A family in Southwest Arlington, off Green Oaks Blvd, had a rusty orange streak running down the siding of their chimney and water in the firebox every time it rained. Two roofers had looked at the shingles and found nothing. The problem was ten feet higher: the flat galvanized chase cover on top of the chimney had rusted through where water pooled on it for twenty years. Chimney chase cover replacement in Arlington, TX from Crownline Chimney Sweep means a custom-measured stainless steel cover with a raised center so water runs off, a free estimate, and a written price before anyone goes on the roof. We photograph the old cover so you can see where it failed.
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’s factory-built chimneys and masonry chimneys for more than 20 years, and we are insured and bonded. Every homeowner gets the photos before the price.
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 Chase Cover Is
Most Arlington homes built from the 1980s on have a factory-built fireplace, also called a prefab or metal fireplace. The chimney you see on the outside of the house is not brick all the way through. It is a wood-framed box called a chase, covered with siding, stucco or a layer of brick veneer, with a metal flue pipe running up the middle.
The chase cover is the metal lid that seals the top of that box. The flue pipe passes through a hole in it, a storm collar seals the gap, and the chimney cap sits on top of the pipe. The cover’s only job is to keep water out of the chase. When it fails, water runs down inside the box, into the framing, the drywall around the fireplace and the firebox itself.
The NFPA home heating safety page is a good starting point for keeping any fireplace safe, and on a prefab fireplace the chase cover is where water damage starts.
Why Chase Covers Fail in Arlington
Builders installed flat galvanized steel covers on most of the prefab chimneys in Southwest Arlington, near Lake Arlington, in South Arlington and in the newer neighborhoods in North Arlington and Viridian. Those covers fail for three reasons:
- They are flat. Rain pools in the middle instead of draining. Standing water in Texas heat eats the zinc coating in a few summers.
- They are galvanized. Once the zinc is gone, the steel rusts. Rust shows first as orange streaks on the siding below, then as a hole.
- Hail and heat. Tarrant County hail dents the cover, and the dents become new puddles. Summer heat warps thin steel, and the warps become puddles too.
A galvanized chase cover in Arlington usually lasts 10 to 15 years. Most of the covers we replace are the original ones from the 1980s, 90s and 2000s, and they are long past that.
Signs Your Chase Cover Needs Replacing
- Rust streaks down the siding or brick of the chase.
- Water in the firebox or a rusty, musty smell from the fireplace after rain.
- Standing water on the cover after a storm, visible from a second-story window or a ladder.
- Rust around the pipe collar or at the corners of the cover.
- Soft, stained or peeling siding near the top of the chase.
- Rusted or warped refractory panels and a rusted damper inside the firebox, which point to years of water.
Any one of these is a reason to book an inspection. Chase cover problems are also one of the common finds on a Level 2 chimney inspection when a prefab-fireplace home changes hands.
How Crownline Replaces a Chimney Chase Cover
- Inspection and photos. We go up, photograph the cover, check the cap, the storm collar and the siding, and look inside the firebox for water damage. You see the photos.
- Measure. The chase top, the pipe location and size, and the overhang needed for the drip edge.
- Written price. A free estimate that lists the cover, the collar, the cap if it needs replacing, and any siding or framing repair, each on its own line. You decide.
- Fabrication. The cover is made in stainless steel with a raised center (cross-break) so water runs to the edges, a drip edge that hangs over the siding, and a welded collar around the pipe.
- Install. We remove the old cover, check the plywood and framing under it for rot and quote any repair before we go further, set the new cover, seal the collar with a storm collar and high-temperature sealant, and refit or replace the cap.
- After photos to your phone.
Measuring and installing are two visits because the cover is custom. Chase covers are one of the fixes we offer as part of our chimney repair work on prefab fireplaces.
Chimney Chase Cover Cost in Arlington
Crownline quotes every chase cover in writing after measuring the chase and photographing the old cover, and the estimate is free. We do not publish one flat number because every cover is fabricated to the chimney’s dimensions. What moves the price:
| What moves the price | Why |
|---|---|
| Size of the chase top | More stainless, longer fabrication. |
| Number of pipes | A fireplace flue plus a furnace or water heater vent means two collars. |
| Roof access | A single-story home with a walkable roof is faster than a steep two-story roof off Matlock Rd. |
| Rot under the old cover | Replacing plywood and framing adds carpentry, quoted on its own line. |
| Cap and collar condition | A rusted cap or missing storm collar is replaced at the same time. |
Brown Chimney, a DFW company that publishes its prices, quotes chase covers by dimensions as well, in stainless only. Those are their rules; our numbers come in writing after we have measured your chimney.
Seniors get 10% off, and so do veterans and first responders. We match written quotes from insured companies. One discount per job.
Stainless Steel vs Galvanized Chase Covers
Crownline installs stainless steel chase covers only. A galvanized replacement is cheaper on the day and would have us back on the same roof in ten years. Stainless does not rust, does not streak the siding, and handles Arlington’s heat and hail. Copper is available for homeowners who want the look, and it lasts as long as stainless.
Every cover we fabricate has a raised center, so even a hail dent does not become a permanent puddle. That one detail is the difference between a cover that lasts and one that fails.
Chase Siding, Caps and Flashing Go With the Cover
A rusted cover rarely fails alone. While we are up there we check and quote, on separate lines:
- The cap. The chimney cap sits on the flue pipe above the cover. A rusted cap lets water straight down the pipe.
- The chase siding and framing. Years of water rot the sheathing and siding below the cover. See chimney siding and chase repair.
- The flashing where the chase meets the roof. A chase that leaks only in wind-driven rain often has a flashing problem, not a cover problem. See chimney flashing and leak repair.
- The firebox. Water-damaged refractory panels and a rusted damper get their own written price.
Why Arlington Homeowners Choose Crownline for Chase Covers
- 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’s prefab chimneys, from the 1980s chases in Southwest Arlington to the newer homes in Viridian.
- Insured and bonded.
- Stainless with a raised center, every time.
- Free estimate, photos first and a written price before the roof.
- The whole chimney top checked, so you are not paying for a cover when the leak is the flashing.
That is why we call Crownline the best chimney company in Arlington: each point on that list is something you can check.
Chase cover replacement is one of the chimney services we offer across Arlington. Call (817) 505-4222 or use the form on this page for a free estimate, and if you can see a rust streak from the driveway, do it before the next storm season.