Chimney Cap Installation — Stainless Steel
Keeps water out, keeps animals out, and acts as a spark arrestor in the fire hazard zones above the Valley. We fit stainless steel only, sized to your flue rather than universal, and we tell you the crown's condition at the same time.
A stainless steel single-flue chimney cap is from $89 installed. A custom-fabricated multi-flue stainless cover is from $349 and is usually better value than individual caps on a stack with several flues. Every cap we fit includes spark arrestor mesh sized to the flue. Call Dans Hollywood Chimney & Air Duct Cleaning at (818) 536-7759.
Spark arrestor mesh, lifetime material
One fabricated cover over the whole crown
Humane removal then capped so it cannot recur
Non-standard flue sizes and shapes
Cap fitted onto a repaired crown, not a cracked one
Seals the flue closed when not in use
What a Chimney Cap Does and Why Southern California Needs One
A chimney cap is a metal cover with mesh sides fitted over the top of the flue. It does three things at once, and in Los Angeles each of the three matters for a different reason. It keeps rain out of the flue. It keeps animals out of the flue. And the mesh acts as a spark arrestor, stopping embers leaving the chimney and landing on a roof or in brush.
The water function is the one people underestimate here, because we think of Los Angeles as dry. But an uncapped flue is an open pipe into the house, and a single season of winter storms puts a surprising volume of water down it. That water soaks the clay flue tile, attacks the mortar joints between tiles from the inside, rusts the damper, and in a cold snap freezes and widens every crack it has found. Chimney damage from water is cumulative and slow, which is exactly why it goes unnoticed until it is expensive.
The animal function is more immediate and more obvious. Our whole service area sits in or beside wildlife corridors — Griffith Park, the Verdugo Mountains, the Santa Monica Mountains along Mulholland — and an uncapped flue is exactly the warm, defensible den a raccoon wants in spring. Birds, squirrels and chimney swifts use them too. Nesting material blocks the draft, which can push combustion gases into the room, and it holds moisture against the tile for months.
The spark arrestor function is a fire-safety matter and it is not optional in the way the others arguably are. Large parts of our service area — the Verdugo foothills above Glendale and Burbank, the canyons above Studio City and Sherman Oaks, the Hollywood and Los Feliz hills below Griffith Park — are designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones. A sound spark arrestor cap is the cheapest piece of fire protection on the building.
Stainless Steel Against Galvanised — Why We Only Fit Stainless
There are two materials in common use for chimney caps and the difference in service life is large enough that we stopped offering the cheaper one. Here is the honest comparison.
Stainless Steel — What We Install
Stainless does not rust. In practice a stainless cap fitted correctly outlives the person who paid for it, and it carries a lifetime warranty from most manufacturers. It costs more at purchase and then stops being a line item on the house forever, which is the whole argument. We fit stainless as standard, in single-flue, multi-flue and custom sizes, and we size the mesh to the flue rather than fitting a universal cap and hoping. On a multi-flue stack a single custom-fabricated stainless cover over the whole crown is usually both cheaper and better than individual caps.
Galvanised Steel — Why We Do Not
Galvanised steel is zinc-coated mild steel, and the zinc is sacrificial: it protects the steel until it is consumed, and then the steel rusts. In Southern California's temperature cycling — hot dry afternoons and cool nights, repeated through a long summer — that happens in a handful of years rather than decades. A galvanised cap then fails in the worst possible way: it rusts through, stops functioning as either a water barrier or a spark arrestor, and sheds iron staining down the brick face while it does it, which is itself a cleaning job. Replacing a galvanised cap is almost always better value than repairing it.
Crown Versus Cap — They Are Not the Same Thing
People use the words interchangeably and they are different components. The crown is the concrete slab across the top of the whole chimney, which sheds water off the masonry. The cap is the metal cover over the flue opening itself. A chimney can have a perfect cap and a failed crown, or the reverse, and the repairs are completely different — a crown is masonry work from $349, a cap is a fitted metal component from $89. When we quote a cap we also tell you the condition of the crown underneath it, because fitting a new cap onto a cracked crown solves half the problem and hides the other half.
Signs You Need a Chimney Cap or a Replacement
A missing cap is obvious once you know to look. A failing cap is less so, and the warning signs usually show up on the brick below it rather than on the cap itself.
How a Cap Installation Runs
A straightforward single-flue cap is usually under an hour on site. Custom fabrication for a multi-flue stack takes a return visit because the cover is made to measure.
Measure the flue, assess the crown
We measure the flue opening and the crown it sits on, and we check the crown's condition at the same time. Fitting a new cap onto a cracked crown solves half the problem, so you get told.
Clear the flue top and crown
Debris, nesting material and leaf litter are removed from the crown and flue opening. If there is an animal in there, that is a separate removal job and we will say so before proceeding.
Fit the cap, mechanically fastened
The cap is fastened to the flue tile or the crown with stainless hardware, not adhered with sealant alone. A cap that relies on mastic lifts in the first Santa Ana wind.
Check the draft
We confirm the cap and its mesh are not restricting the draft, which matters on older flues that were marginal to begin with and on any chimney serving a gas appliance.
Photos and the crown report
You get photographs of the finished installation and a written note on the crown's condition, so if masonry work is needed later you already know.
Chimney Cap Installation — Frequently Asked Questions
Where We Provide This Service
Get a Stainless Chimney Cap Fitted
Stainless steel only, sized to your flue, spark arrestor mesh included, and a written note on your crown's condition at no extra charge. Serving the San Fernando Valley and East LA from 6330 Camellia Ave, North Hollywood, CA 91606.
Chimney Services by City
Dan covers the whole Valley and East LA — CSIA-certified, written estimate first.