Level 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Chimney Cap & Crown Across Redmond
A cracked chimney crown or corroded cap in Redmond is not a cosmetic issue. It’s how water gets into a 50-year-old masonry chimney and starts tearing it apart from the inside. A typical crown repair in Redmond runs $350-$650, and a stainless cap replacement with installation runs $400-$900 depending on flue size and roof access. Call (980) 580-8641 and we’ll get a tech to your Redmond home, camera the flue, and hand you a written price before any work starts.
Why Emberly Chimney Cleaners Is Redmond’s Preferred Chimney Cap & Crown Company
We work in Redmond neighborhoods from Education Hill to Grass Lawn every week, and the chimneys here tell a consistent story. Most are original to 1960s and 1970s builds, their crowns cracked by decades of Sammamish Valley freeze-thaw cycles, their caps rusted through from winters that run wetter and colder than coastal Seattle. Redmond homeowners call us after a leak shows up on the ceiling or a home inspector flags the crown, and they want to know two things: what it costs, and whether they’re being told the truth. We answer both with camera footage and a written price.
Every Redmond job includes a camera-scan inspection under NFPA 211 Level 2, not a flashlight look from the ground. That’s Clause 4 of the Haven Standard, the operating standard Corrine Halstead runs this company by, and it’s been the default here since 2009. You get a documented photo record of what we found, a written scope of work, and a written warranty before a single brick is touched. If it’s not done right, the 365-Day Done Right Promise says we make it right. No fine print, no call-back runaround.
Our Chimney Cap & Crown Services in Redmond
Crown Repair
A chimney crown is the concrete slab at the top of the chimney that sheds water away from the flue. Redmond crowns fail in a specific way: the west-facing edge cracks and spalls first, because it takes the full force of Pacific storms funneled through the Sammamish Valley, then freezes overnight. We rebuild crowns with a proper overhang and drip edge, not just a cosmetic patch, and we document the condition before and after with photos. Typical crown rebuilds in Redmond run $350-$650.
Cap Replacement
If your cap is galvanized steel and your home is in Grass Lawn or Education Hill, it’s probably rusted through at the seams. We replace galvanized caps with stainless options from Famco and Copperfield, sized correctly for single-flue and multi-flue stacks. Correct sizing matters more than most homeowners realize: a cap that’s too tight restricts draft, and one that’s too loose lets rain drive straight down the flue. Installed cap replacements in Redmond run $400-$900.
Multi-Flue Cap
Older Redmond split-levels and ranches often have two or three flues sharing one chimney chase. A single-flue cap doesn’t cover the whole crown, and the exposed mortar between flues is where water pools and freezes. We install multi-flue caps custom-sized to the crown dimensions, with a stainless mesh screen that keeps birds and squirrels out without choking draft. This is one of the most common fixes we do in Bear Creek and Redmond Ridge.
Crown Coating
Crown coating with a flexible elastomeric sealant like Gelco or HeatShield’s crown coat system can buy time on a crown that’s cracked but not yet spalled. It’s not a permanent fix for a crown that’s already losing concrete, and we’ll tell you that plainly. But for a crown with hairline cracking and no structural damage, a coating in Redmond runs $250-$450 and can push a full rebuild several years down the road. We’ll camera the crown and show you which camp yours falls into.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
BeforeAfterTrusted Brands We Service in Redmond
We carry and install caps and crown materials from Famco, Copperfield, and HeatShield, sourced through the Haven buying network to keep Redmond pricing honest. When we quote a stainless cap, it’s a real Famco or Copperfield cap, not a no-name import that rusts in three winters. Redmond’s wet climate punishes cheap galvanized fasteners and thin-gauge steel, so we spec materials for the valley’s freeze-thaw reality, not for a showroom. Parts for most Redmond cap and crown jobs are on the truck, not ordered and back-ordered.
Common Chimney Cap & Crown Problems We See in Redmond Homes
- One-sided crown cracking. On Education Hill’s upper slopes, west-facing chimney crowns crack along the windward edge while the downslope east side looks nearly new. That’s storm-driven rain hitting the crown, soaking into the porous concrete, then freezing overnight. It’s not random; it’s valley topography.
- Rusted galvanized caps. Redmond’s 37-40 inches of annual rain, combined with regular below-freezing winter nights, eats galvanized steel faster than homeowners expect. A cap that looked serviceable two years ago can be rusted through at the seams today.
- Lifted flashing at the roofline. Older 1960s-1970s masonry chimneys in Grass Lawn and Bear Creek were flashed with materials not built for decades of Sammamish Valley storm winds. Water runs down the chimney exterior, under the lifted flashing, and into the ceiling below.
- Spalled concrete exposing brick core. When a Redmond crown loses its outer concrete layer to freeze-thaw cycles, the brick below absorbs water directly. This is the failure point that turns a $500 crown repair into a $4,000+ chimney teardown if it’s ignored for another winter.
Pricing for Chimney Cap & Crown in Redmond, WA
Here’s what Redmond homeowners can expect to pay, in real numbers:
- Crown coating (hairline cracks, no structural loss): $250-$450
- Crown repair with partial rebuild: $350-$650
- Full crown rebuild with proper overhang and drip edge: $600-$900
- Stainless cap replacement, single flue, installed: $400-$700
- Stainless multi-flue cap, custom-sized, installed: $650-$900
Roof pitch and chimney height affect labor, and a two-story Education Hill chimney costs more to access than a single-story ranch in Grass Lawn. That’s the honest range. Every Redmond quote is written, specific, and in your hand before work begins, not after a tech is already on your roof. Call (980) 580-8641 and we’ll schedule a camera-scan inspection and written estimate. You can also ask about our Chimney Cap & Crown team’s Free Second Opinion on any competitor’s written quote.
We Also Serve Cities Near Redmond
Our Chimney Cap & Crown crews work throughout Redmond and the Eastside. If you’re in Kirkland, Sammamish, Bellevue, or Bothell, the same written-price standard and camera-scan inspection apply. Scheduling runs through our Seattle metro office, but the techs who show up are local to the Eastside corridor and know these chimneys. For more on our coverage area, see Redmond.
Serving Redmond, WA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Redmond area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Chimney Cap & Crown in Redmond
Redmond’s inland Sammamish Valley position means winter nights drop below freezing more often than in Seattle proper, and prevailing Pacific storms funnel through the valley and slam the west-facing side of chimneys hardest. Water soaks into the porous crown concrete on that windward edge, freezes, expands, and spalls the surface. The downslope east side stays drier and shows far less damage. This directional cracking is the single most reliable indicator of a Redmond chimney crown that needs repair, not just sealing.
Every two years for a masonry chimney in Redmond, and annually if your home sits on an upper slope in Education Hill with a west-facing chimney stack. The freeze-thaw cycle here is aggressive enough that a crown can go from hairline cracks to spalled concrete in three winters. A camera-scan inspection with photo documentation is included on every Emberly visit, so you’re not relying on someone’s memory of what it looked like last time. Call (980) 580-8641 to schedule.
Yes, and the difference in Redmond is measured in decades, not years. Galvanized steel caps in this valley’s wet winters start rusting at the seams within five to eight years, and many fail structurally by year ten. A stainless cap from Famco or Copperfield, correctly sized, routinely lasts twenty-plus years here. The upfront difference is roughly $150-$300, and you only pay it once. We stock both, and we’ll show you the corrosion points on your existing cap before you decide.
Sometimes, and we’ll tell you honestly which one applies. If a Redmond crown has hairline cracks but the concrete is still sound, a flexible crown coating from Gelco or HeatShield costs $250-$450 and can extend the crown’s life several years. But if the concrete has already spalled and exposed the brick core, coating it is paint over rust. The crown needs a partial or full rebuild. We’ll camera the crown and show you the footage, so the recommendation comes from evidence, not a sales target.
Redmond’s inland position doesn’t spare your cap; it rusts it differently. You don’t have salt air eating the metal, but you do have 37-40 inches of annual rain, winter nights below freezing, and valley winds that drive moisture into every seam. Galvanized steel rusts under those conditions just as reliably as it does near salt water, just with a different corrosion pattern: seam failure and pitting along the windward edge. Stainless caps handle this climate with far less maintenance. We see this exact failure on Redmond chimneys constantly, and the fix is straightforward.
Water gets into the brick core, freezes, spalls the masonry, and the chimney starts coming apart from the top down. A crown that could be repaired for $500 becomes a multi-thousand-dollar rebuild, and in the worst cases, a teardown to the roofline. The failure sequence is predictable in Redmond because the climate drives it every winter. If you see cracking, spalled concrete, or rust stains running down the brick, get a camera-scan inspection before the next freeze. Call (980) 580-8641 and we’ll show you the condition in writing, with photos.
Written by Corrine Halstead, Owner at Emberly Chimney Cleaners, serving Redmond and the Eastside under the Haven Standard since 2009.