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Chimney Caps Protect the Home and Enhance its Value

Chimney Toppers - Chimney Caps - Hudson Valley NYIf you have a fireplace, do you also have the best possible accessory, a chimney cap? There are numerous benefits to a chimney topper, no matter what style you choose. At additional expense, there is an advantage to some chimney caps that basic designs don’t have. Besides simply being functional and essential for several practical purposes, some chimney caps add a decorative touch to your rooftop, which can give the entire home added visual appeal.

Avoid Headaches with a Chimney Cap

Chimney caps can be very affordable, which is a good thing, since every fireplace should be topped with one. When you pay less, you probably won’t have a lasting warranty. Whether the quality guarantee for your chimney cap is one year or three years, it’s good to keep an eye on its condition. When a chimney cap is in good working order, it provides terrific benefits, a major one being it helps to avoid certain headaches. The following are some of the hassle-prevention qualities of chimney caps:

  • If your chimney needs an extension, to cut down on backdrafts and to improve venting, there is a chimney cap for that, called a flue stretcher. Wind caps are available that will help to draw air upward out of the chimney.
  • The obvious but important benefit of a chimney cap is that it prevents rain from pouring down into your chimney. This is an important function, since moisture is the worst enemy of chimneys. Keeping water out can save a lot of money in the long run, since one of the possible effects of moisture in the chimney flue is that the flue deteriorates much more quickly and needs to be replaced.
  • If a chimney cap has wire mesh, it prevents creatures from climbing into your chimney. What kinds of animals get in chimneys, you might ask. It’s common for squirrels, snakes, raccoons, and birds to climb into chimneys, seeking warmth. As if that’s not bad enough, sometimes the creatures can’t get themselves out again. A dead animal in a chimney creates a horrendous stench. Contact our professionals if you need help getting an animal of any kind out of your chimney, alive or dead.
  • It’s not uncommon for birds to build nests in or on top of chimneys, if there is no chimney cap. If you are unfortunate enough to have a chimney swallow build a nest, you can’t do anything about it until the migration season. The birds are federally protected. You’ll know they won’t be there too much longer when you start hearing all the uproar made by hungry baby birds. If this happens to you, be aware that the birds will definitely be back the following year, unless you have a chimney cap installed.

Protect your Home with a Spark Guard

An important quality of a chimney cap with mesh is that it serves as a spark guard, to prevent hot embers and sparks from landing on your roof or on other nearby combustibles. Mesh comes in different sizes. With smaller mesh, it’s important to be aware that creosote and other types of debris could possibly be more prone to clog air flow.

Decorative Chimney Caps and Chimney Shrouds Add Beauty

Chimney Cap InstallationsDecorative shrouds have aesthetic qualities; and their purpose is to protect chimneys that have rain pans, which are notorious for rusting quickly. For tremendous visual impact, a copper chimney cap is widely considered to be the best choice.

Typical chimney caps are black galvanized steel or stainless steel. Copper chimney caps serve the same useful purposes but can also add tremendous beauty. Some people opt to keep their copper chimney caps in their original shiny condition, which is a lot of work. Many others appreciate the natural beauty of copper as it changes with exposure to the elements. There’s no way to go wrong with copper because it’s as durable as it is beautiful. Copper chimney pots are particularly stunning.

Contact our chimney professionals at Hudson Valley Chimney Service, Inc. for chimney cap installation as well as annual inspections, during which, among many other things, the condition of chimney caps is evaluated.

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