chimney cap?

[sinister]

I closed on a house last Friday. It's a 1948 brick colonial (with two additions, and e.g. the wiring a plumbing has been upgraded).

One thing the home inspector pointed out was that the chimney needed a rain hat. I think he meant one of those steel things that's mounted on top of the chimney to keep precip out.

The chimney doesn't service a fireplace. (Maybe there was one at one time; if so, it's been ripped out.) It _does_ service the gas furnace, however.

Right now it looks like there's some kind of wire screen on top of the chimney.

(1) Who installs chimney caps? I'm not so keen on doing it myself. (2) Do I need to get the chimney itself inspected? (If so, by whom?) On the one hand, it sounds like natural gas exhaust is much less apt to clog up a chimney or damage it than burning wood exhaust. On the other hand, I don't want to rely on my carbon monoxide detector to prevent my brain from getting fried.

TIA,

S

[Frank]

My ceramic chimney to oil furnace was partially blocked and needed to be lined with a stainless tube and capped. A chimney guy did it. Cap will keep rain and animals out. Rain mixing with combustion products hastens corrosion of chimney. Animals like squirrels can cause real problems like nesting and blocking chimney.

[David L. Martel]

Sinister,

A chimney sweep can do both of these things. I doubt that a gas-fired chimney will need cleaning.

Dave M.

[ransley]

Chimneys deteriorate first on brick homes, I would not have closed without a complete chimney inspection, you might need a liner, who knows, rain should not go down a chimney

[hallerb]

on top of

at one time;

e, however.

whom?) =EF=BF=BDOn

to save heating costs a new direct vent 90+ heating system is a excellent upgrade.

they dont use chimneys, you can largely forget about it

[Art]

In any case, get a stainless steel cap.

Or a effiiciient system that uses stainless steel ductwork to provide freshair and exhaust to the furnace. They usually come with their own cap.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

The cap is optional, but nice to have to keep birds and squirrels out. Millions of homes don't have them; your has probably not had one for the past 60 years. Be sure to get stainless steel or it will rust and can make a mess of the chimney and siding as it runs down. I have one on my wood burning chimney, but not the oil fired one. Never a problem in 30 years.

A chimney sweep can put the cap on and can also take a peek down there. Most gas stacks last a long time with no problems.

[sinister]

Thanks for the reassurance and advice.

[sinister]

Thanks to everyone for the advice.