Chimney Inspection · Shoreline, WA
Choosing the right inspection level for a Shoreline chimney
An inspection has a level; the level follows the circumstance, not the address. What Shoreline changes is which circumstances keep coming up, because this is a city whose houses mostly went up before the code edition that now governs their repair.
Below: which level a Shoreline situation usually calls for, what a report on a mid-century flue has to establish, and the difference between a condition report and a code determination in a city that runs its own building department.
Reviewed by Chimney4u editorial team · Last updated
Which level a Shoreline situation calls for
NFPA 211 — the national standard for chimneys, fireplaces, vents and solid fuel-burning appliances — defines three inspection types. The level follows what has happened, not what the homeowner would prefer to pay for. In Shoreline the circumstances cluster.
- Nothing has changed. Same appliance, same fuel, same use, no incident since. That is Level 1: the readily accessible chimney and the appliance connection.
- The house is selling, or has just been bought. The standard names sale or transfer as a Level 2 circumstance. Here that is the most common reason one gets booked, because a mid-century house has had more chances to change hands than a new one has.
- An appliance was added or swapped. A stove or insert on a flue built for an open fireplace changes what the chimney is being asked to do. Level 2 verifies liner material and flue size against what is connected.
- Something happened to it. A chimney fire, an earthquake or a weather event moves it to Level 2 however sound it looks from the ground.
- A hazard you cannot reach. Where the suspected problem is behind a wall, a chase or a ceiling, that is Level 3, and it is quoted on its own.
What a report on a mid-century Shoreline flue has to answer
About two thirds of Shoreline’s roughly 25,300 housing units predate 1980, so most chimneys here are older than the code edition that now governs their repair. That does not make them defective. It does mean the report has to establish things a newer chimney has had documented since the day it was built.
- Is the liner continuous. A masonry chimney of this era is normally clay-tile lined, and the build year says nothing about whether that lining is still intact through its full height. Existing openings and a camera answer it.
- Does the liner suit what is connected. Liners serving solid-fuel appliances need insulation; gas and oil liners generally do not. That depends on the appliance, not the age of the brick.
- Is the flue sized for the appliance. Manufacturers cap a solid-fuel flue at three times the appliance outlet collar, and never smaller than the collar. An old fireplace flue on a small modern stove can fail that in the oversized direction.
- Is there clearance to combustibles. Framing and finishes built tight to a chimney sixty years ago are checked where it runs through attics, crawl spaces and basements that can be entered without demolition.
What the report settles, and what only the city settles
These two questions get conflated constantly. An inspection describes condition and measures it against a national standard. Whether a chimney satisfies what Shoreline enforces is a determination the city’s own building official makes.
NFPA 211 is not automatically law everywhere; some jurisdictions adopt it directly as code and others do not. So a report should name the standard and the level it completed, and then it means one thing to a buyer, an agent and the city alike.
Buying or selling a Shoreline house with a wood-burner
Two things get tangled at closing: the condition of the chimney, and the legal status of the appliance in front of it.
For a buyer the order is simple: get the level the circumstance calls for, get it in writing, get the photographs. Where the typical house predates 1980, a verbal ‘it looked fine’ comes apart a heating season or two after closing.
Local considerations in Shoreline
- Roughly two thirds of Shoreline's housing units predate 1980, so most chimneys here are older than the code edition that now governs their repair — which makes liner condition an inspection question rather than a records question.
- Shoreline's median year of construction is 1969, against 1976 in Seattle and 1983 across King County, so the age assumptions a buyer brings from a newer suburb do not transfer here.
- Shoreline adopts the International Residential Code as adopted by the Washington State Building Code Council in chapter 51-51 WAC and administers it through its own building official, so a compliance question at a Shoreline address is answered by Shoreline.
- NFPA 211 is a standard rather than automatically the law in every jurisdiction; some places adopt it directly as code, which is why a report should name the standard and the level it applied.
- Washington does not require an uncertified woodstove to be removed when a home is sold, though selling or giving one away is prohibited — so a Shoreline sale can close with the appliance in place while the flue behind it remains an open question.
What the job includes
- A decision on which NFPA 211 level your circumstance calls for, explained before anything starts
- The readily accessible chimney structure and flue, plus the connected appliance and how it joins the chimney
- A check for blockage and combustible deposits, and a look through existing openings for a continuous, undamaged liner
- At Level 2, the accessible chimney runs through attics, crawl spaces and basements that can be entered without demolition — the low attics and mid-century basements common in Shoreline included
- At Level 2, a video scan of the flue interior, clearance to combustibles, and liner material and flue size checked against what is actually connected
- Photographs kept with the report, from the same angles where practical
- A written report naming the level completed, the flues and appliances covered, and anything that could not be reached
- A plain conversation about what is urgent, what can wait, and what does not need doing
What it does not include
- Cleaning. An inspection reports on deposits; removing them is a chimney sweep, and the inspection is often what establishes that one is needed
- Repairs. Findings come back as a written scope and price you approve before anything is scheduled
- Opening up walls, chases or ceilings. That is a Level 3, quoted separately, and closing and finishing the opened areas is separate again
- Any finding that a chimney complies with the code Shoreline adopts. That determination belongs to the city’s building official, not to an inspection report
- Filing a permit application. New Shoreline applications are submitted through the city’s eTRAKiT portal by the applicant
- Any statement about insurance coverage. Conditions can be documented with photographs; the claim decision belongs to your insurer
What to look for
- You just bought a Shoreline house and there is no record of the chimney ever being inspected
- Common where the typical house predates 1980 and has changed hands several times. The gap is the reason for a Level 2, not an argument against one.
- An insert or stove was connected to an original masonry flue and nobody scanned it afterward
- Liner material and flue size were never verified against the appliance actually installed.
- Creosote flakes or pieces of clay tile on the roof or on the ground
- Material is coming out of the chimney. That is evidence of a past event, and the standard puts it into Level 2 territory.
- A warped damper, or a rain cap that is discolored or distorted
- Heat has been through the system that the system was not designed for.
- Smoke or staining escaping through exterior mortar joints
- Combustion products are leaving the flue somewhere other than the top.
- A windstorm off the Sound, an earthquake, or a limb down near the chimney
- An event likely to have caused damage moves the chimney to Level 2 even where nothing is visible from the ground.
What changes the price
We do not publish a headline figure, because it would be a guess about your chimney. These are the things that genuinely move the number, and we put a real one in writing after we have looked.
- The level the circumstance calls for
- A Level 1 and a Level 2 are different scopes with different documentation. A Level 3 is different again because it involves opening things up.
- How many flues the chimney contains
- Multi-flue stacks are common on older Shoreline houses, and each flue is inspected and reported on separately.
- Appliance type and how it is connected
- An open fireplace, a stove or insert with a connector, and a gas appliance each add different checks to the same visit.
- Roof access and lot conditions
- Pitch, chimney height above the roof, and the approach to the property. Shoreline's slope neighborhoods take longer to reach than its flatter east side.
- Whether the flue can be scanned as found
- Heavy deposit can prevent a camera from reading the liner surface, in which case cleaning has to happen first and the scan follows.
- Documentation depth
- A report intended for a sale, a buyer or a subsequent repair scope carries more photographs and more written detail than a routine annual look.
Chimney Inspection in Shoreline — common questions
- We are selling a house in Shoreline. Which inspection level do we need?
- NFPA 211 names sale or transfer of a property as a circumstance calling for a Level 2, which adds the accessible chimney runs in attics, crawl spaces and basements, a video scan of the flue, and verification of liner material and flue size against the connected appliances. That is the level to ask for by name, and the report should say which level was completed and what could not be reached.
- Does a chimney inspection tell me whether my chimney meets Shoreline's code?
- No, and it is worth being clear about that. An inspection reports condition against a national standard. Shoreline adopts the International Residential Code as adopted by the Washington State Building Code Council in chapter 51-51 WAC and administers it through its own building official, so a compliance determination at a Shoreline address comes from the city's Planning & Community Development department. Requirements change and depend on the property — confirm with the city before work starts.
- Our home inspector looked at the fireplace during the purchase. Is that enough?
- It is a different scope. A whole-house inspection is not graded to NFPA 211 and does not include a video scan of the flue liner or verification of liner material and flue size against the connected appliance. Where the standard calls for a Level 2 — a sale, a new appliance on an old flue, or an event likely to have caused damage — a general report does not stand in for it.
- We bought a 1950s Shoreline house. Should the chimney be inspected before the first fire?
- Yes, and the purchase itself is the reason. About two thirds of the city's housing units predate 1980, and a masonry chimney of that period is normally clay-tile lined, with no way to tell from the build year whether the lining is still continuous. NFPA 211 puts sale or transfer into Level 2 territory, and a Level 2 including a video scan is also what the standard calls for before any chimney is lined or relined — so it answers the first-fire question and the liner question in one visit.
- There is an old woodstove in the fireplace. Does it have to be removed before we sell?
- Not under state rules. Washington's Department of Ecology says removing an uncertified device is not required when a home is sold, though selling, bartering or giving one away is prohibited. What the sale does not settle is the flue behind it: whether the liner is intact, whether it suits a solid-fuel appliance, and whether it is sized for the stove rather than for the open fireplace it was built to serve. That is the part an inspection covers.
Sources
- Committee Input No. 9-NFPA 211-2024 [ Chapter 15 ] - First Draft Committee Input Statements, NFPA 211 A2026 cycle — National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Accessed 2026-08-27.
- Chimneys, Fireplaces, Vents and Solid Fuel-burning Appliances Code, 2016 (NFPA 211, 2016) - adoption listing and chapter index — UpCodes (code library reproducing NFPA 211 adoption data). Accessed 2026-08-27.
- Table B25034, Year Structure Built — Shoreline city, Washington (ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates) — U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, via Census Reporter. Accessed 2026-08-27.
- Shoreline Municipal Code Chapter 15.05, Construction and Building Codes — City of Shoreline (municipal code hosted on General Code eCode360). Accessed 2026-08-27.
- Wood stove info — Washington State Department of Ecology. Accessed 2026-08-27.
- Standard Operating Procedure - Level 2 Inspection, Masonry Fireplace (Rev. 4/5/19) — Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA). Accessed 2026-08-27.
- Flexible Chimney Liners: Ventinox, DuraFlex Pro, DuraFlex SW, DuraFlex 316, DuraFlex 304, TherMix, ProFoil - Installation Instructions — DuraVent. Accessed 2026-08-27.
- Stainless Steel Flexible Liner - Installation Instructions and Maintenance Guide (Sizing the Proper Liner Diameter) — Selkirk Corporation (cross-checked against National Chimney Supply M-Flex instructions, CBIN-001). Accessed 2026-08-27.
- Get a Permit — City of Shoreline, Planning & Community Development. Accessed 2026-08-27.
- Permit Services — City of Shoreline. Accessed 2026-08-27.
- WAC 173-433-100 Emission performance standards — Washington State Legislature. Accessed 2026-08-27.
- Table B25035, Median Year Structure Built — Shoreline city, Seattle city, and King County, Washington (ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates) — U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, via Census Reporter. Accessed 2026-08-27.
Next step
Start with an inspection
Tell us what you have noticed. We will look at the chimney, show you what we found, and put a price on the work before anything begins.