What's Included

Fitting a top damper to your Lake Monroe chimney

Adjusting the cable for a tight seal

Once the bracket is fixed, the handle, chain and cable are threaded through it until the slack is out. The Lock-Top instructions then have the installer pull the cable to close the damper, set the adjustment clamp for the tightest seal, tighten it and cut off the excess cable.

That final adjustment decides whether the lid truly closes. Our installers close and open the damper on your Lake Monroe chimney several times after adjusting, check the lid from the roof and leave the handle set so that locking it in the bracket means the damper is shut.

Opening the damper with the spring

Top dampers are held open by a spring or lever under the lid. The Lyemance listing describes releasing the chain handle from the fireplace bracket to open the damper, with a lever assist under the lid, so opening it takes no pulling at all.

For you that means the damper opens whenever the handle is released. Our team shows you in your Lake Monroe fireplace what open and closed look like, and why the handle should come out of the bracket before any fire is lit.

Using the damper with a wood fire

The Consumer Product Safety Commission's advice is to open the damper before the fire is lit, keep it open until the ashes have cooled, and never shut it at bedtime over warm ashes. The smoke and gases from the fire need that open flue to leave the house.

With a top damper the rule is the same, only the handle is in a different place. Our team shows you how to confirm the damper on your Lake Monroe chimney is open before you light a fire, and how to leave it open overnight while the ashes cool.

What a top damper cannot fix

A new damper closes the flue. It does not repair a cracked liner, a deteriorated smoke chamber, a blocked flue or a failing crown, and each of those needs its own assessment before the fireplace goes back into regular use.

For your Lake Monroe chimney, the free inspection covers the flue and the firebox as well as the old damper. If something else needs repair, it goes on the estimate as a separate line, and you decide what to do and in what order.