Chimney Repair in Berkeley: Brick, Smoke and Fire Rules

Bricklayers laying a brick wall, in a historic black-and-white photo. Photo: Kyytinen, Pekka, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The houses here

Brick flues in a city of old wooden houses

Berkeley describes its flatlands as densely covered with old wooden buildings, most not built to modern fire-resistant code, and warns that an earthquake could spark several fires at once among them. A cracked flue in that setting is a fire path, not only a draft problem. Many of these houses are the type FEMA's chimney plan set was written for: detached wood-frame houses of three stories or fewer with a solid brick chimney. The plan set has limits, though. It covers a chimney no more than 40 inches across at its widest, standing inside the house or against one outside wall rather than at a corner, and it flags houses designated historic under local law, such as a Berkeley City Landmark, as needing other approaches.

The work

Chimney work that comes up on Berkeley houses

Relining a worn firebox
Berkeley's code allows resurfacing the combustion chamber of an existing masonry fireplace as a repair. Replacing any other part of the chamber does not count as repair, and the job then falls under the city's ban on installing a wood fireplace or wood heater without EPA certification. A gas or electric unit sits outside that rule. Ask the mason which side of the line the proposed work falls on before agreeing to a price.
Capping at the roof or the ceiling
FEMA's P-1100-2C plan set, which Berkeley accepts for its seismic refund, offers two caps. One removes brick down to the course just above the highest roof flashing, at least seven inches above the roof, under a galvanized or stainless sheet metal cap. The other removes it to within eight inches of the ceiling framing and closes the roof. Either way the fireplace is sealed off, and any furnace or water heater flue using the chimney is re-routed.
A factory-built chimney above the old firebox
The plan set's rebuild keeps the masonry firebox up to the base of the flue and replaces the brick above it with a UL 103 listed factory-built chimney, joined to the firebox by an adapter tested to UL 103A and enclosed in a steel-stud chase with fireblocking at each floor. Because the combustion chamber stays, confirm with Berkeley's building department that this counts as a repair under the wood-burning rule before choosing it over a gas insert.
Spark arrestors in the hill zones
In Berkeley's wildland-urban interface areas, every chimney serving a fireplace, barbecue or other solid- or liquid-fuel appliance needs a spark arrestor of 12-gauge woven or welded wire with openings no larger than half an inch, securely fastened to the chimney. In the locally designated Very High zone, owners must also keep branches at least ten feet from any chimney or stovepipe outlet.
Brick barbecues and outdoor fireplaces
The same hill areas restrict masonry built for fire outdoors. Under the appendix Berkeley adopted with its wildfire code, outdoor fireplaces, permanent barbecues, fire pits and grills may not be built or installed there without the code official's prior approval, and existing ones must be kept in safe repair with a spark arrester, screen or door on their openings.

Permits and local rules

Berkeley codes behind a chimney or fireplace job

Wood Burning Appliances, BMC 19.28.040
Readopted with Berkeley's 2025 building codes to reduce the health risks of wood smoke under the city's climate. No wood-burning fireplace or wood heater lacking EPA certification, or an exemption under EPA rules, may be installed in any occupancy. Existing masonry fireplaces may be repaired, where repair includes resurfacing the combustion chamber but not replacing other parts of it. Wood-burning cooking devices are allowed, and anyone installing a wood fireplace or heating stove must first send the city documentation that it complies.
City of Berkeley, Ordinance 7,988-N.S. (opens in a new tab)
Seismic transfer tax refund for chimney work
Berkeley's seismic rebate lists securing chimneys and stacks and removing unreinforced masonry chimneys among eligible work, and accepts FEMA's P-1100-2C masonry chimney plan set as a standard. The chimney work needs its own permit application and plan set, and it must be finished before the sale or within one year after it. Buyers, sellers and owners of residential buildings can all apply.
City of Berkeley (opens in a new tab)
Wood Smoke Nuisance, BMC Chapter 15.16
A neighbor on an adjoining lot or directly across the street can use this process against a wood-burning device that lacks EPA compliance, such as an open-hearth fireplace or older stove, or against burning damp wood or trash, when the chimney is less than 120 feet from their living space with no solid barrier in the line of sight. It starts with a letter within 30 days of a smoky burn, then mediation, then arbitration or court.
City of Berkeley Toxics Management Division (opens in a new tab)

State license for this work: C-29 Masonry. Look up a contractor's license on the CSLB website (opens in a new tab).

Timing

Fix the chimney before the inversion season

Berkeley wrote its wood-burning rule around its winters. The city's code findings describe cold days when temperature inversions trap smoke near the ground and the usual flow of clean marine air stops, which are also the nights a fireplace gets used. The Air District bans wood burning whenever a Spare the Air alert is called, at any time of year. Booking a sweep, an inspection or a cap in late summer or early fall leaves time for a permit before the first cold snap.

Before you hire

What to ask a Berkeley mason before the scaffold goes up

Does the chimney fit FEMA P-1100-2C: solid brick, no more than 40 inches across, and not at a corner of the house?
Will the chimney work go on its own permit so it can count toward the city's transfer tax refund?
If the firebox needs more than resurfacing, what will you install, and how does it meet Berkeley's wood-burning rule?
In the hill zones, will the new cap carry a spark arrestor with openings no larger than half an inch?
Check the C-29 Masonry license at cslb.ca.gov and ask for proof of workers' compensation coverage.

Questions

Chimney and fireplace questions from Berkeley owners

Can I rebuild the firebox of my Berkeley fireplace and keep burning wood?

Only partly. Berkeley treats resurfacing the combustion chamber as a repair you may make to an existing masonry fireplace. Replacing other parts of the chamber is not a repair under the rule, and a new wood fireplace or wood heater can only go in if it carries EPA certification or an EPA exemption. Gas and electric units are not covered by the ban.

A neighbor says smoke from my Berkeley chimney is a nuisance. What happens next?

Under BMC Chapter 15.16 the neighbor must start with a letter within 30 days of a smoky burn, describing the problem, and may then ask for mediation, with costs shared. Arbitration needs both sides to agree, and court is the last step. It applies only to devices without EPA compliance or to burning the wrong materials, within 120 feet.

Does taking down our brick chimney count toward Berkeley's transfer tax refund?

It can. Removing an unreinforced masonry chimney and securing chimneys are both on the city's list of eligible seismic work, provided the job has its own permit and plan set and follows an accepted standard such as FEMA P-1100-2C. It must be finished before the sale or within a year after it.

Do I need a spark arrestor on my chimney in the Berkeley hills?

Yes, if the house is in one of the city's wildland-urban interface areas: the High or Very High zones, or the Panoramic and Grizzly Peak mitigation areas. The arrestor must be 12-gauge woven or welded wire with openings no larger than half an inch, securely attached to the chimney.

Is a new brick outdoor fireplace or barbecue allowed in the Berkeley hills?

Not without the code official's approval first. Berkeley's wildfire code bars building or installing outdoor fireplaces, permanent barbecues, fire pits and grills in its interface areas unless approved, and existing ones have to be kept in safe repair with a spark arrester, screen or door on their openings.

Keep exploring

More on masonry and chimney work and Berkeley

Other trades in Berkeley

Guides and smaller jobs

Where this page belongs

Where these facts come from

Checked against these public sources in October 2026. Rules and programs change: confirm permit requirements with the city before work starts, and a contractor's license on the CSLB website.

Old brick chimneys in Berkeley, under the city's wood-burning code

Get quotes for masonry and chimney work in Berkeley

Brick flues in a city of old wooden houses

Chimney work that comes up on Berkeley houses

Relining a worn firebox

Capping at the roof or the ceiling

A factory-built chimney above the old firebox

Spark arrestors in the hill zones

Brick barbecues and outdoor fireplaces