues permits and inspects the work, and building applications go through the city’s SmartGov online portal. The city’s mechanical and plumbing application asks whether the property is in a flood hazard area.
The city says the permits a project needs depend on its scope, so describe the chimney or fireplace work to the Permit Center (253-929-1110) and let the city decide. For flood-damaged homes, floodplain development approval may be needed as well as a building permit.
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.
Pacific chimney questions
Our fireplace sat in floodwater last December. Is it safe to use?
Nobody can say that without looking at it. Leave it unused until it has been checked. For a gas unit, the Department of Health’s guidance is to turn off the gas if floodwater put the appliance out, and to have flooded heating equipment cleaned and checked before it runs again. Repairs may need a City of Pacific permit and floodplain approval.
My house is on the Pierce County side of Pacific. Who issues the permit?
The City of Pacific, exactly as it does north of the line. The county line matters for burn bans and for some health department approvals, not for building permits inside city limits.
Which burn ban do I follow in Pacific?
The one for the county your address is in. Check the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency’s status page or its phone line at 1-800-595-4341; on the Pierce side, the agency’s area map shows which of the county’s three zones applies.
Do chimney or fireplace repairs need a permit in Pacific?
That depends on the scope, and the city decides. Ask the Permit Center with a description of the work before it starts; if the house was flood-damaged, ask about floodplain approval at the same time.
Useful local links
- Pacific 2025 Flood — City of Pacific (opens in a new tab)
- Permit & Licensing Center — City of Pacific (opens in a new tab)
- Flood cleanup — Washington State Department of Health (opens in a new tab)
- Air Quality Burn Ban Status — Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (opens in a new tab)
- Census profile: Pacific, WA — U.S. Census Bureau data via Census Reporter (opens in a new tab)