Chimney services in Spanaway
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Inside the Tacoma–Pierce County Smoke Reduction Zone
As of October 1, 2015, it is illegal to buy or operate an uncertified wood stove anywhere in the zone, and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA) requires such a stove to be removed and recycled or made permanently unusable. The agency applies the rule to wood-burning fireplace inserts as well as freestanding stoves.
EPA- and Oregon-certified stoves are not affected. PSCAA says a certified stove or insert will usually carry an EPA or Oregon DEQ label on the back or side, and that a “UL tested” or “UL approved” tag is not the same thing. An open fireplace falls outside the stove rule, though it still may not be used during an air quality burn ban.
So find the label before deciding whether to keep an older stove. Sweeping and an inspection make sense for a stove you may legally use; they do not make an uncertified one legal.
Mostly detached houses of mixed ages
By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey estimates (2020–2024), the median Spanaway home was built in 1989. About a third of homes were built before 1980, about 37 percent in 2000 or later, and roughly 78 percent are single-family detached houses.
So a 1970s masonry fireplace and a factory-built unit from the 2000s can sit a few doors apart. The same estimates find about 1.5 percent of occupied homes heating mainly with wood, so for most households the fireplace or stove is a second heat source, and one that sits idle for weeks can still collect nests, debris and rainwater.
Permits come from Pierce County, not a city
Because Spanaway is unincorporated, there is no city building department. Pierce County Code makes the county’s Planning and Public Works Department responsible for the building, residential and mechanical codes here, administered by the county Building Official; the fire code is the exception, handled by the Pierce County Fire Marshal.
The county’s Online Development Guide lets you look up an address and see what permits a project there may need. Whether a particular chimney repair or stove installation needs one is the county’s call, so settle it with Planning and Public Works before work begins.
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.
Spanaway chimney questions
Is Spanaway part of Tacoma, or a city of its own?
Neither. Spanaway is an unincorporated community, so Pierce County Planning and Public Works issues building and mechanical permits for addresses there. The county’s parcel research tools show which jurisdiction a given parcel falls under.
My wood stove has no certification label. Can I still use it in Spanaway?
Under PSCAA’s rule for the Smoke Reduction Zone, an uncertified stove or insert may not be operated and has to be removed and recycled or rendered inoperable. The only exception is a household with an approved exemption for having no other adequate source of heat. If you are unsure whether your stove is certified, PSCAA’s wood stove rule page explains how to check.
Can I use my fireplace during a burn ban?
Not a wood-burning one. During a Stage 1 ban, PSCAA prohibits burning in wood-burning fireplaces and in uncertified stoves and inserts, and even certified devices may not give off visible smoke. Stage 2 adds certified stoves, inserts and pellet stoves. PSCAA calls Stage 1 in Pierce County at a lower pollution level than in King County, so check its status page before lighting a fire.
Do you work on gas fireplaces in Spanaway?
Yes, gas fireplace service and repair is available here. If you notice the smell of gas, leave right away and call 911 or your gas utility once you are outside.
Useful local links
- Tacoma-Pierce County Wood Stove Rule — Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (opens in a new tab)
- Air Quality Burn Ban Status — Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (opens in a new tab)
- Development Center — Pierce County Planning & Public Works (opens in a new tab)
- Census profile: Spanaway, WA — U.S. Census Bureau data via Census Reporter (opens in a new tab)