Every spring, homeowners in Arlington call about a scratching sound in the fireplace. It is usually a squirrel or a pair of chimney swifts that found an open flue, and the flue is open because the cap rusted through or blew off in last year’s hail. Chimney cap installation in Arlington, TX from Crownline Chimney Sweep starts with a free estimate, and the written price covers the cap, the spark arrestor screen and the install, before anyone goes on the roof. Most single-flue caps are measured and installed in one visit.
Crownline Chimney Sweep is a local chimney company at 700 Highlander Blvd in Arlington, near the Parks Mall and I-20, between Fort Worth and Dallas. Our crew has worked on Arlington roofs for more than 20 years, we are insured and bonded, and we install stainless steel caps because galvanized caps do not survive Texas heat and hail.
Custom caps and chase covers are 10% off at Crownline Chimney Sweep, and the estimate is free: we measure on the roof, give you a written price, and you decide. Seniors, veterans and first responders get 10% off too (one discount per job).
What a Chimney Cap Does for Your Arlington Home
A chimney cap is a metal lid with a mesh screen that sits on top of the flue. It is the cheapest part of a chimney and it does five jobs:
- Keeps rain out. An open flue is a hole in your roof. Water runs down the flue, soaks the smoke shelf, rusts the damper and turns creosote into a sticky, smelly mess. Over years it rots the mortar between the flue tiles.
- Keeps animals out. Squirrels, raccoons and birds nest in open flues. In Arlington, chimney swifts arrive every spring and are federally protected, so an active nest cannot be removed until the birds leave in late summer. A cap prevents the problem.
- Stops embers. The spark arrestor screen keeps sparks from leaving the flue and landing on the roof or a neighbor’s fence. The U.S. Fire Administration lists a screened cap among its home heating fire safety steps.
- Blocks downdrafts. The lid cuts wind-driven downdrafts that push smoke back into the room.
- Keeps debris out. Leaves and twigs from the mature trees in Old Arlington and Dalworthington Gardens do not end up on the smoke shelf.
A missing cap is the most common thing we find on inspections of Arlington’s 1950s to 1970s brick chimneys. Many never had one, and the deterioration of the masonry and the damper underneath is the result. Gas fireplaces need a cap too: a vent termination packed with debris sends exhaust back into the room.
Chimney Cap Styles and Materials
Standard single-flue cap. Clamps onto a single clay flue tile. The right fit for most brick chimneys in Arlington. Stainless steel, with a spark arrestor screen on all four sides.
Multi-flue cap. One cap that covers two or more flues, such as a fireplace flue and a furnace flue side by side. It bolts to the crown instead of a tile. Custom-measured and fabricated in stainless steel.
Custom cap or shroud. Fabricated to the shape of the chimney top. Used on multi-flue chimneys, oversized crowns and prefab chases where the homeowner wants a decorative shroud that hides the pipe.
Top-sealing damper cap. A cap with a damper built in, closed by a cable from the firebox. It replaces a rusted throat damper and seals the flue tight when the fireplace is off, which cuts the summer creosote smell and stops air-conditioned air from going up the chimney. See damper repair.
Galvanized caps. Cheaper on day one. We install them on request, but a galvanized cap in Arlington usually shows rust within a few years and streaks the chimney. Stainless costs more once and does not rust.
Chase covers. On a factory-built fireplace, the cap sits on the flue pipe and a separate metal lid, the chase cover, covers the whole chase top. A rusted chase cover is the number one leak on prefab chimneys in Southwest Arlington. See chimney chase cover.
How Chimney Cap Installation Works, Step by Step
- Measure. We measure the flue tile or the chimney top and check whether the chimney needs a single-flue, multi-flue or custom cap.
- Written price. A free estimate that lists the cap, the screen and the install. You decide before we go up.
- Remove the old cap and check the flue top for cracked tiles and the crown for cracks. If there is a nest, we tell you; if it is an active chimney swift nest, it waits until the birds leave.
- Fit and fasten. The cap is clamped or bolted so Arlington wind and hail cannot lift it. Multi-flue and custom caps are set in sealant and anchored to the crown.
- Check the rest of the chimney top. Crown, flashing and brick get a look and a photo while we are there. Anything we find gets its own written price. See chimney crown repair.
- After photos to your phone.
A single-flue cap is a one-visit job. A custom cap is two: one to measure, one to set the fabricated cap.
Chimney Cap Installation Cost in Arlington
Crownline quotes every chimney cap in writing after measuring the flue, and the estimate is free. The price depends on the cap style, the material, the number of flues and roof access: a single-story ranch in Pantego with a walkable roof is faster than a two-story home off Matlock Rd with a steep pitch.
For a sense of DFW pricing, Brown Chimney, a local company that publishes its rates, lists a standard single-flue galvanized cap at $375, up to $549 for hard roof access, and custom multi-flue stainless caps at $1,500 to $2,500 and up. Those are their numbers. Ours come in writing after we have measured your chimney.
If you book the cap with a chimney sweep, the sweep with a Level 1 inspection and photo report is $109 on your first visit (regular $229), and the inspection tells you whether the flue needs anything else before the cap goes on.
Seniors get 10% off, and so do veterans and first responders. We match written quotes from insured companies. One discount per job.
When Your Arlington Chimney Needs a New Cap
- There is no cap. Look up from the yard. If you can see the open flue tile, water and animals can see it too.
- Rust streaks on the chimney below the cap. The galvanized cap is rusting through.
- The cap is in the yard or leaning after a spring storm. Tarrant County hail and wind lift caps that were set without fasteners.
- Scratching, chirping or a smell from the fireplace. Something is living in the flue.
- Water in the firebox after rain, or a damper that has rusted.
- A dented lid or torn screen after hail.
- A new roof. Roofers often leave the old cap or none at all. Cap the chimney after the shingles go on.
Chimney Caps for Arlington’s Brick Chimneys and Prefab Fireplaces
The right cap depends on the kind of chimney, and Arlington has two kinds in roughly equal numbers.
Brick chimneys with clay flue tiles are the rule in Old Arlington, Oak Hill, Dalworthington Gardens, Pantego and the East Arlington neighborhoods near AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field. The flue tile usually sticks up an inch or two above the crown, and a single-flue stainless cap clamps straight onto it. When the tile is flush with the crown or cracked at the top, the cap bolts to the crown instead, and the crack gets sealed first so water cannot get under the cap.
Factory-built fireplaces with a metal flue pipe are the rule in the 1980s to 2000s homes in Southwest Arlington, near Lake Arlington and in Viridian. The cap is a round or square unit that fits the brand of pipe, and it sits on top of a chase cover. If the chase cover is rusted or holding water, a new cap alone will not stop the leak, so we check the cover before we quote the cap.
Either way, the yearly sweep includes a look at the cap and its screen, because a screen packed with creosote chokes the draft and sends smoke into the room.
Why Arlington Homeowners Choose Crownline for Chimney Caps
- A real Arlington office at 700 Highlander Blvd. Call (817) 505-4222 and a person answers 7 days a week, 7 AM to 10 PM.
- A local crew with more than 20 years on Arlington roofs, from the brick chimneys near UTA and the stadiums to the prefab chases in Southwest Arlington and Viridian.
- Insured and bonded.
- Stainless steel by default, because we are the ones who get called when a galvanized cap rusts.
- Free estimate and a written price before the roof.
- A photo of the finished cap and of everything else we saw up there.
That is why we say Crownline is the best chimney company in Arlington: each point on that list is something you can check.
Chimney cap installation is one of the chimney repair and maintenance services we offer across Arlington. If a squirrel or a bird is already in the flue, start with animal removal and we will cap the chimney the same day the flue is clear. Call (817) 505-4222 or use the form on this page for a free estimate.