What's Included
Fitting a top damper to your Black Hammock chimney
The gasket that seals the flue
A throat damper closes metal against metal, which often leaves gaps once the plate has warped. A top damper's lid presses a heat-resistant gasket onto the top of the flue. Rockford Chimney Supply's product listing says the silicone gasket on the Lyemance flap makes a tight seal that prevents downdrafts, moisture and insects.
The gasket seals only if the flue top is flat and the cable pulls the lid down evenly. Our installers check the flue top on your Black Hammock chimney, set the lid square and adjust the cable until the lid closes firmly, then show you how the handle tells you it has sealed.
Factory-built chimneys and top dampers
A factory-built fireplace and its chimney are tested and listed together, and the parts at the top belong to that listing. Section R1005.2 of Florida's residential code bars decorative shrouds from factory-built chimneys unless the shroud carries a listing and label for that exact chimney system.
We apply the same caution to anything else added at the top. If your Black Hammock home has a factory-built fireplace, our team checks the maker's documentation for approved top dampers before recommending one, and if none is approved, we say so and suggest another route.
When the damper handle will not move
A stuck handle is a reason to stop, not to pull harder. Forcing the cable can bend the lid, snap the cable or pull the bracket out of the firebrick, and a damper that is stuck closed must never have a fire lit under it.
Leave the fireplace unused and call us. Our team checks the damper on your Black Hammock chimney from the top, frees or repairs the mechanism and confirms that it opens fully before the fireplace goes back into use.
More than one flue in the chimney
Some chimneys carry two or more flues, each serving a different fireplace or appliance. A top damper belongs only on the flue of a wood-burning fireplace it suits, and the other flues keep whatever their own appliances require.
Before measuring your Black Hammock chimney, our team identifies which flue serves which fireplace, so the damper goes on the right one and nothing that must stay open is ever closed.
