Gatewood, King County
Servicing a gas fireplace in Gatewood comes to $189 to $475. Toward $189 you are paying for the yearly once-over of a fireplace that still behaves: ports and pilot brushed out, logs or stones set back where the maker drew them, glass wiped, controls and vent looked at. A unit that has sat for years, soots its glass or will not stay lit takes longer on the bench and moves toward the upper figure. If a part has to be ordered, you get its price in writing first, and nothing is replaced without your yes.
Typical investment
$189–$475
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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 Gatewood home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for Gatewood 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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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.
When the December 2006 windstorm hit, nearly half of all Seattle City Light accounts went dark, and the last were reconnected only a week later, the city's windstorm analysis records. It also records that several people in King County died that winter heating their homes with charcoal indoors. Some gas fireplaces can run with no electricity at all, on a standing pilot and a millivolt valve; others need power for their ignition or fan. Knowing which kind you have, and that it works, is worth finding out in October rather than in the dark.
Gas heats a large share of homes near Gatewood: Census estimates put utility gas as the main heating fuel for 41.9 percent of occupied homes in the surrounding ZIP code area. Where a gas line already runs to a furnace, running a branch over to the fireplace is an obvious temptation, and in an older house the result may be gas logs or a gas unit sitting in an opening first built for wood.
The codes put limits on that. Under the city's 2021 mechanical code, vent-free log sets are off limits in any factory-built firebox whose listing does not name them, and Seattle's residential code requires factory-built fireplaces themselves to carry a listing and label showing UL 127 testing. A masonry fireplace has its own path. Before servicing a converted unit we look at what it sits in, what its listing allows, and whether the damper has been blocked open, which vented gas logs generally call for.
Every gas fireplace service we do in Gatewood includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowGas units fail in small, predictable ways. Spider webs and dust in the burner ports make yellow, lazy flames. A weak thermocouple or thermopile lets the pilot go out. Logs shifted out of position push flame onto ceramic and leave soot on the glass. A cracked gasket or a blocked vent cap can draw exhaust back toward the room. Piping is another story. Gas lines fall outside the scope of SDCI's mechanical permit and are permitted on their own.
Seattle's windstorm analysis notes that wind accelerates as it crosses hills and ridges, and Gatewood sits on the city's highest one. The Western Regional Climate Center's state narrative gives south to southwest as the prevailing wind direction in the lowland wet season, at averages under 10 mph.
Direct-vent gas fireplaces breathe through a cap on an outside wall or the roof, drawing combustion air in and pushing exhaust out through the same terminal. A strong gust against that cap can upset the flame, and on a south or west wall facing the weather it can snuff a pilot. During service we check the termination for damage and blockage, confirm it is the type the manufacturer specifies, and tell you if a wind-resistant cap listed for your unit is worth considering.
Make, model and rating plate first. The manufacturer's manual sets the log layout, gas pressure and clearances we work to.
Valve off. Then the front glass, then the logs or stones, laid out on a cloth in the order they came out.
Burner, pilot and orifice are cleaned; the safety sensor's output is checked against the maker's range.
We follow the vent to its cap outside, looking for blockage, loose joints and damage to the termination.
The unit runs while we watch flame color and pattern, then you get a short written note of what we found.
What this work is quoted at for Gatewood homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in Gatewood | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| Gas Fireplace Service | $189–$475 | Annual service and tune-up; repairs quoted after diagnosis |
| 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 Gatewood. 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.
Gatewood is a hilltop neighborhood named for Carlisle Gatewood, the developer who financed its streetcar line in 1907, with older homes, about three in ten of those in its ZIP code area built before 1940 and half before 1960.
GatewoodKing County, WA · 47.545, -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.
$189 to $475 covers the service and the diagnosis. Any part gets its own written price, and we order nothing until you say so.
It depends on the model. Units with a standing pilot and millivolt control often can; units with electronic ignition usually need power or a battery backup. We tell you which you have.
Possibly, but not just any logs. Seattle's mechanical code bars unvented gas logs from factory-built fireplaces not listed for them, so we check the fireplace's listing first.
If the gas unit vents up an old masonry flue, yes. The camera look costs $99 plus tax per chimney, credited to work you approve.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
