Chimney services in Seattle
With an older brick chimney, start with an inspection: it sorts sweeping, liner, water and masonry questions, and shows early whether the City’s rule will shape the repair.
- 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 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.
- 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 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 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.
Older houses, older chimneys
Census estimates put about 23 percent of Seattle’s homes in the 1939-or-earlier bracket and about 38 percent before 1960. The median home dates from 1976, against 1983 for King County as a whole.
Age does not decide condition, but it sets the questions. A stack from those decades predates today’s lining and reinforcing requirements, so the liner and the mortar get checked on site rather than assumed.
Director’s Rule 07-2025 and unreinforced brick
The rule took effect on January 8, 2026, replacing Director’s Rule 5-2004. It covers repairs and alterations to unreinforced masonry chimneys, and substantial alterations to houses that have one. The stated reason is earthquake risk: a tall, heavy stack with weak ties to the house can fall in even a minor quake.
Repaired or altered sections are built in reinforced masonry, or the chimney above the smoke chamber is replaced with a factory-built metal one. A stack more than 3 feet above the adjacent roof is braced back to the house, and work reaching below the top of the smoke chamber means rebuilding the smoke chamber and chimney to current code. Removing the chimney is also an accepted way to comply.
Stacks under 12 feet above the roof line can use the rule’s prescriptive options; taller ones need an engineered design or must be shortened. Old brick that stays is evaluated and repointed where needed.
Behind the rule is the Seattle Residential Code. It puts the city in Seismic Design Category D2, where masonry chimneys need continuous vertical steel anchored in the foundation and a lining suited to the appliance they serve.
Historic districts
Seattle has eight historic districts, among them Harvard-Belmont, Columbia City, Ballard Avenue and Pioneer Square. In each, a citizens board or the Landmarks Preservation Board regulates the appearance of buildings, and a Certificate of Approval must be issued before certain changes are made.
If your house is in one, ask the Department of Neighborhoods before planning to rebuild, alter or remove a visible chimney. That approval is separate from any SDCI permit.
Six wet months
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, about 12 miles south of central Seattle, give a normal annual total of 39.34 inches, with measurable rain or snow on about 156 days. About 75 percent arrives between October and March; November is the wettest month, July the driest.
Brick that stays damp for months gives water time to find a cracked crown, a gap in the flashing or an open joint, and planned exterior repairs generally go better in summer. Where water is already getting inside, leak and flashing repair begins with finding its path.
Permits in Seattle come from SDCI
Inside the city limits, the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) issues construction and trade permits and inspects the work; applications go through the Seattle Services Portal. For brick chimneys, Director’s Rule 07-2025 requires a building permit for repairs and alterations, apart from narrow exceptions, and SDCI inspects at set stages of the work.
When a job needs a permit, it is written into the scope before anything starts. Whether a project fits an exception is SDCI’s call, and for chimneys the rule is more specific than SDCI’s general homeowner pages.
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
If brick above the roofline is loose or the stack looks out of line, say so in your request. That part of an unreinforced chimney is what SDCI’s rule is written about.
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.
Seattle chimney questions
Does brick chimney repair in Seattle need a permit?
Director’s Rule 07-2025 requires a building permit for repairs and alterations to unreinforced masonry chimneys, with narrow exceptions for minor patching and lower-value work. SDCI decides whether a job fits one. In a historic district, exterior changes may also need a Certificate of Approval.
Can my old brick chimney be rebuilt the way it was?
Not as unreinforced brick. Rebuilt sections are reinforced and tied to the house, or the upper chimney becomes a factory-built metal one; taking the stack down to the roof and capping it is another route. How much old masonry is sound narrows the choice. Our chimney rebuilding page covers the work itself.
We are planning a remodel. Does the chimney come into it?
It can. The rule covers substantial alterations to houses with unreinforced chimneys, and SDCI’s unreinforced masonry FAQ lists chimneys among the appendages the City requires to be braced or retrofitted under a construction permit. An early chimney assessment lets that work be planned with the remodel.
The chimney also vents my furnace or water heater. Does that matter?
Yes. SDCI’s rule warns that one chimney can vent more than one appliance, such as a gas water heater and a fireplace, and says to confirm this before a flue is capped or a chimney removed. Since the lining must suit what is connected, adding an insert can mean relining.
Are fires allowed in a Seattle fireplace during a burn ban?
Seattle follows the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency’s King County bans. Stage 1 bars uncertified wood stoves and fireplaces; Stage 2 bars all wood-burning devices, pellet stoves included. The one exception is a household with no other adequate heat and an exemption approved beforehand. For today’s status, see pscleanair.gov or phone 800-595-4341.
Useful local links
- Director’s Rule 07-2025: Alteration and Repair of Unreinforced Masonry Chimneys — Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (opens in a new tab)
- Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections — City of Seattle (opens in a new tab)
- Historic Districts — Seattle Department of Neighborhoods (opens in a new tab)
- Air Quality Burn Ban Status — Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (opens in a new tab)
- Census profile: Seattle, WA — U.S. Census Bureau data via Census Reporter (opens in a new tab)