The Junction, King County
Waterproofing a chimney in the Junction runs $320 to $795, and the height and girth of the stack account for most of that spread. Our material is a clear repellent that breathes: drops roll off the outside, and damp already inside the brick still leaves as vapor. Paints and film sealers do the opposite and trap moisture behind a skin that later peels. A repellent only works on sound masonry, so open joints and crown cracks are repaired before anything is sprayed.
Typical investment
$320–$795
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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.
Level 1 examination of everything reachable, with a Level 2 camera pass when the reachable parts leave a question open
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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
Learn moreRanges shown for orientation — the exact figure is written up on-site, after the inspection.
Water shaped the Junction from the start. A 2002 city survey of the neighborhood business districts describes the spot in 1907 as a swamp, with no roads south of Lander Street and nothing standing but a few real estate offices. Even so, it set off a land rush that year. Streets and storefronts have long since covered the bog, but the rain that fed it keeps coming, and every brick chimney in the neighborhood spends half the year absorbing it.
After the Nisqually earthquake of February 2001, FEMA inspectors went through some 30,000 houses in the region. A USGS open-file report on that quake (number 03-211) says one in three of those homes came through with chimney damage, and chimney repairs became a line of their own in the federal aid that followed.
Part of the reason this peninsula reacts as it does lies underground. The city's landslide study puts West Seattle on the southern side of the Seattle Fault, which slices east-west and tilts toward the south; that geometry lifts bedrock nearer the top under the peninsula than under the city beyond the fault. Shaking opens hairline cracks that let water in. Before we waterproof a chimney in the Junction, we look for those cracks, because a repellent sprayed over a quake fracture only hides it.
Every chimney waterproofing we do in The Junction includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowBad winters arrive all at once. The storm that straddled New Year's 1996-97 is the textbook case in the city's landslide study: a dozen inches of snow melted under a downpour, the gauge logged 8.35 inches over those five days, and West Seattle ended up with an outsized portion of the slides that winter. Brick soaks up water the same way soil does. A chimney that drank all through a wet December stays damp for weeks under gray skies, and that lingering moisture is what loosens joints, flakes the face and stains the ceiling below.
We wet each side and watch how quickly the brick drinks, which tells us where water is getting in.
Gaps in joints, crown cracks and loose flashing come first, because a repellent cannot bridge a hole.
Moss, soot and loose grit are brushed away, and the stack dries out fully before treatment.
Two even coats go on from top to bottom, wet on wet, until each face stops absorbing.
The product and date go on your invoice, so the next treatment can be timed in a few years.
Anyone doing chimney work in West Seattle must, under state rules from Labor and Industries, be registered as a contractor, and the registration number has to appear on ads, estimates and bids. If a quote for sealing your chimney carries no number, ask for it before anyone climbs a ladder.
SDCI's guidance on remodels lists chimney repointing and like-for-like roofing or siding among exterior jobs that need no permit when the structure is untouched. A clear repellent is not mentioned on that page or in the exemption list in R105.2. It changes no structure, and we have not seen a Seattle rule that would require a permit for it.
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 Waterproofing | $320–$795 | Breathable sealer — reapplied every 3–5 years in this climate |
| Chimney Sweep | $189–$449 | Full flue swept, Level 1 inspection included |
| Chimney Inspection | $99 plus tax | Level 1 visual; Level 2 adds a full camera scan |
| 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 |
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.
$320 to $795, mostly depending on how big the stack is. Repairs needed beforehand are quoted separately.
Plan on retreating it every three to five years under Seattle rain. The invoice carries the application date as a reminder.
Not usefully. Water would still enter through the crack, so we repair it first and treat the masonry once it is sound.
It helps. The visit is $99 plus tax, it shows where water is entering, and the $99 is subtracted when you approve the work.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
