As Fall of 2025 comes upon us, everything begins to change and prepare for the cold months ahead. The first signs of Fall are when the kids go back to school. Done. Next, both college and pro-football games begins. Done. The temperatures begin to fluctuate and decline. Done. The chimney needs to be checked and swept prior to using the chimney. Not done. And the chimney cap needs to be secure to ensure protection. Not done. Here is your 2025 Fall guide to capping your chimney.
2025 Fall Guide to Capping Your Chimney
As we begin to go through the Fall Guide to Capping Your Chimney, let’s first understand what a chimney cap is. A chimney cap is a cover that sits on top of the chimney opening, and many times it is tightly secured to the chimney flue or the slab of concrete that overhangs the chimney bricks, stone or siding. The chimney cap serves several important purposes. Every chimney needs a cap for the same reasons every home needs a roof!… Let’s take a look at the Guide to understand its importance.
Keep the Rain and Snow Out: Homes without a chimney cap experience deterioration and damage inside and outside quickly. The chimney cap acts as an umbrella, or a protectant to the chimney opening. By keeping the rain and snow out of the home, you’re not allowing water to fall into the interior of the home causing smells, and water damage to the ceiling and walls.
Adorable Little Creatures: Those adorable little creatures that scurry on our roof need to find a nice warm home for the Fall. That’s where you come in if you don’t have a chimney cap. Critters are searching for a safe, warm place to stay and your chimney is perfect…as long as you don’t use it. But the ugly truth is that they may/will have difficulty getting out of the chimney. Many remain and over time, you’ll know it by the foul smell of the critter. The chimney cap’s mesh along the sides prevents the critters from making their way inside the chimney.
Spark Deflector: Anytime there is a fire in the fireplace, sparks fly. What we need to be sure happens is that the sparks remain confined. Sparks can travel up your chimney and will attempt to make their way out of the home. If there is a chimney cap, the sparks will be stopped by the mesh and spark arrestor of the chimney cap. This is important because the sparks can land on the roof, pile of leaves or your neighbors house and cause a fire. Keeping sparks contained is vital to safety.
Downdrafts are Contained: We live in the Chicagoland area where wind can be an issue. Wind on the top of the roof can create a downdraft which can cause the smoke from the fire in the fireplace to back up into the home instead of going up the chimney and out of the home. The chimney cap can also prevent those cold drafts of air from going down the chimney and into your home.
Choose Basic to Decorative: Now for the fun part. There are numerous style chimney caps on the market today. You can choose from fancy designs made of steel, copper or clay. Whichever matches your home best, that’ll be your winner! Give Superior Chimney a call to sweep and inspect your chimney. During the 14-point inspection, we’ll be checking on the chimney cap. All inspections are documented along with pictures so you can see what’s going on up there!
