Chimney Caps
A chimney cap is a very important part of every chimney. They are integral in helping to maintain the integrity of your chimney and actually have several uses, all wrapped into one important piece of equipment.
Chimney Caps come in a wide variety of styles, sizes, shapes, colors and materials. We can help you pick one that goes with the look and feel of your home.
More information on what they do and why you need one is below.
Stainless Steel Rain Cap in heatproof black
Stainless Steel Rain Cap with natural finish
Copper Rain Cap
Reason #1 Rain
The main purpose of a chimney cap is to keep rain out of your chimney. Rain and other moisture if it gets down your chimney can cause erosion and the build up of mold over time.
Erosion can cause all sorts of problems. If your chimney erodes and this causes cracks in the flue liner, smoke may penetrate the rest of the home and the radiant heat can cause fires. In addition, moisture mixed with creosote and soot can cause the deposits to harden, making the sweeping of your chimney more difficult and causing even more issues. A chimney cap is a relatively inexpensive item that can save you a lot of money and headaches in the future.
Go take a look at your chimney, if you don’t see a cap up there, give up a call or book online today!
Reason #2 Sparks & Embers
Another very good reason to have a chimney cap is the spark arrestor component of one. Around the sides of every chimney cap is a screen. In California, it MUST have openings of 5/8 of an inch. This ensures that larger embers and sparks are kept inside the chimney area.
We all know that San Diego is prone to wildfires annually so having a chimney cap properly installed can help prevent these devastating disasters.
Reason #3 Pests & animals
A chimney can be a perfect home for many animals, and being in the field we run into all sorts of critters.
A chimney cap can help prevent most animals from entering the chimney and making it their home. Bees and other insects find the darkness a prefect place to build a hive. Along with birds building nests in the top, making things a bit scary for them if you decide to have a fire not knowing that they have made it their home.
A chimney cap can help prevent most of this from happening.
Reason #4 Downdrafts
We are blessed to live in San Diego with such a temperate environment that this final reason for most folks, isn’t that much of a concern.
Without a chimney cap however, downdrafts can happen. A downdraft is when the wind comes down the chimney. This can cool the room to a chilly temperature in addition, if you have a fire going, it can cause smoke spillage where the smoke comes out the front of the fireplace and into the home! Nobody wants that to happen!