CHIMNEY CAP REPLACEMENT COST

For masonry chimney, there are flat roof style, hip (pointed) roof, and then a lot of variations of those. There are a variety of different metals available. Copper, stainless steel, aluminum,  sheet metal, and other materials if needed. The legs and the tops are designed with strength to hold a lot of weight in case of a limb falling onto them.

The spark arrestor cap, which virtually every cap is.  These are designed to prevent sparks from escaping the chimney and potentially starting a fire. On our custom designed covers, you can leave the screen out as an option, but we don’t recommend it.

All of our single or double top mounted chimney toppers cover the flue or flues with a screen.

Then there is the rain pan for metal, or prefab chimneys. The flat sheet of metal is prone to corrosion and rust after 25 to 30 years. A prefab chimney often has an exterior that is the same as the siding of the house. 

On masonry chimneys, the chimney crown and the fireplace itself must be protected. We have seen countless cracked and weathered crowns. The weather can wreak havoc with your chimney’s  longevity over time, as can pests like raccoons. Rainwater can literally wear away you brick , stone, or any other material. Bricks are made from mud and too much precipitation has a big impact on them. 

The quality of construction of your chimney also determines what weather conditions it will withstand.

Most chimney caps are designed to keep moisture entering from the outside down to fireplaces. However, there are caps specifically designed to prevent downdrafts.
The damper actually doesn’t keep water out. Dampers are to keep drafts from blowing embers from your fire into the room with the people.

When we mount chimney caps onto the top, we must make sure it allows proper draft  so smoke doesn’t kick back into the living space. If there are clay flue liners, they sometimes stick up high above the crown. 

If you have problems with mold and mildew, a flue cap with the correct height can help with that issue.

Chimney caps are an important part of chimney maintenance and safety. They provide protection from  leaves, debris, racoons, squirrels, birds, winds, and everything else. 

Spark Arrestor Caps: Spark arrestor caps are designed to prevent sparks from escaping the chimney and potentially igniting nearby combustibles. These have a screen mesh material designed in a way to prevent sparks from escaping. 

The varieties of styles available are really endless. Whatever you can dream in your mind, it probably can be built.

Homeowners will have to choose what shape, sizes, or styles will fit the look of their home.

The choice is more about the look of the house than performance. All our caps are from measurements taken by us. We don’t get that kind of information second hand.

You, as the homeowner,  should know which chimney top is right when you see it. There is also budget to consider. Is it affordable? You will have a wide choice of shapes and dimensions, designs and functions. 

It depends on weather conditions in your area. It depends on the length, or height. Some houses have round chimneys. Some have wood burning stoves. Some houses have gutters of a certain color that must be matched.

Prefabricated caps can sometimes be used. There are also caps with a built in fan to pull smoke from inside the fireplace out. 

1. You notice that the chimney cap is cracked, warped, or otherwise damaged. This could be due to weathering, age, or physical damage from a tree falling on it. 

2. You can see that the chimney cap has become loose and is no longer securely attached to the chimney. Your choices when you have this problem are a question of money. It’s probably just as expensive to repair a chimney cap as to replace it. If the screws have come loose, then it should be an easy fix. Sometimes we attach brackets to the base of these loose tops, which clamps them down really tight.

3. You notice that water is leaking from the chimney cap or that there is water damage around the base of the chimney. 

First, if trees are right above the flue opening, your chimney could clog with debris. If your heating and air is vented through the chimney, carbon monoxide entry can become deadly.  You need a clear flue to develop a strong updraft to carry the fumes out. Updrafts are good in chimneys. That’s why the fires you build can fill homes with warmth, while the direction of the smoke is up and out.

In fact, critters such as bats, rats, and snakes don’t actually go in chimneys. Chimney Swifts are birds that nest in chimneys. The young birds in the nest make a very strange sound that people mistake for a snake hissing! Bats can’t actually fly straight up a chimney, so they can’t nest in chimneys.  Only Chimney Swifts have that ability. 

If there is nothing there to stop them, flying squirrels can land right in your chimney flue opening. We have seen it. 

Without a chimney cover, your chimney is exposed to the elements, including rain, snow, and ice. These elements can cause water damage to the chimney, leading to costly repairs or even a complete replacement.

Having a chimney cap with a screen in place is one of the best things you can do to protect your home from the elements and keep your chimney in good working order. Here are some of the benefits of having a chimney cap with a screen:

1. Protection from the Elements: A chimney cap with a screen helps keep out rain, snow, and debris from entering your chimney, which can cause damage and lead to costly repairs. Free standing chimneys are especially susceptible to developing curved sides, or tilting.   

2. It keeps sparks in! This is highly important for fire safety.

3. The screen keeps the animals out and prevents nests being built in your smoke chamber. Animals in the house can bring about some costly situations. On squirrel squeezed his body through an open damper and got into the living room when the home owners weren’t there. He scratched and clawed through the wood windows trying to get out. The cost of repairs was far beyond what a cap would have been.

We have them manufactured to our specification at a local metal factory. This gives you a huge advantage over prefabricated caps that often don’t fit correctly.

There is one other type of top called a damper chimney cap. The damper chimney cap is the exact width as the chimney flue pipe walls. Except that under the top, there is a damper built it. It is operated by a lever mounted on the fireplace wall, with a cable running to the top.   These dampers have settings allow the openings to be set to the proper diameter for the proper draft.

These are similar to a wood stove damper. 

Some of it’s features are that it perfectly fits the opening and doesn’t restrict air flow. If you reduce airflow you could have a lot of smoke in the house.

The most common is the rain pan chase cover for metal, or prefab, chimneys.

 The second most common type of chimney cap is the multi-flue cap, which is designed to cover multiple flues in a single chimney. It is estimated that up to 15% of all chimney caps installed are of this type.

 The third most common type of chimney cap is the single-flue cap, which is designed to cover a single flue in a chimney. It is estimated that up to 5% of all chimney caps installed are of this type.