The Junction, King County
A chimney inspection in the Junction is $99 plus tax for each chimney. One visit covers the firebox, damper and smoke chamber from inside, a video camera run up the flue, and the crown, cap, flashing and upper brick from the roof when it can be walked safely. You receive the photos and a written report the same day. If anything needs work, the report comes with a quote, and approving that quote takes the $99 off the bill.
What we charge
$99 plus tax
Book an inspection
Book your $99 inspection
$99 plus tax, deducted when you approve the repair
Not sure where to start
Pick what you're seeing at your The Junction home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for The Junction homes.
Full-height brushing of the flue with a head sized to its shape and material
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Assessment of the stack from roofline to crown, with a photo of each defect
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Camera survey and measurement of the existing flue before anything is ordered
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Measurement of each flue tile, or of the whole crown for a multi-flue cap
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Burner, pilot assembly and firebox cleaned; logs or media put back in the layout the manual shows
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Joints cut back to firm mortar and repointed (tuckpointing) to match the existing profile
Learn moreRanges shown for orientation — the exact figure is written up on-site, after the inspection.
The Junction grew up in brick. The city's 2002 survey of neighborhood commercial districts ranks the Alaska Junction among Seattle's best for its ornate terra cotta, with the Hamm Building of 1926 on the northwest corner and the Campbell Building of 1918 on the northeast one. The same survey calls the former funeral chapel at 4400 California Avenue SW, built in 1910, probably the oldest brick commercial building in West Seattle. A district that old has had a century for mortar to weather, and the houses on the side streets are no younger.
HistoryLink dates the 1965 earthquake to 8:29 a.m. on April 29, gives it a magnitude of 6.5, and says the ground shook for roughly 45 seconds. Seven people died; two of them were at a flour mill on Harbor Island, just across the water from the base of the peninsula.
USGS authors writing about the 2001 quake put 1965 into a sequence: Seattle's unreinforced brick stacks took damage from deep quakes in 1949, 1965 and 2001, and on all three occasions certain pockets of West Seattle fared worse than the rest. A chimney in the Junction that has stood since before 1949 may have ridden out all three. Some cracks from those events show at the top, but many hide in the flue, which is exactly where the camera goes.
Every chimney inspection we do in The Junction includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowWhat an inspection catches is usually invisible from the sidewalk: a cracked clay tile ten feet down, a gap where the liner meets the smoke chamber, a crown split under its cap. Buyers in the Junction often ask for one before closing, and owners ask after a quake or ahead of the season's first fire. CSIA cites NFPA 211 in recommending an inspection every year, whether or not the fireplace saw much use.
With a flashlight we look over the firebox walls, the damper plate and its seat, and the smoke chamber above it.
The camera travels the length of the flue on a flexible rod, recording every joint so you can watch the footage afterward.
If the roof can be walked, we get close-up shots of crown, cap, metal flashing and the highest brick courses.
Each finding gets a photo, a plain description and a priority, so the report reads without us standing next to you.
Repairs are listed line by line. Approve the quote and the $99 inspection fee comes off the total.
Two buildings in the Junction are designated Seattle landmarks, according to the list printed in the 2022 nomination of Alki Elementary: the Campbell Building at 4554 California Avenue SW, dated 1911 and 1918, and the Crescent-Hamm Building of 1926 at 4302 SW Alaska Street.
Under the landmark program run by the Department of Neighborhoods, outside alterations to a designated building wait for a Certificate of Approval, even on work SDCI would let through with no building permit. For an inspection nothing changes, so nothing needs approving. If a report on a landmark building leads to work on its chimney or roof, the certificate comes first and the work waits for it. For an ordinary house on a side street, the rule does not apply.
What this work is quoted at for The Junction homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in The Junction | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| Chimney Inspection | $99 plus tax | Level 1 visual; Level 2 adds a full camera scan |
| Chimney Sweep | $189–$449 | Full flue swept, Level 1 inspection included |
| Chimney Relining | From $1,900 | Full-length stainless liner, sized to the appliance |
| Chimney Repair | From $425 | Masonry repair — brick and mortar, scoped after diagnosis |
| Chimney Cap Installation | $235–$850 | Stainless cap fitted; multi-flue and custom at the top |
Ranges are what these jobs are quoted at in The Junction. The exact figure is set on site after a $99 inspection (credited toward the job if you go ahead), and you approve it before any work starts.
The Junction is the commercial heart of West Seattle, named in 1907 when two streetcar lines met at California Avenue SW and SW Alaska Street, with brick and terra cotta storefronts from the 1910s and 1920s on California Avenue and residential blocks on every side. We work every part of it — the Alaska Junction included.
The JunctionKing County, WA · 47.561, -122.387
Before and after
Illustrations of what each repair changes on a typical chimney — not photos of a specific job.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
After
Four steps, each one on paper — so you always know what happens next.
Choose a genuine opening on the crew's calendar. Confirmation is immediate.
Liner, crown, cap, flashing and masonry examined in order — each finding photographed.
One document, plain numbers, covering only the work your chimney genuinely needs.
The repair is completed, then handed over with before-and-after photos of every item.
Each chimney is billed $99 plus tax. Accept our written repair quote afterward and that sum is subtracted from it; turn it down and the fee covers the visit only.
Plan on about two hours for one chimney, including the roof when it is accessible and the time to go over the footage with you.
Not by that alone. Seattle's Certificate of Approval rule applies to designated landmarks themselves, such as the Campbell Building, not to the ordinary houses around them.
Yes. The vent, the termination outside and the firebox are checked the same way, with the camera where the venting allows it.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
