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Chimney Liner Repair in Seattle, WA
Cracked tile joints, a damaged liner section, or a camera report you do not understand: we tell you whether it can be repaired or needs relining. Free quote.
- Free 2nd-opinion quotes
- Price match + 10–25% discount
- Same-day service often available
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The liner is the inner wall of the flue, the surface that carries smoke and heat from the fireplace to the outside. In most older Seattle homes that means clay tile sections stacked with mortar joints; in newer homes it is a stainless steel pipe. When a liner is mostly sound but has a few failed joints, a cracked tile, or a damaged section of pipe, repairing that part is faster and cheaper than replacing the whole thing. That is what this page covers.
Liner repair is a different job from liner installation. If a camera inspection shows a flue with no liner at all, tiles failed from top to bottom, or you are changing the appliance that vents through it, you need a new liner; see chimney liner installation. Here we deal with the in-between cases: resealing joints, replacing a section, and deciding where the line falls.
We serve Seattle, Tacoma, Everett and the rest of King, Pierce and Snohomish counties from our Renton office. The quote is free, and if another company already told you the flue needs a full reline, the second-opinion quote is free too.
Symptoms
Signs you need chimney liner repair
- A camera or home inspection report noting cracked or separated flue tiles
- Pieces of clay tile or mortar on the smoke shelf or in the firebox
- Smoke or a smoky smell in an upstairs or adjoining room when the fireplace is used
- Staining or warm spots on a wall or ceiling next to the chimney
- A stainless liner with a dent, a split seam, or a loose connection at the top or bottom
- A flue that draws worse than it used to with no blockage found
Common causes
- Mortar between clay tile sections washed out or burned out, leaving open joints
- A past chimney fire that cracked tiles from rapid heat expansion
- Water running down the flue from a missing cap and freezing in tile joints through the winter
- A stainless liner installed without proper connections at the appliance or the top plate
- Settling or movement of the chimney that shifted tile sections out of line
How It Works
Our chimney liner repair process
A liner cannot be judged from the firebox, so every liner repair quote starts with a camera run of the full flue. We record where each joint, crack or damaged section is and whether the damage is in one area or spread along the whole length. That recording is what lets us say honestly whether a repair is enough, and you get a copy with the written quote.
Camera survey and free quote
We run a camera the full length of the flue, mark each defect, and give you a written quote that says repair or reline and why.
Clean the flue
Creosote and debris are removed so the repair material bonds to tile or metal, not soot.
Reseal joints or cracks
On clay tile, a high-temperature refractory sealant is worked into open joints and hairline cracks rather than coated over them.
Replace the damaged section
A broken tile near the top is removed and reset; a damaged stainless section or failed connection is cut out and replaced.
Verify by camera
A second camera pass confirms every marked defect is closed before we leave.
Options
Repair and service options
Liner repair options run from small to large, and the camera survey tells us which fits:
- Joint resealing: the most common repair on clay-tile flues. Open mortar joints are refilled with refractory material so gases stay inside the liner.
- Crack repair: hairline cracks in otherwise solid tiles are sealed the same way. Cracks that run through several sections move the job toward relining.
- Section replacement: a failed tile near the top can be replaced from above; a damaged stainless section is cut out and a new one clamped in.
- Connection repair: a stainless liner that has pulled away from the top plate or appliance collar is reconnected and sealed, often the whole fix for a smell or draft complaint.
- Reline instead: when defects run along most of the flue, we quote a new liner instead, with both numbers side by side.
Every option comes with a free written quote, and we price match any written quote plus 10-25% off.
Pricing
What affects the price
- Clay tile versus stainless steel liner
- How many joints or cracks need sealing and how far apart they are
- Whether a tile or pipe section must be physically replaced
- Height of the flue and whether access is from the top, the firebox or both
- Whether the flue needs a sweep or a full cleaning before repair
- Distance from Renton for outlying Pierce and Snohomish addresses
Every chimney is different, so you get a written quote after we look at the system. Ask about our price match and free second-opinion quote.
Safety & Seattle Conditions
Safety considerations
A liner with open joints lets heat and combustion gases reach the brick and, through the brick, the framing of the house. If an inspector has flagged the liner, or you smell smoke in a room other than the one with the fireplace, stop using it until it is repaired.
Please do not go on the roof to look down the flue; we do that with a camera, for free. If the chimney serves a gas appliance, do not touch the valve or pilot. If you ever smell gas, leave the house and call your gas utility or 911 from outside.
Seattle & Puget Sound conditions
Clay-tile liners fail at the joints, and water is what gets them. Sea-Tac's NOAA 1991-2020 normals show 40.34 inches of rain a year, about 73% of it October through March. Rain that enters an uncapped flue runs down the tile and sits in the joints. Seattle sees about 60 days a year at or below 32F while winter lows average around 37F, so that water freezes and thaws repeatedly, the same mechanism the Brick Industry Association describes for saturated masonry.
The housing stock is old enough for this to matter: Tacoma's median home was built in 1967 and Seattle's in 1976, so many local flues have clay-tile liners that have seen decades of wet winters.
Our Work
Chimney Liner Repair in action
Get a free chimney liner repair quote
Camera survey, written quote, and an honest repair-or-reline answer. Free second opinion, price match plus 10-25% off. Call 206-453-2045.
☎ 206-453-2045 Request a QuoteQuestions
Chimney Liner Repair FAQ
Can a cracked chimney liner be repaired, or does it have to be replaced?
It depends on how much of the liner is damaged. A few open joints or a cracked tile or two can be sealed or replaced and the flue is sound again. If the camera finds cracks along most of the length, tiles shifted out of line, or no liner at all, a repair will not hold and we quote a new liner instead. The camera footage decides it.
How do I know if my chimney liner is damaged?
Usually you do not until someone looks. The common clues are bits of tile or mortar on the smoke shelf, a smoky smell in another room, or a note on a home inspection report. The only way to confirm it is a camera run of the full flue, which is part of every liner repair quote and of a chimney inspection.
What is the difference between liner repair and liner installation?
Liner repair fixes a liner that is mostly sound: resealing joints, sealing cracks, replacing a damaged section, or reconnecting a stainless liner at the top or bottom. Liner installation puts a complete new liner in a flue that is unlined, failed end to end, or being connected to a different appliance; see liner installation.
Another company said I need a full reline. Will you give a second opinion?
Yes, and it is free. We run our own camera, show you what we find, and give you a written quote. Sometimes the other company is right; sometimes a few joints are the whole problem. If we do the same job, we match their price and take a further 10-25% off.
Can you repair a stainless steel liner?
Often, yes. The usual stainless liner problems are a connection that has pulled loose at the top plate or the appliance, a dented or split section, or ends that were never properly sealed. Connections are resealed and sections are cut out and replaced. A liner corroded along its length is replaced instead.
How long does chimney liner repair take?
Joint resealing on a single flue is usually a one-visit job, and same-day service is often available once the camera survey is done. Replacing a tile or a stainless section can take a second visit if parts must be ordered. If you are not happy with the result we re-do it at no charge.
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