Chimney and Fireplace Service in Gig Harbor, Washington

The S'Homamish, a band of the Puyallup people, lived on this harbor first. Captain Charles Wilkes sheltered his captain's gig here in an 1840 storm, and after his 1841 map came out the bay was named for the boat. Samuel Jerisich arrived in 1867 with other fishermen from Sweden, Norway and Croatia, and fishing, boat building and logging ran the town for decades. Gig Harbor incorporated in 1946 and counted 12,029 people in 2020, with many more living on the peninsula outside the city limits.

Gig Harbor's housing is young. Census figures (ACS 2024) put the median year built in the city at 1998, with only about 2 percent of homes from before 1940. Gas heats about 45 percent of homes, a higher share than Tacoma, Puyallup or Lakewood. So most of the fireplaces we see here are gas units or factory-built fireboxes in framed chases, alongside older brick chimneys near the waterfront. The free inspection covers each type, with photos and a written price before any work.

Pierce Peninsula burn bans

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency splits Pierce County into three burn-ban zones: Greater Pierce, South Pierce and Pierce Peninsula, which covers Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula. Bans can be called for one zone and not another. In January 2016, for example, a Greater Pierce ban left out the Gig Harbor fire district. Check the agency's status page for the peninsula zone, not just the Tacoma headline.

The Tacoma-Pierce County Smoke Reduction Zone, where uncertified stoves are banned outright, stops on the Tacoma side of the Narrows on the agency's map. Gig Harbor is outside it. An uncertified stove here still can't be used in a Stage 1 or Stage 2 ban, and it can't be sold, given away or reinstalled. The agency pays homeowners $500 to recycle an eligible one.

More rain, fewer freezes

NOAA's 1991–2020 normals for Tacoma Narrows Airport, on the peninsula side of the bridge, show about 42 inches of rain over roughly 168 days a year, more than Sea-Tac's 39. The same station averages only about 21 nights below freezing. The problem here is water, not ice: chase covers rust, flashing lets go, and moss holds water against the roof around the chimney. Oregon State University Extension notes that zinc moss treatments corrode copper flashing.

Typical ranges: a chase cover $300 to $700, flashing $300 to $1,800, a cap $250 to $850 and leak repair $300 to $2,500.

Gas fireplace service

A gas fireplace needs a yearly check of the pilot, burner, glass seal and vent; that service typically runs $150 to $350. A pilot, thermocouple or igniter repair runs $100 to $350, and a valve or control board $300 to $1,000. Washington has required carbon monoxide alarms in every home sold since July 26, 2009, so we check yours when we service a gas unit.

Where we work in Gig Harbor

Downtown Gig Harbor · Harbor Hill · Gig Harbor North · Canterwood · Rosedale · Wollochet · Fox Island · Key Peninsula