Chimney Caps
A chimney cap is a cap that covers the opening of your chimney’s flue(s) or chase. Its main purpose is to keep rainwater out of your chimney and fireplace or furnace, since water can be profoundly damaging and costly. However, chimney caps also keep plenty of other unwanted things out of your chimney, including debris and pests, which can obstruct the flow of air and toxic gases out of your home. In addition to obstructing air flow, animals and the debris they bring with them can also easily cause a chimney fire. To protect and preserve your chimney system, it is imperative that you have a chimney cap properly fitted and installed. A chimney cap will yield all kinds of benefits, and is incredibly cost-effective.
8 Reasons Your Chimney Needs to Be Capped
A chimney cap—and the wire mesh that wraps around it—serves several important purposes, including:
2. Protects metal fireplace components inside the chimney – With a chimney cap, water is much less likely to penetrate your chimney system and cause rusting or corrosion of metal components.
3. Keeps out rain, snow, and ice – The cap works with the chimney crown to keep the elements out of the chimney.
4. Keeps out nesting birds, opossum, squirrel, raccoon, bats, and other pests – Like the crown, the chimney cap prevents animal, bird and insect intrusion.
5. Keeps out debris like leaves, twigs, and trash – Working in conjunction with the chimney crown, the cap keeps flammable debris from entering the chimney system and possibly causing a chimney fire.
6. Contains sparks – Many caps come with a spark guard which prevents sparks from exiting your chimney and sparking fires around your home.
7. Reduces downdrafts – Wind gusts and downdrafts can lead to smoke problems and inefficiency. With a cap, you are protected from these bursts of air.
8. Increases the lifetime of your chimney and chimney liner – By keeping the elements out, the chimney cap works to protect and preserve the chimney and chimney liner.
Additional protection for your home is provided with a chimney crown. Aelite Chimney Specialties will do a quality, professional job with this common chimney repair.