While enjoying the warm and cozy feeling of a beautiful gas or wood-burning fireplace, it’s easy to forget about the chimney perching above the roof of your Atlanta area home. For your fireplace to operate safely and efficiently, the flue must expel the smoke and harmful combustion gases from your home. Since water can cause widespread damage, including rust, mold, and mildew, you should always have a chimney cap installed on top of the stack.
What Is a Chimney Cap?A chimney cap is like a rain hat or umbrella that covers the exposed flue pipe, protecting it from external elements like rain, snow, wind, debris, and even small animals. A flue cover covers the flue, while a chimney cap covers the entire width, protecting the cement chimney crown too. Chimney caps are available in many different designs, styles, and materials, such as steel, copper, and aluminum. Chimney Solutions recommends installing a custom chimney cap, which is fabricated to fit your specific chimney perfectly. We also use higher quality materials than a standard off-the-shelf product.
A devastating house fire can occur when sparks from embers in the flue fly out, landing on the roof or, worse – a nearby tree branch that is dangling over the top. In addition to causing severe property damage to your home, it could also endanger the lives and property of neighbors. So it’s an important reason for having a chimney cap installed.
Alpharetta, Cumming, and the surrounding Greater Atlanta is home to bats, mice, raccoons, pigeons, and other small critters that enjoy a warm and comfortable environment a safe distance away from predators. And your chimney may be the nearest inn they take up residence. Unfortunately, these critters don’t know the dangers of living inside a chimney flue. As a result, they often get stuck and perish inside, unable to get out. Also, the nests they build are combustible, so sparks or heat could cause a chimney fire. Installing a chimney cap will keep local wildlife from entering the flue. Your family will sleep better at night too.
The sounds of rain can be soothing, but not when it is dripping inside the fireplace. The interior masonry is softer than the exterior brick-and-mortar. As a result, moisture inside the chimney creates a cascading effect that can lead to spalling brick, firebox damage, and drafting problems, rendering your fireplace or stove unsafe to operate. In severe cases, the chimney can collapse, damaging your roof, chase, and siding.
The rainwater, creosote buildup, and corrosive combustion gases from an uncapped flue will accelerate the deterioration of the liner, leading to premature liner replacement. Also, clay tile or terra cotta liners are typical in ducts throughout Greater Atlanta.
These contaminants will literally “eat” their way through the liner, increasing the fire risk and exposure to harmful pollutants, including toxic carbon monoxide exhaust. A chimney cap is an inexpensive device that will help prolong the liner’s lifespan, minimizing repairs.
As you can tell, a chimney cap does a lot more than help prevent chimney leaks. If your chimney cap is damaged, missing, or has been more than 12 months since your last inspection, call the certified professionals at Chimney Solutions. For the Atlanta area, call 770-255-1300. For Chattanooga TN, call 423-551-9912 to schedule an appointment today.
