Chimney Cap
Replacement

Most homeowners don’t think about the top of their chimney until something goes wrong — water dripping inside the firebox when it rains, birds flying out when they open the damper, or squirrels scratching all night long. That little metal cover up there is called a chimney cap, and it’s the first and best defense your house has against almost every common chimney problem. A proper chimney cap does four main jobs: (1) keeps rain and snow from pouring straight down the flue and soaking the bricks, mortar, and firebox; (2) stops animals — squirrels, raccoons, birds, bats, even snakes in some areas — from crawling in and building nests or dying inside; (3) blocks leaves, twigs, pine needles and roof debris that can clog the flue and cause smoke to back up into the living room; (4) acts as a spark arrestor so burning embers don’t land on your shingles or the neighbor’s house. When the old cap rusts out, gets knocked loose in a wind storm, or was never installed in the first place (very common on houses built before the 1980s), all those problems start showing up. You’ll notice water stains on the ceiling near the fireplace, a moldy smell in the living room on damp days, or little piles of twigs and acorns in the firebox. That’s the chimney telling you it needs a new cap. Our replacement process is straightforward. One of our technicians climbs onto the roof with ladders and safety gear, removes whatever is left of the old cap, cleans the top of the chimney (called the crown), and measures each flue opening exactly. Most chimneys have one or two flues, but some older homes have three or four. We carry a full selection of heavy-duty stainless steel caps in different sizes and styles — single-flue, multi-flue, bolt-on, or slip-in — so we can almost always install the new one the same day. The new caps we use are made of 304 stainless steel with ¾-inch mesh screening all the way around. The mesh is tight enough to keep even small birds and baby squirrels out, but open enough that smoke and gases escape easily. We attach the cap with stainless steel screws into the flue tile or crown so high winds can’t flip it off. The whole job usually takes 45–60 minutes and we lay drop cloths on the roof and around the fireplace to keep everything clean. Homeowners in older neighborhoods often discover during a home inspection that the house never had a cap, or the original galvanized one rusted away years ago. In newer houses, builders sometimes install cheap black-painted caps that only last a few seasons. Either way, once the new stainless cap is on, those problems disappear. Rain hits the lid and runs off the roof instead of down the chimney. Animals look for an easier house. Leaves blow away instead of piling up inside the flue. If you’ve ever had birds stuck in the chimney or water running down the inside walls of the flue, you know how stressful and messy it can be. A good cap ends that for good. It’s one of the least expensive things you can do for your chimney that gives the biggest return in peace of mind.