Chimney questions, answered — Kirkland & the Northshore.

Once a year, at a minimum. NFPA 211 puts every chimney, fireplace and vent on a yearly inspection that confirms the structure is sound, the flue is free of deposits and the clearances to combustibles are right. The Chimney Safety Institute of America suggests pairing that yearly Level 1 inspection with a professional sweep. Source: Chimney Safety Institute of America — Homeowner Resources (https://www.csia.org/homeowner-resources, accessed September 29, 2026).

Because the chimney system is where most home heating fires begin. Working from national figures, the Washington State Fire Marshal says 77% of heating fires in residential buildings during 2024 were chimney, flue or fuel-burner fires. What it tells homeowners to do: get the chimney professionally checked and cleaned every year, and top it with a cap. Source: Fireplace and home heating safety, from the Washington State Fire Marshal (WSP) (https://wsp.wa.gov/fireplace-and-home-heating-safety, accessed September 29, 2026).

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency does, and its bans cover Kirkland, Bothell, Woodinville and Kenmore, including both the King County and Snohomish County sides of Bothell. Stage 1 takes wood-burning fireplaces out of use, along with any wood stove or insert that lacks certification. Stage 2 goes further: no wood fireplace, no wood stove or insert of any kind, certified ones included, and no pellet stove. The state rule behind both is WAC 173-433-150, which also says anyone already burning when a ban starts must stop adding fuel. Sources: Air quality burn bans explained (Puget Sound Clean Air Agency) (https://pscleanair.gov/172/About-Air-Quality-Burn-Bans, accessed September 29, 2026); WAC 173-433-150 (via Cornell LII) (https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/washington/WAC-173-433-150, accessed September 29, 2026).

Go to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency before you light anything. It posts the current status online with an area map, on its burn ban line at 800-595-4341, and through alert sign-ups. Summer fire safety bans are separate: those come from the King County or Snohomish County fire marshal. Sources: Is a burn ban on today? (Puget Sound Clean Air Agency) (https://pscleanair.gov/168/Air-Quality-Burn-Ban-Status, accessed September 29, 2026); Air quality burn bans explained (Puget Sound Clean Air Agency) (https://pscleanair.gov/172/About-Air-Quality-Burn-Bans, accessed September 29, 2026).

Only with an approved exemption, applied for before the ban. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency's 'No Other Adequate Source of Heat' exemption is for homes where wood really is the only adequate heat; pricey electric, oil or propane heat, or a furnace you cannot afford to fix, does not qualify on its own. Exempt homes still may not produce visible smoke. Sources: The only-adequate-heat exemption (Puget Sound Clean Air Agency) (https://pscleanair.gov/171/No-Other-Adequate-Source-of-Heat, accessed September 29, 2026); Air quality burn bans explained (Puget Sound Clean Air Agency) (https://pscleanair.gov/172/About-Air-Quality-Burn-Bans, accessed September 29, 2026).

No. While an air quality burn ban is in effect, all outdoor burning is prohibited, recreational fires fueled by wood or charcoal included, and even certified or exempt indoor devices may not give off visible smoke. Sources: Air quality burn bans explained (Puget Sound Clean Air Agency) (https://pscleanair.gov/172/About-Air-Quality-Burn-Bans, accessed September 29, 2026); Is a burn ban on today? (Puget Sound Clean Air Agency) (https://pscleanair.gov/168/Air-Quality-Burn-Ban-Status, accessed September 29, 2026).

Dry, seasoned firewood or manufactured logs, and paper only to get the fire started. WAC 173-433-120 rules out garbage, treated wood, plastics, rubber, asphalt products, waste petroleum, paints and chemicals, and whatever the season, chimney smoke has an opacity ceiling of 20 percent, which it may not break for six minutes in a row during any one hour. Sources: WAC 173-433-120 (via Cornell LII) (https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/washington/WAC-173-433-120, accessed September 29, 2026); Wood burning and the law, legal overview (Puget Sound Clean Air Agency) (https://pscleanair.gov/170/Legal-Overview, accessed September 29, 2026).

Not as a working stove to be passed on. Under WAC 173-433-100 it is illegal in Washington to advertise, sell, exchange or give away a solid fuel burning device unless it is certified and labeled. Ecology notes that installation itself is regulated by local building departments, not by Ecology. Sources: WAC 173-433-100 (via Cornell LII) (https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/washington/WAC-173-433-100, accessed September 29, 2026); Washington Department of Ecology — Wood stove info (https://ecology.wa.gov/air-climate/air-quality/smoke-fire/wood-stove-info, accessed September 29, 2026).

Yes, through its Wood Stove Recycling Program, open to homeowners in the four counties the agency covers, King and Snohomish included. It covers a working uncertified stove or insert, a certified one that misses the 2020 EPA standards, and wood-burning furnaces or coal-burning devices; you remove the unit and take it to an approved recycler. The program page lists the current payment, and when we checked it gave no deadline. Source: Wood stove recycling program (Puget Sound Clean Air Agency) (https://pscleanair.gov/409/Wood-Stove-Recycling-Program, accessed September 29, 2026).

The 2021 Washington State codes, including the Residential Code based on the 2021 IRC with state amendments. They took effect March 15, 2024, and King County applies them to applications deemed complete on or after that date. The Building Code Council has scheduled the 2024 code cycle to take effect on May 3, 2027. Sources: Revised start date for the 2021 codes (State Building Code Council) (https://sbcc.wa.gov/news/revised-effective-date-2021-codes-march-15-2024, accessed September 29, 2026); King County — Building and fire codes (https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/local-services/buildings-property/codes-complaints/building-fire-codes, accessed September 29, 2026); The 2024 code adoption cycle (State Building Code Council) (https://sbcc.wa.gov/2024-code-adoption-cycle, accessed September 29, 2026).

Three things beyond the model code. State amendment WAC 51-51-1001 calls for a ferrous metal damper at least 8 inches above the fireplace opening, an outside combustion-air duct of at least 6 square inches with a damper you can operate, and, on site-built fireplaces, tight-fitting glass or metal doors or another approved way to prevent back-drafting, such as a flue draft induction fan. Source: WAC 51-51-1001 (via Cornell LII) (https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/washington/WAC-51-51-1001, accessed September 29, 2026).

In Woodinville and Bothell, the city pages we read say yes. Woodinville requires a permit to install, relocate or replace any mechanical appliance, naming fireplaces and stoves, and its combined permit form lists wood and pellet stoves, wood and gas inserts, gas logs and zero-clearance fireplaces. Bothell takes residential mechanical replacements on its form 9, filed online through MyBuildingPermit.com, with a line for each wood or pellet stove or insert and each gas log insert. Kirkland's and Kenmore's own permit pages could not be opened for this answer, so check with the city before an appliance goes in. Sources: City of Woodinville — Permitting FAQs (https://www.woodinville.gov/m/faq?cat=17, accessed September 29, 2026); City of Woodinville — Mechanical & Plumbing Permits (https://www.woodinville.gov/366/Mechanical-Plumbing-Permits, accessed September 29, 2026); City of Bothell — Residential Plumbing and/or Mechanical Alterations/Additions/Replacement (form 9) (https://www.bothellwa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/859, accessed September 29, 2026); City of Bothell — Applications & Forms (https://www.bothellwa.gov/393/Applications-Forms, accessed September 29, 2026).

$99 plus tax for each chimney, the same whether we end up doing a Level 1 or a Level 2. Once you sign off on the written quote we prepare afterward, the inspection fee is credited against the job.

Whenever you approve the quote we write after the visit: the $99 plus tax comes off the bill for the job you pick. Decide against the work and the fee is still owed, since it paid for the trip, the written findings with photos and the itemized quote, all of which you keep.

Level 1 visual; Level 2 adds a full camera scan. Afterward you receive the findings in writing, and if something needs repair, an itemized quote with photos. No work is scheduled until you have agreed to that price.

Kirkland, Bothell, Woodinville and Kenmore: the Northshore corner of King County, Washington. Each has its own page listing what we do there. If you live just outside them, give us a call before you book.

Book online here, where the calendar holds an actual open slot for you, or call us at (425) 793-2992. We reach you about the appointment by email and phone. We don't text, and we never sell or share your details for anyone else's marketing.

Three examples: sweeping costs $189–$459; putting a cap on is $235–$850; relining the whole flue is from $1,900. The price page covers all 12 services. Your own figure is written up after the $99 plus tax inspection, and no work starts before you say yes to it.