Fireplace and chimney service on the Eastside

The Eastside is newer than Seattle. The Census Bureau's 2024 survey puts the median year built at 1982 in Bellevue, 1984 in Kirkland, 1993 in Redmond, 1995 in Woodinville and 2002 in Issaquah. Fewer than 3 percent of homes in any of them predate 1940. What that means for fireplaces: far more glass-front gas units, gas inserts and factory-built fireplaces with a metal flue inside a framed chase, and fewer old brick stacks.

Gas is the other difference. Utility gas heats 45.7 percent of homes in Bellevue, 48.5 percent in Kirkland, 46 percent in Issaquah and 47.4 percent in Woodinville, against under a third in Seattle. Gas fireplaces need a yearly check of the pilot, burner, glass seal and vent, and they are the fireplaces that stay legal during a burn ban. We service them, repair them and fit gas logs and inserts, with the inspection free.

Chase covers, metal chimneys and leaks

On a factory-built fireplace the rain stops at the chase cover, the metal cap on top of the framed chimney. When it rusts, sags or pools water, the leak shows up as stains on the ceiling or rot in the chase framing long before anyone looks at the roof. With about 156 rainy days a year at Sea-Tac in NOAA's normals, a small failure up there stays wet for months. A chase cover typically runs $300 to $700 and a chimney cap $250 to $850.

Permits and gas work on the Eastside

Bellevue's permit center says a permit is required to install a zero-clearance fireplace, a fireplace insert or a pellet stove, and a gas line or a change to one needs a permit too, with gas fireplace logs given as an example. Unincorporated King County lists fireplaces and wood stoves among the equipment that needs a mechanical permit when installed or replaced. Typical ranges: gas logs $500 to $2,000, a gas insert $2,000 to $8,000, gas fireplace service and repair $150 to $1,000.

The Eastside is not out of earthquake country. The northern strand of the Seattle Fault zone runs close to Interstate 90 and under Lake Sammamish, so the older brick chimneys in Bellevue's 1950s and 1960s neighborhoods deserve the same check as Seattle's.