Our Process

Chase cover work on Midway homes

Why the chimney maker requires a chase top

A factory-built fireplace is tested and listed as one complete system, so the Florida Building Code has it installed and topped out exactly as its maker's instructions describe. Those instructions treat the chase top as part of the installation. The Majestic SB60 and SB80 manual, for example, states that a chase installation must use a chase top and that it may be field built from noncombustible material.

A missing, torn or makeshift cover is therefore more than a cosmetic problem. Our specialists fit a replacement that follows the instructions for the system on your roof and explain the relevant details before work begins. If the old top was never installed to those instructions, we say so and show you where it departs from them.

When a home inspection flags the chase top

Home inspectors frequently note rusted or damaged chase covers because the streaks are easy to see from the ground. A line in a report is a starting point. It does not say what the repair involves or whether the deck below has been affected.

Our team inspects the chase top free and provides a written scope and price that buyers and sellers can both read. If the work has to be done before closing, tell us the date when you call so fabrication can be planned around it.

Rattling or drumming in the wind

A loose chase cover often announces itself before it leaks. Wind lifts a corner or flexes a thin sheet, and the result is a rattle or a drumming sound near the fireplace wall. Loose fasteners and a cover pulling away from the siding both produce it.

Noise is a good reason to book a free inspection before the next storm. A cover that can move can also be torn loose, and catching it early keeps the repair on your Midway home to the top of the chase.

Stains inside the house near the chase

Water that gets past a failed cover runs down inside the enclosure and can show up well away from the top: a stain on the ceiling beside the fireplace, damp drywall next to the hearth, or a musty smell in a closet that backs onto the chase.

We relate those signs to what we find on the roof. The new cover addresses the entry we identified, and any drywall or framing already affected is listed separately, so the repair plan for your Midway home covers the whole problem.