When you own a home with a chimney and fireplace system, keeping water out of it is one of your most important maintenance responsibilities. The reason why water penetration prevention is so crucial has to do with the warning from the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) of the amount of Chimney cap - Shenandoah Valley VA - Blue Ridge Chimeyexpensive damage and deterioration it can do to masonry chimneys. According to the CSIA, the most economical preventive measure you can take against chimney water leaks is a chimney cap. However, you should be aware that the cheap aluminum caps you can find at Lowe’s, Home Depot, or another big box hardware store may not always provide the type of protection you need.
For the ultimate protection for your chimney against water penetration damage, Blue Ridge Chimney Services can help you with our top quality stainless steel chimney caps. We are proud to provide chimney cap sales and professional installation services to the residents of the Shenandoah Valley area, and we would like to tell you more about this essential chimney component.

WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF CHIMNEY CAPS?

One of the best advantages of chimney caps is that they can serve several functions at once. Of course, the primary role of a chimney cap is to prevent water from leaking into your chimney. Without a chimney cap professionally installed on the top of your chimney, there is an open hole on your roof that can allow water from rain and melted ice and snow to enter your home through the chimney. Blue Ridge Chimney Services can not only help you select the best chimney cap for your chimney, but you can count on our CSIA-certified technicians to make sure the cap fits properly to give your chimney the best protection against water leaks.

Another important function of a chimney cap is to keep birds, squirrels, raccoons, and other wild animals out of the flue. Due to so many trees being cut down for real estate development purposes, these critters often mistake chimneys for hollow trees when they are looking for a safe place to nest. When there is no cap on top of your chimney, these wild animals can easily get inside your chimney to make a new home. Although you can call a wildlife removal professional for help, you may have unwanted roommates in your house for a few months if a family of chimney swifts or other species of migratory birds moves into the chimney. These birds are protected by federal law from being removed from their nesting spots, which means that you will have to wait until they leave on their own in the fall. If you have heard chirping or scratching sounds coming from your chimney, our team of professionals can show you chimney caps that are equipped with mesh metal sides that prevent wild animals from being able to get into your chimney. The metal meshing on the sides of these types of chimney caps can also prevent an accidental roof or brush fire. These mesh sides can prevent hot sparks and embers from jumping out of the top of the chimney and landing on the roof or in your yard. Reducing this fire hazard is one of the many benefits of a top-quality chimney cap.

You can also find chimney caps that have been designed with special vents on the sides that will direct the wind to improve the draft in your chimney. If you are having problems with the wind causing backdrafts in your chimney, our team of professionals can help you pick out a cap that will pull out the smoke, gases, and other byproducts of combustion from your home as exhaust. You can count on us to get the draft in your chimney to work better than it ever has in the past.

WHY SHOULD I HAVE A PROFESSIONAL CHIMNEY SWEEP INSTALL MY CHIMNEY CAP?

In order to serve all of these functions properly, a chimney cap installation requires exact and precise measurements so that it fits perfectly on the top of your chimney.
You can count on the chimney professionals with Blue Ridge Chimney Services to correctly measure your flue before they get started with installing your chimney cap. You will not have to worry about gaps left behind that could allow water from rain and melted snow to easily get into your chimney. You also need your chimney cap to be secured tightly to your chimney for safety reasons. Not only are the cheap chimney caps you can find at Home Depot, Lowe’s, and other discount big box stores made from lower-quality materials, but these caps may not even require screws to be secured as they slide into your flue. We are proud to only sell chimney caps that can be tightly secured onto your flue. Any chimney cap that has been installed without screws to keep it in place is at high risk of being blown away by a strong wind and damaging your property or even the property of your neighbors. Our CSIA-certified professional chimney technicians will guarantee that they have securely installed the cap on top of your flue.

Blue Ridge Chimney Services is proud to sell and professionally install only the highest quality of chimney caps in the Shenandoah Valley. To find out more about our stainless steel chimney cap sales and installation services, contact us today. We are here for all of your professional chimney maintenance, repair, and installation needs.