Chimney cap installation on homes across El Portal
One cap or several, every flue on the chimney is measured before anything is ordered.
- Owned and run locally
- Available for same-day service
- Fully licensed and insured
- Family owned and run
Signs a chimney cap in El Portal needs work
- No cap visible on the flue
- Mesh screen torn, bent or missing
- Metal flakes on the hearth or damper
- Mismatched cap on a metal chimney
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How a chimney cap is matched to your flue
What a flue cap can and cannot do
A flue cap has a narrow job. Its lid keeps rain from falling straight down the flue, and its screen stops leaves, birds and animals from getting in. Smoke still has to leave freely through the open sides, so the cap is a guard rather than a seal.
That narrow job sets the limits of the repair. A cap does not waterproof the crown, close a gap at the roof flashing or repair cracked masonry below the top. If water or damage traces to one of those parts, a new cap will not change it. We explain which problems the cap solves before you approve one.
Lid size and wind-driven rain
Lids come in different sizes relative to the screen beneath them. A lid that barely covers the flue can let wind-driven rain slip under it. A wider lid sheds more of it, provided the open area under the lid still suits the flue.
We look at the lid on your current cap and at the direction the weather usually hits the chimney. If rain has been reaching the firebox despite a cap, the lid size is one of several things we check. The proposal names the lid style and explains why it was chosen for your chimney.
Fitting a cap on a stucco-finished chimney
If your chimney is finished in stucco, the top may be a stucco-coated crown over block or brick. A cap that fastens to the crown has to reach sound material beneath the finish. Screws driven only into a thin coat of stucco can loosen.
We look at the top surface and find out what lies under it before choosing a mounting method. Where the stucco is cracked or hollow near the flue, that is noted as a separate repair. The cap is then fitted so its fasteners hold in sound material, and the record says what they were fixed into.
Checking a cap more often near the water
A cap near the coast works harder than the same cap away from salt air. Salt deposits settle on the screen and lid, and rain may not wash them away. Screens can corrode at the edges and fasteners can loosen sooner than the owner expects.
A maintenance visit that includes the cap is worth considering more often in that exposure. We look at the screen, the lid, the fasteners and the metal around the base. Tell us how close the house sits to open water and which way the chimney faces the wind. That helps us plan what to look at first.
Line items on a chimney cap estimate
- Removal of the old cap and hardware
- Access for later sweeping and screen cleaning
- Old adhesive cleared from the tile
- Open flue covered at day's end
Common chimney cap questions, answered
Is my old cap worth repairing instead of replacing?
Sometimes. A sound cap with loose fasteners can be refastened. A cap with rusted-through mesh, a split lid or broken legs is usually past saving. We show you what we found and let you choose the route.
Can a chimney cap keep birds and animals out of the flue?
A cap with an intact screen blocks the opening animals use. It must not be fitted over an animal that is already inside. If you hear movement in the flue, tell us, so removal is handled before the top is closed.
Will you need to drill into my chimney crown?
Only for caps that mount on the crown. Their flanges are fastened into the crown and kept back from its edge so the concrete does not crack. Caps that clamp to a flue tile or band around the brick need no drilling there.
Proudly American
Local service. Careful repairs. A fireplace worth coming home to.
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Chimney & Fireplace Brands We Work With
DuraVent 
Olympia Chimney and Venting 
Copperfield Chimney Supply 
Rutland 
Heatilator 
Heat & Glo