Chimney Cap Repair
Problems Caused by Improper or Damaged Chimney Caps
- Water entering your home can cause damage to any wood, drywall, carpeting or electrical that it comes in contact with. It can also contribute to the growth of dangerous molds.
- Certain wind conditions can cause a downdraft that can fill your house with smoke and leave soot on your walls and ceilings.
- Animals, insects, and reptiles such as squirrels, opossums, attic rats, mosquitoes, roaches, and termites to name a few, can enter your home any time they choose.
- You may experience increased heating and cooling bills due to exposure to outside elements.
- Your fireplace may be a Fire Hazard to your home and to your neighbor’s homes due to sparks exiting through a damaged, missing or improperly installed spark arrestor. Many builders do not install a proper spark arrestor when they build a new home.
Note: You should also make sure that your Firebox is safe and in good working order. If you use your fireplace you should inspect the inside of the firebox on a regular basis to make sure that it is in good working order.
Our Repair Process
We begin by installing a 1/4 inch mesh metal screen at the opening of your chimney. This prevents any embers larger than the size of the openings from escaping your chimney as well as preventing animals and insects from entering.
Next, we install a section of flue tile directly on top of the screen. This is an orange clay tube that is designed to route the smoke and sparks out of your fireplace. Its dimensions are usually 13 by 13 or 13 by 17 inches.
Next, we mount a new spark arrestor to the top of the flue. The spark arrestor is a black metal cap or cage.
It is solid at the top with additional screens along the sides. The solid top prevents rain from entering the flue and also acts as a second defense against sparks getting out.
The additional screens around the spark arrestor act as a second barrier against allowing animals and insects to enter your home through the chimney.
Our final step is to install the mortar cap. The mortar cap seals the area between the flue and the outer edges of the brick. It is thicker and higher around the flue tile and gradually slopes downward to the outer edges of your chimney. This slope is important because it deflects water downward and away from the top of the chimney.
Your New Chimney Cap is Ready
Now any rain that strikes the top of the spark arrestor cap is deflected downward to the mortar cap which in turn deflects it over the edges of the chimney eliminating any possibility of it entering your house through the top of the chimney.
There is now no need to worry about downdrafts as the wind condition that causes them is stopped by the solid top of the spark arrestor.
