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Single Caps
Quality Single Chimney Cap Options. For a Safe, Wild-Animal-Free New Braunfels, San Antonio & Austin Home
As a part of your chimney system, your chimney cap is an important part, keeping your chimney’s interior dry and free from wild animals and debris. But when there are issues, it’s important that you get an experienced chimney technician, such as those at Wolfman Chimney & Fireplace, to take a look at the problem and recommend smart solutions.
Though your chimney system is designed to allow for a safe fire in your home, it’s still a fire in your home, and if that system isn’t in good condition, it can lead to significant health, safety, and fire issues. When you invest in quality chimney care from Wolfman Chimney & Fireplace, you’re investing in peace of mind and a safe experience every time you light a fire in your fireplace.
If you have concerns about your single-flue chimney cap, the solution is simple – reach out today! If you want to schedule a service with some of the best chimney professionals in the Austin, San Antonio, New Braunfels, or surrounding regions, you can always trust on the experienced, friendly professionals at Wolfman. Give us a call or reach out online today.
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Are Chimney Caps & Chimney Crowns the Same Thing?
Though they’re both located at the top of your chimney, chimney caps and chimney crowns are actually different parts of your chimney. They both serve important roles in your chimney system, but they do different jobs.
A chimney cap is a small roof that fits onto the top of your chimney. It has a gap where smoke can pass out of your home, which has screening on it to keep debris, wildlife, and insects out, and keeps coals and embers safely in your chimney system.
By comparison, a chimney crown is the slightly wider place at the top of your chimney. It’s designed to hang out over the edge of your chimney so that any water that falls off of it will strike your roof instead of your chimney, keeping your chimney in good condition.
Why Are Chimney Caps Important?
Chimney caps are an important, but frequently overlooked part of your chimney system. Because they’re at the very top of your chimney, they’re often only noticed when a chimney professional points out a problem with them. But what makes them so important?
- Chimney caps keep birds and animals out. Your chimney’s dark, quiet space during the off season is an inviting place for birds and animals who want to build a nest. But that nest will block your chimney, creating an extremely dangerous situation. Chimney cap screens keep them out.
- Chimney caps keep larger insects out. Though flaming wasps sound like something out of a horror movie, that dark, quiet space is also inviting to many species of larger insects. Keep them out by making sure your chimney cap is in good condition.
- Chimney caps help guarantee safer air. Today’s homes are sealed tight for better energy efficiency, indoor air quality is more important than ever. By keeping animals out of your chimney, chimney caps help ensure you have safer indoor air, free of fumes that should go up in smoke.
- Chimney caps keep water out. The reason why your chimney cap resembles a tiny roof is because that’s exactly what it is – a small roof that keeps water out of your chimney. Moisture in your chimney to corrosion and the possibility of freeze/thaw damage to your system.
- Chimney caps keep coals, sparks, and embers in. The final reason why chimney caps are so important is because of what they keep in. Heat rises, so it’s common for sparks, embers, and small coals to rise with it. If they aren’t stopped, they can start a fire outdoors.
If your New Braunfels, Austin, or San Antonio area home needs help with your chimney cap, Wolfman Chimney & Fireplace has you covered. Take a few minutes to book an appointment with us today and you can enjoy peace of mind knowing you’re getting the best possible service on your chimney cap or other related components.
Can I Fix or Replace My Chimney Cap Myself?
Though it can be tempting to try to repair or replace your own chimney cap, we recommend that this work be performed by a professional CSIA-certified chimney professional. This is because of the specialized nature of the job, requiring proper tools, training in doing roof work, and similar issues.
A chimney professional understands your entire system, and knows how the different components work together. As an example, a chimney cap often clamps to the interior flue tile of your chimney, a ceramic component that can be easily damaged by using too much pressure when attaching the chimney cap.
Beyond system understanding is the height at which your chimney cap is located. This height very readily lends itself to injuries from slip and fall accidents that will cost much more than the expense of having a professional look at your chimney cap, so please leave this work to the professionals.
When Should I Have My Chimney Cap Checked?
The nice thing about chimney caps is that they don’t have to be scheduled at any specific time of the year. You can call and set up an appointment whenever you have a concern. Your chimney cap is just one component that we check when we perform an annual inspection on your chimney, giving you the peace of mind of knowing that this important component is covered.
During your inspection, your chimney professional will take a solid look at your chimney cap and let you know if it needs to be replaced. In most cases, it takes damage from a blow or the passage of many years to require replacement of your chimney cap. We’ll also remove any animals that have taken up residence in your chimney and clean up the mess they’ve left behind.
Do I Really Need My Chimney Cap Fixed?
The question is, can you afford to not have it fixed? There are a wide range of issues that can arise if you don’t have your chimney cap repaired or replaced. To start, moisture can enter your chimney. If it’s allowed to penetrate your brickwork or masonry, it can cause serious problems down the road, including needing to replace metal parts.
But the screen at the opening of your chimney cap is also very important. It keeps animals like birds, rats, mice, and even raccoons out of your home, as well as larger insects. And no matter how cute that YouTube video is, raccoons being chased out of their nest in your chimney are not friendly.
Finally, there’s what the screen keeps in: coals, embers, and sparks. How much is your home worth? How much can you pay if it’s proved that a spark from your chimney started a neighbor’s house on fire? Yes, you really need to have a proper chimney cap on your chimney.
Will a Chimney Cap Help Keep My Home Safe?
In a single word, YES! Your chimney cap keeps your home and household safe from animals and fire risk from multiple sources.
Most homes still have asphalt shingles. Ask any fire department what one of the most flammable, hottest-burning part of your home is, and they’ll say the shingles on the roof. If a spark or ember rises with the heat and lands on your roof, you could face a serious house fire that may not be covered by insurance if they discover your chimney cap wasn’t in good shape.
But beyond fire, there are small to medium animals, birds, and insects of every type that can enter your home through a chimney with a faulty or missing chimney cap.
What Happens When Animals Get In?
Wild animals seem cute and cuddly in online videos, but the truth of the matter is that they’ll leave a big mess and often don’t want to come quietly when they’re evicted. Insects can also enter your home through a missing or faulty chimney cap, including a wide range of stinging insects, but also roaches, silverfish, and many other unmentionable insect pests that can be difficult to dislodge.
Animals, birds, and insects can establish nests in your chimney, blocking smoke and fumes from leaving your structure, but beyond potentially deadly issues like carbon monoxide poisoning, these creatures can carry:
- Fleas
- Lice
- Hantavirus
- Ticks
- Lyme Disease
- Tularemia
- And much more!
Keeping creatures out of your home is important to not only your peace of mind, but also your health and wellness. A broken or missing chimney cap allows birds, raccoons, rats, mice, cockroaches, moles, and many other creatures that you don’t want in your home.
I Just Moved! Do I Need to Have My Chimney Cap Inspected?
In most real estate transactions, a level 2 chimney inspection would have been completed by a chimney professional who is CSIA certified, which includes the chimney cap. However, if it wasn’t, you’ll want to get a chimney professional in to check out your entire system, not just your cap.
Don’t think that just because a home inspection was performed that you’re good to go. Home inspectors will briefly look at a chimney as part of their overall job, but it’s not their area of primary concern. Though they’re well-equipped for their job, a sharp-eyed chimney technician will spot a lot of issues a home inspector may have missed.
This is why we make a specific recommendation to clients or potential clients to have a chimney sweep and level 2 inspection performed by a certified individual prior to the sale of the property, because if serious issues are found, you can take care of them before moving in or negotiate it in the price. You don’t want unexpected expenses after you’ve closed on your new home.
If you’ve already moved in and there was no inspection, then you should hold off on using your fireplace and give us a call to take a look before you use it.
How Much Does a Chimney Cap Replacement Cost?
As with so many things in life, it depends. We know that you don’t want to hear it, but we’re not saying it to be aggravating. It will depend on the specific type of chimney cap that you need.
As an example, if we find an animal and/or nest in your chimney while undertaking the replacement, we need to also remove that animal. We absolutely have equipment to handle this process, but it takes longer and is more work, so the final bill will be higher overall.
However, if you regularly have inspections and you’re just getting your chimney cap replaced shortly before it reaches a compromised state, it’s not too terrible to have it replaced. Regular inspections and maintenance mean that these types of issues rarely catch you unaware, making it easier to plan for.
If it’s been a long time since you’ve used your chimney or invested in its maintenance, then you can expect to see a higher cost for your chimney cap replacement, because there may be other issues that need to be addressed at the same time inflating the bill. Whatever situation you’re in, the experienced professionals at Wolfman can help.
Schedule Your Chimney Cap Replacement or Repair Now
Your fireplace can improve your home’s ambiance and value, but having a raccoon cross the floor ahead of the real estate agent won’t do you any favors. Having your chimney properly cared for delivers peace of mind and comfort to your New Braunfels, Austin, or San Antonio area home or business.
When you work with Wolfman Chimney & Fireplace, you’ll find honesty, accuracy, and personalized care. All of our clients receive exceptional customer service, and we also give you peace of mind with CSIA and FIRE certification, Better Business Bureau accreditation, NCSG membership, fully-insured status, and ADA compliance.
We take our clients’ peace of mind and easy fireplace operations seriously, and focus on delivering that level of service at every visit.
If you’re ready to get your chimney cap replaced or repaired, you can call us to schedule or can book with us on our website. Either way, we’re happy to chat!
When you work with Wolfman Chimney & Fireplace, you’ll discover the pride we take in our work and how it translates to our dedication to quality work.