One of the best things you can do to protect your chimney from damage this winter is to ensure you have a good quality chimney cap installed on its top. The Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) recommends chimney caps as the least costly way to prevent chimney damage from water penetration. If you do not have a chimney cap on top of your chimney or if your current cap is damaged and aging, now is the best time to install a new chimney cap. At Olde Towne Chimney & Fireplace Sales, we sell several different kinds of chimney caps, and our CSIA-certified chimney experts can install a cap to perfectly fit your chimney. We would like to tell you some things you should know about chimney caps so that you can see why this chimney component is so essential for a safe and efficient chimney.
Chimney caps can help improve the draft in your chimney.
If you have ever had smoke blow into your home instead of out of the chimney, you might want to consider getting a special type of chimney cap that can solve that draft problem. Chimney caps that are equipped with side vents or spinning turbines can make the updraft in your chimney stronger to pull out all of the smoke and other byproducts of combustion.
Chimney caps can prevent accidental fires.
Many chimney caps are equipped with metal mesh on the sides that keep sparks from jumping out of the chimney. Hot, burning sparks can land on your roof or your yard to ignite a fire.
Chimney caps keep birds and animals from entering your chimney.
The mesh siding not only prevents possible fires, but it also stops birds, squirrels, raccoons, and other wild animals from getting into your chimney to nest. Dealing with a bird or animal inside a chimney is not a pleasant experience, so a good quality chimney cap can keep this situation from ever occurring.
Most importantly, chimney caps stop water from rain and melted snow from getting inside your chimney.
The main purpose of a chimney cap is to prevent water penetration. Without a good chimney cap, your chimney is wide open to allow water to easily enter and damage the masonry materials of the chimney. Water leaks can also damage the metal components of your chimney as well as parts of your home such as the ceilings and walls. You really do not want to leave a chimney uncapped because water damage to a chimney can be both devastating and very expensive to repair.
Is it time for a new chimney cap? Contact us at Olde Towne Chimney to find out more about the different kinds of caps we carry. If we cannot find one to fit your chimney, we also make custom chimney caps to fit chimneys of all shapes and sizes.