Admiral, King County
Creosote removal in Admiral begins at $245. That figure applies to a flue where the deposit has hardened beyond what a brush shifts but has not yet turned to glaze. Shiny, tar-like third-degree creosote takes more visits or a chemical treatment and costs more. We grade the deposit on camera and price the grade we actually see.
Typical investment
From $245
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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 Admiral home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for Admiral 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.
Fire protection has an address in this neighborhood: Seattle Fire Department Station 29, labeled Admiral District on the department's list, stands on Ferry Avenue SW and houses Engine 29. In a fall 2026 safety notice, Washington's fire marshal linked heating equipment to six deaths statewide over the prior twelve months and asked every household to have its chimney looked at and cleaned once a year. Creosote is the fuel a flue fire burns.
The Nisqually earthquake of 2001 was a magnitude 6.8 event some 52 kilometers down, according to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. Weeks later, University of Washington researcher Derek Booth told reporters that the Seattle fault seemed to focus and amplify the shaking, producing a zone that suffers more in every deep earthquake, and he compared the region's chimneys to a widely spread set of seismic instruments.
A liner cracked by that kind of shaking keeps working until the day creosote ignites. Then flame and hot gas pass through the cracks to the brick and whatever wood touches it. For that reason, removal in Admiral always ends with footage: once the walls are bare we can see whether the tiles under the deposit are whole, which nobody could tell while they were coated.
Every creosote removal we do in Admiral includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowThe residue condenses wherever flue gases lose their heat on the way up. Damp wood, a fire choked down to smolder and a flue much wider than it needs to be all encourage it. An occasional fireplace in a mild climate is a good recipe: short, cool fires in a cold stack. The deposit moves through stages, from dusty soot to crunchy flakes to a hard black glaze, and each stage is harder to remove and easier to ignite.
The camera tells stage one from stage three. Texture, thickness and location are logged before a tool is chosen.
Flaky buildup yields to rotary cleaning. Glaze usually needs a product that changes its structure over several days.
Spinning heads work the liner in passes, at a speed chosen to spare clay tile.
Where glaze remains, the modifier is applied and a return visit is booked to take off what it has loosened.
A final camera pass must show liner surface, not just a thinner layer of deposit.
No burn ban is needed for the regional air agency's standing rule to apply. Over any single hour, a plume may block no more than a fifth of the light behind it for longer than six minutes in a row, measured as opacity; and dry, seasoned firewood or manufactured logs are the only things the agency lets you burn. The agency's question pages explain how violations and exemptions are handled.
The link to creosote is direct. Heavy visible smoke is unburned fuel, and the part that does not leave the stack condenses on its walls. A fireplace in Admiral that smokes thickly is both out of line with the rule and busy coating its own flue. Cleaning resets the flue; dry wood and a hotter, smaller fire keep it that way.
What this work is quoted at for Admiral homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in Admiral | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| Creosote Removal | From $245 | Priced by creosote stage — glazed stage 3 is the heavy end |
| 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 Admiral. 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.
Admiral is the oldest neighborhood in West Seattle, first platted in 1885 at the north end of the peninsula, with homes of many decades, close to a quarter of those in its ZIP code area built before 1940. We work every part of it — North Admiral included.
AdmiralKing County, WA · 47.581, -122.386
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.
From $245. Glazed deposits that need chemical treatment and a second visit run higher, and the quote states the grade found.
Yes. Sweeping lifts loose soot. Creosote removal goes after what brushing leaves stuck to the walls.
Burn wood that has dried for a full season, give the fire air, and have the flue checked each year.
The camera grading is the inspection: $99 plus tax. Approve the removal and that bill shrinks by the $99.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
