What a chimney sweep costs in Portland, and what moves the number

What Portland companies post for a chimney sweep

Three Portland-area companies post a sweep price on their own pages, and the spread is $199 to $499 for one open fireplace with a look-over included.

On the local company pages we checked in October 2026, the one chain operating in the metro posts $299 for a sweep with inspection and $69 for an inspection on its own. A Tigard company says most standard sweeps with a Level 1 inspection run $299 to $499. A Portland roofing company’s chimney line posts $199 regular for one open wood-burning fireplace, with a lower promotional price at times.

Those are the only firm sweep prices we found posted in the metro; the rest of the market quotes by phone or after a visit. Our chimney sweep page and the price board post a starting price for one open masonry fireplace with the Level 1 look-over and before and after photos of the flue included, and that number sits inside the posted range.

Calculator pages print lower numbers. One calculator site’s Portland page, dated June 2024, gives $140 to $160 per chimney for a standard one or two story house. Those pages are templated across cities with no stated method, and no Portland company posts anything near them, so treat them as an estimate of the floor rather than a quote you can book.

What the national cost guides say

The national guides land where the Portland posted prices do: a typical sweep in the low to mid hundreds, with a wide range on either side for a stove, a second flue or a neglected chimney.

The table lists what three widely read guides print, with their own dates, because a 2023 average and a 2026 one are not the same number.

Fixr’s figures by appliance matter for anyone without an open fireplace: a gas fireplace service at $85 to $250, a pellet stove at $175 to $350, a wood stove at $200 to $500, and about $50 added to pull an insert with no liner to the top. The wood stove and insert sweep and pellet stove cleaning pages explain why those jobs run longer.

What a chimney inspection costs, Level 1 and Level 2

A Level 1 look-over usually comes bundled with a sweep, and local company pages we checked in October 2026 put a Level 2 camera inspection of one flue at $300 to $500 and an inspection with a written report at $200 to $450.

Those pages put a Level 1 done during a routine sweep at $150 to $250, and the chain’s $69 standalone inspection sits well under that because it is a look from the firebox, not a camera scan of the flue.

Nationally, Fixr gives $85 to $950 for a Level 1 and $150 to $1,000 for a Level 2 depending on the size of the system, with a camera scan of one flue at $150 to $400 on its own, and Redfin’s buyer guide puts a Level 2 at $150 to $500 and one to two hours of work.

Our chimney inspection page posts a starting price for a Level 1 on its own and for the Level 2 camera inspection, and the real estate chimney inspection adds the written report a sale needs. The levels guide explains which one your situation calls for.

What moves the price of a sweep

Six things move a sweep price: creosote past the first degree, a second flue, an insert to pull, the appliance type, roof height and access, and years without a sweep. Every metro company prices them, stated or not.

1. Creosote past the first degree. The Tigard company’s $299 to $499 band is explicit that heavy buildup pushes a job toward the top, and glazed third degree creosote is a different service altogether, with chemical treatment or rotary tools instead of a brush. Our creosote removal page posts a starting price; the creosote stages guide shows what each degree looks like.
2. A second flue. A stack with a fireplace flue and a furnace flue side by side pays for both; a second flue swept on the same visit costs less than a second appointment but is never free.
3. An insert that must come out. An insert with a full-height liner is swept through the liner; one without a liner, a slammer, has to be pulled and reset, which takes two people and extra time, and Fixr adds about $50 for it.
4. The appliance. A freestanding stove adds a connector pipe and baffle; a pellet stove is a teardown of the stove itself; a gas unit is a vent check and service rather than a brush. Fixr’s appliance ranges above show the spread.
5. Height and roof access. A three-story flue, a steep or wet roof, or a chimney that can only be swept from the top takes longer and sometimes a second person, and in Portland the roof is often wet from November to March.
6. Years without a sweep. Bob Vila’s figure for a neglected chimney is up to $800, because the deposit is thicker, harder and more likely to be glazed.

Why the lowest quote is often a look without a brush

A sweep is rods, brushes sized to the flue, a vacuum sealed at the firebox and a Level 1 inspection; a low quote that skips any of those is an inspection with a sales visit attached, not a sweep.

That is not a complaint about low prices. A $69 inspection is a fair thing to sell as long as it is called an inspection, and some homes only need one. The problem comes when a homeowner books the low number expecting a clean flue and gets a flashlight, a photo of a dirty smoke shelf and an estimate for the real work.

Four questions sort it out before anyone comes to the house, and a company with a real price list can answer all four on the phone.

• Does the price include brushing the full length of the flue, or only an inspection?
• Is a Level 1 inspection included, and will I get the photos?
• What is the charge for a second flue, an insert that has to be pulled, or heavy creosote, and how is that decided?
• Is the camera inspection a Level 2 that includes the attic and roof, or a camera scan added to a cleaning?

One Portland company describes a camera on every flue as standard, and the chain promises a written report with photos; ask to see a sample before you book, because a promise of photos and a report with labeled stills are not the same thing.

What repairs run in the metro, in rough terms

None of the Portland chimney companies we read posts a starting price for a cap, crown, flashing, tuckpointing, liner or rebuild, so the repair side of the market runs on national ranges and quotes after a visit. The table gives those ranges for scale.

Those ranges are national, and roof access and the age of the stack move real quotes inside them: an old brick chimney that needs an insulated liner for an insert lands near the top of the liner band, a cap on a one-story ranch near the bottom of its band. The repair or rebuild guide covers that decision, and the liner types guide covers what moves a liner quote.

Where our board sits and how to read it

Our prices are posted starting prices, parts and labor included, and the sweep starts inside the range the Portland pages post. The board shows the number; this page explains the market around it.

A starting price is the figure for the plain version of the job: one open masonry fireplace and its flue, brushed and vacuumed, with the Level 1 look-over and before and after photos. The things above that move the number are named add-ons on the board, a second flue, an insert pulled, a Level 2 added to a sweep, so you can add them up before anyone arrives.

Text a photo of the fireplace and the chimney top for a firm number before the visit; the quote page explains what to send. A posted price rather than a number after the fact is the point of the board, and if a job turns out to need more than the posted version, you hear that before the work, not on the invoice.