Choosing The Right Chimney Cap For Your Home

Chimney Caps are a small amount to pay for the immense amount of work they do for you. A Chimney Cap does several different things. It keeps animals, birds, leaves, debris and snakes from entering your Chimney. It will also stop some "down-drafts" of air that would normally rush down the Chimney causing smoke to enter your home. Most of all, a Chimney Cap keeps rain from entering your Chimney, preventing a small "lake" inside the firebox area and deteriorating the firebox floor.

When rain enters the Chimney, it causes the fireplace to smell like an old, damp cellar filled with smoke. If you are allergic to mold spores, this is one area you may want to check if you cannot find the source of your allergy. Rain, when mixed with soot, creates a caustic acid that starts to deteriorate the mortar between the joints of the bricks. Mortar between the bricks has a life expectancy of around seventy years, but, the rain can rapidly speed up the process.

If you have Gas Logs, you definitely need a Chimney Cap. A Chimney Cap keeps the rain off the expensive gas log burner unit. If it has a remote control system, the rain will cause it to fail, costing you several hundred dollars in repairs. And, if you are burning the gas logs while it is raining, the rain hitting the ceramic logs can cause them to crack or break under the extreme heat change.

Animals can be a nightmare in a fireplace; not only for the homeowner, but for the poor ol' Chimney Sweep that has to get them out! I have taken out squirrels, birds, ducks and even released an Owl which had been trapped for several days within the Chimney. Worst of all, I once opened a damper and had a live black snake fall into my lap while sitting in the firebox! If you want to see land-speed records set...let a snake fall into my lap; I can promise you, you have never seen a six-foot, one-inch, 235-pound, former Marine, squeal like a little girl and outrun any deer in your county. So, do yourself--and the Chimney Sweep--a favor and put a Cap on it!

Chimney Caps come in three types of metals. Galvanized caps are cheap and do the job, but will also require continual maintenance of paint to prevent rust. The cap's rust will run down onto the crown and the chimney, deteriorating the mortar and the brick and will stain the roof, paint and/or siding of your home; Galvanized is also not recommended with gas logs due to caustic exhaust. Stainless Steel is durable, never has to be painted and comes with a limited lifetime warranty. Copper, very pretty, will not rust, but will later turn a nice green patina (like an old penny), leaving streaks on your roof shingles, brick and Chimney. Copper is usually the most expensive, followed by Stainless Steel and Galvanized. Do keep in mind that caps which simply slide into the flue (instead of being installed with tap screws) will fly off during heavy winds and can cause serious damage to your neighbor's home and/or vehicle. Talk with your local Chimney Sweep to see what best suits your home.

...And remember, it is "Good Luck to shake hands with a Chimney Sweep."

Joe Honea is a Chimney Sweep in South Carolina. He is married to an Italian girl and together have three sons; two are in the Military and one works in automotive collision repair. They share their home with their two German Shepherd pups and have just recently opened an online Chimney Supply store.

http://www.Fireplaceandchimneysupplies.com

http://www.garagedoordr.blogspot.com

http://chimneysweep-joe.blogspot.com