Chimney & Fireplace Repair

Sometimes a small repair is all it takes to get your chimney or fireplace back in shape — and sometimes it's the difference between a $400 fix and a $4,000 rebuild. Chimney Butler handles chimney repair and fireplace repair across Bellingham, Whatcom County, and Skagit County: masonry and mortar work, firebox and crown repair, caps and flashing, gas fireplace service, and wood stove repair. We'll tell you straight what needs doing now and what can wait.

Signs your chimney or fireplace needs repair

Most chimney problems announce themselves before they get expensive. If any of these sound familiar, it's worth a look:

• Crumbling mortar joints or spalling, flaking brick on the stack

• Water stains on the ceiling or wall around the chimney

• A cracked firebox, or gaps opening between firebrick

• A rusted, loose, or missing chimney cap

• White chalky staining (efflorescence) on the exterior masonry

• A gas fireplace that won't light, won't stay lit, or smells off

• Smoke rolling back into the room instead of drawing up the flue

• Chunks of masonry or tile in the firebox — that's a flue breaking down

Water is behind most of it. Up here, a chimney that isn't sealed and capped takes weather nine months of the year, and freeze-thaw does the rest.

Chimney masonry repair & tuckpointing

When mortar joints wash out, the whole stack loses its weather seal. We cut out the failed mortar and repoint it — tuckpointing — so the chimney sheds water again instead of soaking it up. Where brick has spalled or a crown has cracked, we rebuild it. Our chimney masonry repair work covers:

• Tuckpointing and repointing failed mortar joints

• Brick replacement where freeze-thaw has spalled the face

• Chimney crown repair and rebuild

• Partial rebuilds above the roofline

• Waterproofing and sealing to stop the cycle from starting again

• Moss removal and prevention

Masonry work is weather-dependent and books out. If your stack needs pointing, the dry stretch before the fall rain is the window.

Fireplace repair: masonry, firebox and hearth

Fireplace repair is its own trade — what's happening inside the firebox is not the same problem as what's happening on the roof. Fireplace masonry repair means rebuilding the part of your fireplace that takes direct fire:

• Cracked firebox repair and firebrick replacement

• Refractory panel replacement in prefab fireplaces

• Repointing firebox mortar with proper refractory mortar

• Damper repair and replacement

• Smoke chamber parging and repair

• Hearth and surround masonry repair

• Fireplace door, screen, and glass replacement

A cracked firebox isn't cosmetic. Once the firebrick is through, heat reaches framing it was never meant to touch. It's the single most common thing we find that people didn't know was a problem.

Gas fireplace repair and service

Gas fireplaces are low-maintenance, not no-maintenance — and almost every call we get in October is a unit that worked fine last spring and won't light now. We service and repair gas fireplaces, inserts, and gas logs across Whatcom and Skagit:

• Pilot and igniter troubleshooting — won't light, won't stay lit

• Thermocouple and thermopile testing and replacement

• Gas valve service

• Blower and fan repair

• Glass cleaning and replacement

• Log set positioning and replacement

• Annual cleaning and safety check

We work on all major brands — Heat & Glo, Heatilator, Lennox, Majestic, Napoleon, Regency, Kozy Heat, Superior, Montigo and the rest. Book the annual service in late summer or early fall and you find the problem in September instead of the first cold night in November, when every fireplace tech in the county is a week out.

Chimney caps, crowns, flashing and flue repair

The top of the chimney is where the water gets in, and it's the cheapest part of the system to keep right.

• Chimney cap installation and replacement — keeps out rain, birds, and squirrels, and stops downdraft

• Chimney crown repair and resurfacing

• Flashing repair and resealing where the chimney meets the roof

• Chimney flue repair and relining

• Wildlife exclusion and nest removal

• Chase cover replacement on prefab chases

If you're seeing water anywhere near the chimney, this is usually where it started.

Wood stove, pellet stove and insert repair

We repair, service and clean wood stoves, pellet stoves, and fireplace inserts — gasket and rope seal replacement, firebrick replacement, glass, baffles, augers, and stovepipe. If your stove is burning dirty, running cool, or leaking smoke at the door, it's usually a seal or a baffle, not the stove. Pellet stoves get the full treatment: annual cleaning, auger and hopper service, gasket replacement, and troubleshooting when it won't feed or won't light.

Where we work

Chimney Butler covers Whatcom and Skagit County. If you've been searching for chimney repair or fireplace repair near you, we're likely already in your area most weeks.

Whatcom County — Bellingham, Ferndale, Lynden, Blaine, Everson, Nooksack, Sumas, Birch Bay, Point Roberts

Skagit County — Mount Vernon, Burlington, Sedro-Woolley, Anacortes, La Conner, Concrete

Frequently asked questions

How much does chimney repair cost?

It depends entirely on what's failed. Repointing a few mortar joints, a new chimney cap, or a damper repair sit at the low end. A crown rebuild or a partial rebuild above the roofline is a bigger job. We give you a real number after we've looked at it — not a range over the phone that changes when we show up.

Do you repair fireplaces as well as chimneys?

Yes. Fireplace repair is a big part of what we do — firebox and firebrick repair, refractory panels, dampers, hearth and surround masonry, and gas fireplace service. The chimney and the fireplace are one system, and we work on all of it.

What is fireplace masonry repair?

It's rebuilding the masonry that takes direct fire — the firebox, the firebrick, the smoke chamber, and the hearth — using refractory mortar rated for those temperatures. Regular mortar fails fast in a firebox. It's different work from repointing the outside of the stack, though we do both.

What is tuckpointing, and does my chimney need it?

Tuckpointing is cutting out failed mortar joints and repacking them with fresh mortar. Your chimney needs it when the joints have washed out deep enough that you can scratch them with a key, or when you can see daylight or gaps between bricks. Left alone, water gets behind the brick and the freeze-thaw cycle takes the stack apart.

My gas fireplace won't light. Can you fix it?

Usually, yes. The most common causes are a dirty or failed pilot assembly, a weak thermocouple or thermopile, or a gas valve that needs service. We diagnose it on site and carry common parts.

How soon can you get out here?

Depends on the season. Summer and early fall we're usually within a week. From October on, repair calls stack up fast — which is the argument for booking your inspection or service before the weather turns.

Do you serve my area?

We cover all of Whatcom and Skagit County — Bellingham, Ferndale, Lynden, Blaine, Mount Vernon, Burlington, Sedro-Woolley, Anacortes and everywhere in between. Give us a call and we'll confirm.