Our Services
Choosing, fitting and fastening the cap
Family-owned and local, we price every cap upfront with no hidden fees.
Leave enough room under the lid
Set a lid too close to the tile and the flue is choked. For a rain cap on a masonry chimney, the Florida Building Code wants the open area beneath the lid to be at least four times the flue outlet's own open area, and spark arrestors carry the same four-to-one ratio.
We check that ratio for the cap and flue in front of us, especially on caps made to order or adjusted in the field. A generous opening lets the exhaust leave while the lid still turns rain away from the tile.
Fasten the cap for storm season
Hurricane season in the Atlantic lasts from June 1 through November 30, and wind from a passing storm pulls hardest at the edges of a cap lid. Loose bolts, cracked adhesive and screws set in soft mortar are what let a cap lift off.
We tighten and test every fastener, check the lid brackets and look for movement before we leave the roof. If you have an older cap you are unsure about, ask us to look at it at the start of the season instead of after the first storm.
Leaves and nests in an open flue
An uncapped flue collects leaves, twigs, seed pods and nesting material, and much of it lands on the smoke shelf where it cannot be seen from the fireplace. Dry debris close to a fire is a hazard, and wet debris holds moisture against the masonry.
Before we fit a new cap, we look down the flue for blockage. If the flue needs sweeping, we tell you and price it, so the cap does not end up closing debris inside the chimney.
Oversized and undersized caps
An undersized cap may not slide over the tile, or it gets forced on and cracks it. An oversized cap may be fastened with long bolts that barely reach the tile, leaving it free to move in the wind. Both happen when a cap is bought before the flue is measured.
When stock sizes do not fit, a cap can be made to the flue's measurements. We explain the difference in price and lead time, and we fit a stock cap only when it truly fits your chimney.
