Chimney Cap Installation in Prospect Heights, IL

Chimney caps on Prospect Heights rooflines

Measure the flue outside the tile. Inside dimensions will not fit a cap. Count your flues while you are looking. Plenty of houses here carry three. Fireplace, furnace, water heater. Each wants its own lid, or one multi-flue cover spanning the whole crown.

The orphaned water heater shows up constantly. A high-efficiency furnace went in, venting PVC out a sidewall. The water heater stayed behind on a tall clay flue sized for two appliances. That flue runs cool now. Condensation chews mortar joints from the inside. A cap does not solve that. Liner first, lid after.

Mesh is a real choice, not a detail. Spark arrestor screen is tighter than animal screen. Wood burners glaze that screen with creosote and choke draft. Pick a cap whose lid unscrews for cleaning. Silver maple and oak litter on the older River Trails blocks loads up flat lids. Rust streaks running down brick mean galvanized steel is giving out above.

Look at the crown before buying anything. Many older chimneys here got a thin mortar wash, not a poured crown. Washes crack and shed chunks. Steel anchored into crumbling mortar holds nothing. Chimney swifts are federally protected; an active nest means waiting. Starlings and raccoon dens we clear out.