What Is a Chimney Cap?
Chimney caps are the protective coverings at the very top of your chimney. They are typically made of copper or steel mesh and are available in various styles to match the design of your home’s exterior. Sitting on top of the mesh ring is a cap that assists in protecting your chimney from rain and downdrafts.
What Does a Chimney Cap Do?
Helps Reduce Moisture
One of the best reasons to install a chimney cap is to reduce the moisture inside your house. If you live in a rainy area, you’re likely to get water in your chimney. You want to prevent this from occurring as much as possible.
Helps Keep Animals Out
When fires are burning in your chimney every night, it doesn’t seem like a great place for animals to live. However, during the heat of the summer months, you might have any number of small creatures building nests in there. From squirrels to raccoons to birds, a lot of different animals may find your chimney a convenient place to set up their home.
Helps Block Downdrafts
Even though it doesn’t seem like it, chimneys aren’t in fact a one-way passage for air to move out of our houses. It’s also a passage that allows air in— and if you live in a windy area when the wind is blowing in a certain direction— it can actually cause a downdraft. This is when the wind blows back down your chimney and into your home.
Helps To Stop Sparks
Have you ever watched sparks and embers from a campfire drift up into the night? The same thing happens in your chimney when you light a fire in your fireplace. And there’s nothing stopping one of those embers from drifting out of your chimney and landing on your roof.nEven one spark could light your roof on fire.
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