Genesee, King County
Masonry repair on a Genesee chimney starts at $475. A cracked crown resurfaced or a modest area repointed is what that buys. Price climbs with square footage and height, and the quote gives the surface we measured so the arithmetic is yours to check. A chimney's mortar is supposed to fail ahead of its brick. Renew it in time and the brick behind it lasts.
Typical investment
From $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 Genesee home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for Genesee 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.
Seattle winters are mild but not frost-less. Seattle-area climate records spanning six decades show the temperature touching 32°F or below on about 33 nights a year, mostly from December through February, while the daytime high stays at freezing on fewer than three days. That pattern, wet days and a short dip below freezing overnight, is the one that works on a joint: water enters, freezes, thaws by noon and enters deeper. Genesee's hilltop chimneys stand in it unsheltered.
About 23.1% of housing units in the ZIP code area shared by Genesee, Alki, Admiral and north Seaview were built before 1940, and a further 16.2% between 1940 and 1959, the 2020-2024 Census survey estimates. A chimney from either group has been shaken in 1949, 1965 and 2001.
The engineers who reported on the 2001 Nisqually earthquake for EERI found that wood-frame houses came through well overall, with damage mostly confined to chimneys, and that unreinforced masonry from before 1950 fared worst. For a mason this explains a familiar sight: an older stack whose lower half is original and whose top has been relaid once or twice in a different brick. Repointing such a chimney means dealing with two or three mortars, and matching each rather than covering all of them with one hard mix.
Every masonry repair (crown / repointing) we do in Genesee includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowWatch for joints sitting well back of the brick face, for hairline cracks crossing the crown, and for brick that sounds hollow when tapped. White bloom on the surface means water is travelling through the wall and carrying salts out with it. None of this is urgent in a single season. All of it accelerates once the crown stops shedding water.
Section R1003.9 of Seattle's residential code sets how high a chimney must end: at least 3 feet over the high side of where it leaves the roof, and 2 feet over anything within 10 feet. On a steep roof that rule produces a tall column of brick with nothing to lean on. The city's hazard analysis notes that wind gains speed over hills and ridges, which is where Genesee's roofs are.
The upper courses of such a column are held only by their mortar. Once joints near the top open, each gust rocks the brick a little and the crown cracks along the same line. That is why we start any masonry survey at the top and work down, and why a repair that restores only the lower, visible joints misses the part doing the hardest work.
North, south, east, west and the crown are photographed. We mark what must be redone and what can wait.
Repointing is priced on the area measured, crown work as its own line.
Failed mortar is removed by hand or with a guarded grinder, deep enough for the new joint to key in.
Mortar goes in by thin lifts, then gets tooled. A recast crown is sloped and given a projecting edge, which sends drips past the brick.
The work is protected while it sets, then recorded for your file.
What this work is quoted at for Genesee homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in Genesee | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| Masonry Repair (Crown / Repointing) | From $475 | Crown work, repointing and tuckpointing by surface area |
| 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 Genesee. 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.
Genesee is a hill neighborhood between SW Genesee and SW Charlestown streets, from 46th to 56th Avenues SW, with homes from before and after World War II, about 23% of those in its ZIP code area built before 1940 and 16% in the 1940s and 1950s.
GeneseeKing County, WA · 47.564, -122.372
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 $475. Crown resurfacing and small repointing areas are near that; full repointing of a tall stack is several times more.
In Seattle's residential code, section R105.2 lists chimney repointing with the minor jobs exempt from a building permit, on the condition that the envelope of the house stays the same. SDCI's remodel page says the same.
Mortar wants dry, frost-clear days. Late spring through early fall is easiest; in winter we wait for a suitable window.
Each chimney: $99 plus tax. Our masonry quote, once accepted, is reduced by that very $99.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
