Chimney Caps in Wilton Manors, FL

A chimney cap does quiet but critical work on a Wilton Manors home. The eleven months each year when the fireplace sits idle are eleven months when an uncapped or poorly capped flue is open to rain, salt air off the Intracoastal, insects, and whatever wildlife decides the flue looks like a suitable shelter. On a mid-century home with original clay tile liners, water sitting at the bottom of a wet flue season after season accelerates the liner deterioration that eventually becomes a serious repair.

Chimney Caps: What the Work Looks Like

The kind of chimney caps work we handle for Wilton Manors homeowners — swipe to see more.

Why Wilton Manors Homes Need Chimney Caps

The caps we see fail most often in this area are the original galvanized steel types installed when the homes were built — some still in place after fifty or sixty years, rusted through at the screen mesh and no longer keeping anything out. We also see aluminum caps that simply weren't sized for coastal air and have corroded faster than the manufacturer's rating suggested. A cap that looks intact from the ground can have mesh gaps wide enough to let in starlings and moisture.

We install stainless steel or copper caps — materials that hold up in the salt-air environment Broward's proximity to the coast creates. Sizing matters: the cap has to fit the flue tile dimensions precisely, cover the full crown area, and be secured so it doesn't lift in high winds. On homes with multiple flue openings, each opening needs its own properly fitted cap. We take measurements at the roofline and don't guess.

A cap replacement is one of the more straightforward chimney improvements for a Wilton Manors home, but it has an outsized effect on what happens inside the flue over the following years. If your current cap is original or more than ten to fifteen years old, it's worth having us check it the next time we're on the roof. Replacing a worn cap costs a fraction of what water damage to an older flue liner eventually runs.

Signs You Need Chimney Caps

• You can see the cap is missing, rusted through, bent, or crushed
• Birds, squirrels, or the sound of animals in the chimney
• Leaves and debris collecting inside the flue or firebox
• Rain coming straight down the flue or moisture in the firebox after storms

How It Works