A chimney cap is the small, inexpensive part that prevents a long list of expensive problems, and a startling number of Cincinnati chimneys are missing one or wearing a rusted-out cap that no longer does its job. DraftCrest Chimney Cleaning installs chimney caps across Cincinnati, OH that are sized to your flue, built from stainless steel or other lasting material, and fitted with a spark arrestor screen, so rain stays out of the chimney, animals stay out of the flue, and embers stay off the roof. It is one of the highest-value upgrades a fireplace owner can make.
- Cap sized and fitted to your specific flue
- Stainless and other long-lasting materials
- Spark arrestor screen to keep embers contained
- Rain kept out of the flue and the masonry
- Animals and birds kept out of the chimney
- Multi-flue and custom caps where the chimney needs them
Everything a cap quietly keeps out
An open flue is an open invitation, and a cap closes it. The first thing a cap keeps out is water. A chimney without a cap takes rain and snow straight down the flue, where it soaks into the masonry, rusts the damper, breaks down the mortar joints from the inside, and accelerates exactly the freeze-and-thaw damage that wrecks Cincinnati chimneys. A cap with a properly built top sheds that water before it ever enters. Over the years a cap costs a small fraction of the crown repairs, liner corrosion, and masonry damage that an uncapped flue invites, which makes it one of the easiest decisions a fireplace owner ever faces.
The second thing a cap keeps out is wildlife. An open flue is a sheltered, chimney-shaped cavity, and squirrels, raccoons, and especially birds find it irresistible, building nests that block the flue, create a serious draft and carbon monoxide hazard, and sometimes leave an animal trapped where it cannot get back out. A cap with the right screen seals the opening against all of it. And the third thing a cap does is hold embers in. The spark arrestor screen catches the sparks a wood fire throws up the flue, which on the close-set rooftops of older Cincinnati neighborhoods is no small thing.
Fitting the right cap to the chimney
A chimney cap is only as good as its fit, and a cap that is the wrong size or poorly anchored is barely better than none at all. We measure the flue, or each flue on a chimney that carries more than one, and fit a cap that seats securely and covers the opening fully. On a single-flue chimney that is usually a stainless cap clamped or bolted directly to the flue tile. On a chimney with multiple flues, common where a single stack serves both a fireplace and a furnace, the right answer is often a single multi-flue cap that covers the whole crown at once and protects the masonry top as well as the openings.
Material matters as much as fit. We favor stainless steel because it stands up to the weather and the heat without rusting out the way the cheap galvanized caps do after a few Ohio winters, and we make sure the screen mesh is sized to stop embers and animals without choking the draft. Where a chimney calls for a custom cap, an oversized opening or an unusual configuration, we build to suit rather than forcing an off-the-shelf cap to do a job it does not fit. The goal is a cap you install once and forget, not one you replace in five years.
A low-cost upgrade with an outsized payoff
Of all the work a chimney can have done, a cap is among the very best values, precisely because it heads off the slow, expensive damage that no one notices until it is already serious. The water it keeps out of the flue would otherwise rust the damper, corrode a liner, and feed the freeze-and-thaw that cracks crowns and spalls brick. The animals it keeps out would otherwise block the flue and turn a fireplace into a carbon monoxide risk. The embers it contains protect the roof. For the modest cost of the cap, you retire a whole category of future problems.
If your Cincinnati chimney has no cap, has a rusted or damaged one, or you have noticed water in the firebox, debris falling down the flue, or the unmistakable sounds of an animal in the chimney, a cap is very likely the fix, and a simple one. We will look at the chimney, tell you honestly what it needs, and quote the cap and the installation in writing. It is one of the few chimney jobs that is genuinely as straightforward as it sounds, and one of the most worthwhile.
One team for sweep, repair, and more
A chimney is a system, so chimney cap installation rarely stands alone, it connects to creosote removal, flue inspection, damper repair, stainless liner installation, masonry restoration, and our crew handles all of it under one roof. We bring the same service to Norwood chimney cap installation, Chimney Cap Installation in Blue Ash, Chimney Cap Installation in Hyde Park, Mariemont chimney cap installation and everywhere else across the Cincinnati area.
If you searched for a chimney sweep near Cincinnati, you have reached a local crew, call 740-437-3367 any time. For background, read Gas vs. Wood Fireplaces in Cincinnati, OH: How Chimney Care Differs on our blog, or head back to our Cincinnati home page to see everything we do.