Local chimney cap replacement for Oceanway homes

A screen that comes off for the brush

Florida's code also expects the screen or cap to come off so the flue can be cleaned. So the lid should be hinged or bolted, or a screen panel held by screws that are reachable from the roof. Caps that were glued down, or screwed through the lid into the crown, defeat that expectation and turn a routine sweep into a repair job.

We fit caps whose lid or screen comes away with hand tools, and we show you which fasteners hold it in case another contractor needs to know. The same design lets the mesh be brushed clean on the roof, which is where soot deposits build first.

A flue serving a furnace or water heater

When a masonry flue carries exhaust from a heating appliance or water heater, that appliance's installation instructions govern the vent, including what may sit on top of it. Those instructions can call for a particular cap type or rule out a fine screen, because mesh on an appliance flue can collect debris and restrict the exhaust. We identify the appliance on each flue before choosing a cap, follow its instructions, and record which cap went on which flue. If the appliance vents through its own metal pipe running inside the chimney, that pipe stays with the termination its own maker specifies, and we leave it as it is.

Chimney swifts and the timing of a cap

Chimney swifts nest inside masonry flues, gluing small stick nests to the tile wall, and federal law protects the birds and their active nests. An active nest cannot be removed or sealed in, so a flue in use by swifts waits for its cap until the nestlings have fledged and the flock has moved on. Once they leave, the old nest is cleared and the cap closes the opening before the birds return the next year. If you hear steady chattering in the chimney during the warm months, tell us when you call so the visit is timed properly and nothing is disturbed that should not be.