Chimney cap replacement questions

[LenS]

We live in a ranch style house with a gas furnace and forced air heating/cooling. When we had our fall furnace inspection the HVAC fellow pronouced our furnace in fine shape (not surprising since it's only 5 years old) but said that he found some suspicious debris in the chimney. Might have been the remains of a bird, he said, and also some stuff that looked to him like toasted pine needles.

Anyway, he suggested that the chimney cap might be gone; eroded perhaps, and recommended getting a new one. His company doesn't do chimney caps and he had no suggestions for someone to do it.

We've only owned our house for a little over 5 years, and I'm a babe in the woods at home owning and maintenance.

I looked at my chimney from the backyard but couldn't see anything. Then I talked to a couple of my neighbors who told me that the cap was a sort of screen-like cover over the top of the chimney and most of the time wasn't even visible from the ground. They also said the HVAC fellow might have been right, but the only way to find out would be to have someone actually look at the chimney from the roof.

What kind of companies do chimney caps? Roofers?

Is this an expensive thing?

What would happen if I did nothing? Is there some long-term damage possible?

Any suggestions, comments or opinions will be welcome.

Thanks,

-Len

[C G]

It's a little odd that he inspected the chimney close enough to find debris inside, but not know if there is a cap.

Have you tried a chimney sweep? Sounds like it might have been a while since anyone did a thorough inspection of your chinmey. A good sweep will clean it, inspect it, put a cap on it and let you know if there are any problems which need to be repaired. This is especially important if you actually use your fireplace. A simple cap should not be expensive, and having it done by the sweep while he's there is the second most economic way to do it. The most economic way is DIY, but since you don't have much experience it would be best to have it done while a pro is checking out the chimney.

[Jeff Wisnia]

You can buy chimney caps at Home Depot and Lowes. They cost between $20 and $50 depending on size and material. If you are able to safely climb to the top of your chimney twice, first to measure the size of the opening and again to install the cap after you buy the right size, you can DIY the job

If not almost any contractor who can get up there should be able to put a cap on for you, it's not rocket science. Chimneysweeps,brickmasons, roofers or even a cooperative house painter should be able to.

I put one on our chimney when the second bird (a Grackle) fell down it and gave us a merry time trying to chase it out of the house. Our chimney was only about 6 feet higher than the roof it abutted and that roof was reachable out the window of a room on a higher floor, so all it took was a little stepladder. The cap I bought went into the chimney like a bottle cork with a few bolts to tighten and push clamps out th lock it in the chimney so a hurricane or a persistant squirrel wouldn't lift it out.

Happy Holidays,

Jeff

[RB]

To me a chimney cap is a concrete and reinforcing wire mesh placed on the top surface of a chimney. Among other things this serves to keep water from getting between the bricks that the chimney is made of and then freezing and damaging the chimney. Any mason should be able to replace a chimney cap. $125 is a fair price for a cap above a single story roof that doesn't entail difficult access.

RB

LenS wrote:

[Art Begun]

You want a stainless steel cap. Chimney sweeps sell them. I paid $100 installed 6 years ago. Just had ocassion to inspect it and it looks brand new. The black galvanized or painted ones don't last at all.

[Art Begun]

It doesn't have to be masonry. My stainless steel one looks brand new after 6 years. A masonry one is subject to cracking, just like the mortar in the chimney.

single

anything.

[George E. Cawthon]

I'm with you. A screen on the flue is not a chimney cap, it is exactly what you said. However, erosion of the chimney cap in 5 years, is possible only if the chimney were improperly built. It usually crack and let water into the brick, and continual freezing and thawing breaks the bricks. When that happens replacement is likely to be more than $125. Just the cost of the replacement bricks for two or three rows (depending on shape and size of the chimney) could exceed $125.

However, who knows what the HVAC guy was talk>

[CBhvac]

Good..you would be surprised at the number of units that are about shot at

5...thats a third of the way through the life of the typical unit today...(no..not a sales technique, but simple facts..built in obsolecence)

Like an old birds nest perhaps...

Or it might have been there from before the cap was placed on it...

A CAP, is a CAP. Meaning, it seals off the flue completely.

HVAC companines that are legit...since it is allowed by our licence, some roofers, masons, and chimney sweeps...

Depends...we just did a real cap, with a drop down chain and spring loaded cap for about $375 installed, but the cap was the most expensive part.

More than likely not.

[Jeff Wisnia]

That must be a local or archaic term. But it does describe it pretty well. "Frosting" just wouldn't sound right.

However, Googling up "Chimney Cap" gets mostly stuff which looks like this:

Which is probably what the OP's after.

Happy Holidays,

Jeff

-- Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"If you can keep smiling when things go wrong, you've thought of someone to place the blame on."

[LenS]

We've lived in the house for just over 5 years but I don't know how long the chimney cap was there. We're the third owners of a 45 year old house.

Um...I thought the cap was to keep stuff out of the chimney so it won't drop into the flue (assuming the flue is the exhaust for combustion byproducts from the furnace.] I'm really not too bright on this stuff.

Anyway, since I'm not inclined to climb onto the roof to find out what's in the chimney (my across-the-street-neighbor broke his hip falling from his roof) I'll just have to hire someone trustworthy to do it.

Thanks to you and all the others for the comments and help.

-Len

[George E. Cawthon]

Hey, you could call the guy and find out what he really meant. Masons call the mortar at the top of the chimney, a cap, that is, it caps the bricks. But people don't use words very precisely and like to make up their own definitions. Makers of metal chimenys call the attachment on top a weather cap, a cap, or a screen,or maybe something else. Brick chimneys with clay flues used for fireplaces often don't have a weather cap or screen. But if it is for a furnaces I would certainly want a screen or weather cap at the top.

[Steven Johnson]

George and Len both described things the way that I understand them, too.

This latest is pretty good advice, in my book . . . because in spite of what many roofers and bricklayers would call the "cap" (that is, the cement "hat" which surrounds the flue and shields the bricks from rain), there are many others including roofers and masons who might just call the "cap" what I would call the "flue screen" or "squirrel preventer". So, if you ask the HVAC guy which one he had in mind, and he tells you, then you know! All discussion here, while interesting, would at least be unlikely to cause you problems with fire safety or spending money on something not necessary.

BTW, if the masonry cap on your chimney needs to be replaced, you should really get a mason or chimney sweep to do it. They should know which parts of the masonry need a strong mix (the "cap") and which should have a weak mix ("tuckpointing" between the bricks) to ensure that your bricks are properly protected from moisture. It would not be uncommon for the masonry cap to need repair or replacement after 45 years, especially if minor damage had not been repaired during that time. If it does need it, then get it done for your safety. You don't want to mess with flue gasses improperly getting into your living space.

Steve Johnson