Brick, stone and chimneys San Jose

Brick and stone chimneys in San Jose, from a new liner to a rebuild

San Jose requires a building permit for any structural repair or relining of a chimney, and a house on the Historic Resources Inventory needs a Planning clearance before that permit can be issued. The city's own wood-burning ordinance then governs what the firebox may hold: since 2000 only appliances meeting EPA requirements, pellet heaters or listed gas units may be installed, and a repair or nearby remodel above a cost threshold brings an old fireplace under that rule.

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  • Rules on this page checked against 14 public sources, October 2026

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Free to request, and you agree the scope and price with the person you hire before work starts. In California, a job over $1,000 in labor and materials, or one that needs a building permit, must be done by a contractor licensed by the CSLB in the right class. Ask for the license number and check it at cslb.ca.gov.

Before you hire

Five things to settle with a San Jose mason first

  1. Ask whether the job fits the Simple Projects Service or needs Standard Plan Review, and who will sign the permit application.
  2. If the rebuilt chimney will stand more than 8 feet above the roof, ask who is preparing the engineered design the city requires.
  3. Ask which appliance will sit in the firebox afterward and how it meets Ordinance 26133 and the Air District's remodel rule.
  4. On a house on the Historic Resources Inventory, ask how the plan keeps the chimney, and get the Planning clearance first.
  5. Check the C-29 Masonry license at cslb.ca.gov, and for the sweep and safety inspection ask about CSIA certification, as the city suggests.
Permit trigger
Any structural repair or relining of a chimney
Wood-burning rule
Ordinance 26133: EPA-compliant, pellet or listed gas units only
Engineered design
Masonry chimneys rising over 8 feet above the roof
Walk-in permit excluded
WUI, flood zones A/AE/AH/AO, landslide zones, Planned Development
Hotel Valencia at Santana Row in San Jose
Hotel Valencia at Santana Row in San Jose. Photo: Payton Chung, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The houses here

Ornate Victorian stacks, stone Craftsman chimneys and Eichler block

Masonry was the exception on San Jose houses, which is why chimneys stand out. The city's Guide for Preserving San Jose Homes says most houses were clad in wood lap siding, shingles or stucco, and that brick and stone went mainly into foundations and chimneys. Each era built them differently. Its style notes list tall brick chimneys, usually ornate, on Queen Anne houses, local stone in the chimneys of Craftsman homes built before the First World War, and broad, flat chimneys on Prairie houses. The city's Eichler standards add concrete block or brick chimneys at the rear or side of the tract houses. A tall Victorian stack is the shape the Earthquake Country Alliance worries about most: a chimney that rises more than twice its narrowest dimension above the roof tends to crack just above the roof line.

Free, no obligation. Next, add your details in the request form.

The work

From a worn liner to a stack rebuilt above the firebox

  1. Relining a flue under a walk-in permit

    A new liner counts as permit work in San Jose, but it can often be permitted in one visit. The city's Simple Projects Service issues the permit at the Permit Center when the documents are accurate, provided the house is a single-family home or duplex, sits outside a Planned Development district, flood zones A, AE, AH and AO, geohazard and landslide zones and the wildland-urban interface, and has no open code case. Townhouses go to Standard Plan Review. Counter tickets stop at 3 p.m., and the inspector will also check the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

  2. Rebuilding the stack from the shoulder up

    When the brick above the firebox has to come down, San Jose wants plans through Standard Plan Review: a scaled drawing of how the repair will be made, structural details such as footings, reinforcement and connections to the house, a site plan placing the fireplace, and often engineering calculations. The quick checklist in the city's Residential Construction Guidelines tells the inspector what to look for on a shoulder-up rebuild: steel and anchors tied in at the floor, ceiling and roof levels, ties bent correctly, the height above nearby sloping roof, and flashing with counterflashing.

  3. Shortening a tall chimney

    The Earthquake Country Alliance suggests, with a structural engineer involved, reducing a chimney to no more than twice its smallest dimension above the roof, or adding plywood so bricks cannot fall into the rooms below. That advice runs into the code's minimum height. The city's inspection checklist, citing Residential Code section R1003.9, wants a chimney at least 3 feet above the roof and 2 feet higher than any part of the building within 10 feet. A stack cut down to calm an earthquake risk still has to clear that line, or the fireplace below it goes out of use.

  4. A new insert or a remodeled fireplace wall

    San José's Bulletin 298 explains how a fireplace that was never touched can still come under the 2000 ordinance. A repair to a wood-burning appliance above the city's cost threshold, or a remodel above it that comes within 12 inches of the appliance on the plane of its wall, means the unit must comply as new. Walls at right angles to the fireplace do not count. What may go in is a wood heater from EPA's list of approved models, a pellet heater, or a listed gas appliance set into the masonry fireplace.

  5. Concrete in the flue, or an engineered design

    Some owners who never light the fireplace ask about filling the flue. FEMA's chimney advisory describes it: rebar set the full height of a lightly damaged flue, then filled with concrete, for a fireplace that will not be used again. It also notes the drawback, a heavier chimney that is hard to anchor to the house, which raises questions about the real benefit. An engineered design is the other route FEMA names, and in San Jose it is not optional for a masonry chimney that will rise more than 8 feet above the roof.

Permits and local rules

City and air district rules behind a San Jose chimney permit

  • The city's Chimney Repair permit page

    Written for single-family, duplex and townhouse properties and citing Residential Code section R1003, the page requires a building permit for any structural repair or relining of a chimney. A property on the Historic Resources Inventory or in a Planned Development zone needs Planning clearance first, and the building permit will not be issued without it. The city recommends a licensed contractor as applicant, warns that whoever signs the application is responsible for the work, notes that insurers may deny claims tied to unpermitted work, and suggests CSIA certification for safety inspections.

    Source: City of San José, Chimney Repair (sanjoseca.gov)

  • Bulletin 298 and Ordinance 26133

    Adopted on June 6, 2000, the ordinance allows only wood-burning appliances that meet EPA requirements; the rest are prohibited. It applies to every building permit application filed after July 20, 2000. Under the bulletin, any repair to a wood-burning appliance above a cost threshold must comply, and so must a remodel or renovation above that threshold that comes within 12 inches of the appliance. The city adjusts the threshold every July 1, so ask the Permit Center for the current figure before a mantel or hearth job is scoped.

    Source: City of San José Building Division, Bulletin 298 (sanjoseca.gov)

  • The chimney inspection checklist

    San José's Residential Construction Guidelines, written to the 2025 California codes, list what an inspector checks on a new or rebuilt masonry chimney. A new chimney foundation needs the soils observation and special inspection on the approved plans. Vertical bars and ties follow the code for a chimney up to 5 feet above the roof, heavier bars apply from 5 to 8 feet, and anything taller needs an engineered design. Straps anchor the chimney at each floor, ceiling and roof line, and the cap needs a drip edge. A chimney wider than 30 inches along the ridge gets a cricket.

    Source: City of San José, Residential Construction Guidelines (sanjoseca.gov)

  • Air District Regulation 6, Rule 3

    The Bay Area rule sets a second, higher line than San José's. Section 6-3-307 covers a fireplace or chimney remodel that needs a local building permit and exceeds the rule's own cost threshold: it must end with a gas-fueled or electric unit, or a device meeting the federal wood heater standard. Section 6-3-304 requires anyone selling, renting or leasing a home to disclose the health hazards of wood smoke, and section 6-3-301 bans burning wood whenever the forecast calls a burn ban anywhere in the district.

    Source: Bay Area Air Quality Management District (baaqmd.gov)

State license for this work: C-29 Masonry. Look up a contractor's license on the CSLB website (cslb.ca.gov).

Free, no obligation. Next, add your details in the request form.

Questions

San Jose chimney questions, answered from the city's own rules

Do I need a permit to reline my chimney in San Jose?

Yes. The city requires a building permit for relining as well as for any structural repair. If the house qualifies for the Simple Projects Service, the permit can be issued during a visit to the Permit Center at City Hall with a completed application and the submittal checklist. A house on the Historic Resources Inventory needs a Planning clearance first, and a townhouse goes through Standard Plan Review.

Can we keep burning wood after fixing our San Jose fireplace?

It depends on the size of the job. Bulletin 298 says a repair costing more than the city's threshold, adjusted every July 1, makes the appliance comply with Ordinance 26133, and so does a remodel above that threshold within 12 inches of it on the same wall. After that, only a wood heater on EPA's approved list, a pellet heater or a listed gas appliance in the masonry fireplace may be used. Smaller repairs leave the existing fireplace as it is.

Our Queen Anne chimney is cracked just above the roof. Can it simply be shortened?

Possibly, but two rules pull against each other. The Earthquake Country Alliance suggests a structural engineer consider cutting a chimney down to no more than twice its smallest dimension above the roof. The city's checklist, from Residential Code section R1003.9, wants a working chimney at least 3 feet above the roof and 2 feet above anything within 10 feet. If both cannot be met, the fireplace may have to be retired or the chimney rebuilt lighter.

Should a historic San Jose chimney be braced or taken down?

The city's Guide for Preserving San Jose Homes prefers keeping an ornamental feature by bracing it, and names a masonry chimney as its example, with retrofit materials kept inside or blended in. FEMA warns that steel braces running down to the roof are thought to have promoted chimney failures and must be carefully engineered. The guide also points owners to the California Historical Building Code, which allows some flexibility for retrofitting a listed house.

Our house is in a very high fire hazard severity zone. Does that change the chimney work?

Two ways. State law, Government Code section 51182, requires owners in a very high zone designated by the local agency to remove any part of a tree within 10 feet of a chimney or stovepipe outlet. And the city's walk-in Simple Projects Service is closed to houses in the wildland-urban interface, so the permit goes through Standard Plan Review. The San José Fire Department's zone finder shows which zone an address is in.

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.

  • sanjoseca.gov: chimney repair (sanjoseca.gov)
  • sanjoseca.gov: 638106864313900000 (sanjoseca.gov)
  • sanjoseca.gov: 639113398223670000 (sanjoseca.gov)
  • sanjoseca.gov: 636689792740100000 (sanjoseca.gov)
  • sanjoseca.gov: 636689792742770000 (sanjoseca.gov)
  • sanjoseca.gov: 638913000651930000 (sanjoseca.gov)
  • sanjoseca.gov: fire hazard severity zone (sanjoseca.gov)
  • leginfo.legislature.ca.gov: codes displaySection (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
  • baaqmd.gov: 20250930 rg0603 final pdf (baaqmd.gov)
  • baaqmd.gov: wood smoke (baaqmd.gov)
  • fema.gov: fema earthquakes repair of earthquake damaged masonry fireplace chimne (fema.gov)
  • earthquakecountry.org: chimneys

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