Rusted chase cover or missing chimney cap

What a chase cover is

Many houses have a framed chimney, called a chase: a wood box on the roof covered in siding to match the house, with metal flue pipe running up inside it. The chase cover is the metal lid on top. It keeps rain and snow out of the framing and has an opening for each flue.

Why chase covers rust

Galvanized covers rust with time. Many older ones are flat, so water sits on top, and once the coating wears through, the rust spreads. Rust streaks running down the siding under the cover are usually the first thing homeowners notice.

By the time the streaks show, water can already be getting past the cover into the framing. Left alone, that can mean rotted wood inside the chase and water inside the house.

Paint it or replace it?

Painting a rusted cover changes how it looks from the ground. The rust is usually worse on the underside, where paint doesn't reach, and a flat cover keeps holding water.

A replacement cover is made to the size of your chase, with a top shaped so water runs off and an edge that drips clear of the siding. Stainless steel holds up to Michigan weather far better than galvanized.

We measure the chase before we quote, because a cover that doesn't fit leaks at the edges.

Chimney caps

A chimney cap is the metal hood over the top of the flue, usually with mesh around the sides. It keeps rain from falling straight down the flue, and the mesh keeps birds, squirrels and raccoons out.

People sometimes call the concrete slab on top of a brick chimney the cap. That's the crown, and it's a different repair.

If an animal is already in the chimney

Don't light a fire to drive it out. A nest in the flue can catch fire or keep smoke from getting out of the house. Once the animal is out, a cap keeps the next one from getting in.

If you're seeing rust streaks, or there's no cap on the flue, we'll measure it and send you a written quote for the replacement.