Water Damage Water can seep into the bricks and mortar of your chimney, causing it to deteriorate and break down over time. This can lead to expensive repairs or, in severe cases, the need to replace your chimney entirely. Capping your chimney will keep water out and protect your investment.
You should cap any unused chimneys with a flue ventilator. Flue ventilators can be found on our chimney pot page. The flue ventilator stops rain entry to the chimney but still allows a small amount of air passage for ventilation.
Should Unused Chimneys Be Capped? An uncapped chimney can result in blockage leading to poor chimney ventilation, leakages, water collecting from rain and snow, and unwanted birds and insects sheltering inside your chimney stack.
As one of the biggest causes of a draughty home, it can make sense to block a chimney opening, especially for larger unused fireplaces.
Yes, chimneys need to breathe, even if they won't be used anymore. The vast majority of problems with chimneys are related to moisture, and that's the issue as regards ventilation. If there is no air flow in the chimney, moisture gets trapped and deterioration of the chimney structure will be accelerated.
If you have an old chimney that is no longer used, you can block or close it off to prevent birds from nesting, moisture or rain getting in, heat loss up the chimney, noise from outside entering your dwelling.
You should only reduce or remove your chimney if you're absolutely sure it isn't providing ventilation or being used as a flue by any heat-producing appliance.
Do I need a chimney cap if my chimney is not in use? Yes, capping an unused chimney is important to prevent moisture buildup, downdraughts and animal intrusion which can cause damage over time.
An unused chimney should always be swept and given a little ventilation top and bottom. Ask your Guild sweep how best to do this for your situation.
In fact, chimneys are designed to draw air out and expel it outside. This is so, when you light a fire, the smoke can be carried outside rather than blown into your home. However, when a fire isn't lit, warm air that's created by your heating system can be lost via the chimney.
Properly closing up a chimney involves closing and sealing the damper, installing a chimney cap damper, and sealing the fireplace opening with a door or bricks. The cost to seal and cap a chimney is around $500 to $650—significantly less than the average chimney removal cost.
Mold also loves poor ventilation because it enables it to thrive and spread. The chimney is the perfect growing habitat for mold due to limited ventilation if the chimney goes unused for long periods of time, and because it's nice and dark.
Chimney Caps Protect Your Home
Also, small animals or birds can enter the chimney and build nests that create a dangerous blockage. In other words, if you don't have a cap, or it is in bad condition due to age or weather damage, you could be putting your home at risk for fire or other damage.
The first, and perhaps easiest, way to close off a fireplace is with the damper. “If you have a bottom/standard masonry damper you can close it and seal it closed with silicone to stop the airflow,” says Blaken.
Chimney cap mesh sometimes has very small openings that are easily clogged with creosote. Anytime firewood is burned, some creosote is deposited in the flue lining; and it can also become attached to the mesh of the chimney cap. The oxygen needed for the fire can be cut off as a result of an obstructed chimney cap.
Capping your chimney will help reduce heat loss and keep your home more comfortable. The bottom line is that capping your chimney is always a good idea, even if you don't use your fireplace. It will save you money in the long run and keep your family safe and healthy.
Handyman Services: Some handymen have the experience to handle a range of home repair tasks, including chimney cap installations.
A chimney cap can stop downdrafts from entering the home. Downdrafts can cause your home to fill with smoke. Especially in windy areas, a chimney cap can be extremely beneficial in helping to make the home more energy efficient. Cold blasts of air are prevented from entering into homes equipped with a chimney cap.
Even when you have retired your masonry fireplace from use, yes, venting an unused chimney is important. It is vital to allow for continued airflow, and that's not the only issue. Safety experts recommend annual inspections for retired, blocked off, and unused chimneys.
Not having a chimney cap can lead to quite a few problems: Rain, sleet, snow, hail, and other precipitation will get in your fireplace. Raccoons, squirrels, bats, and other critters will get in your chimney. Sparks from your fireplace could float out and cause a fire.
Are chimney breasts load-bearing? Yes, chimney breasts are load-bearing structures that run through the ground floor of your house, through the floors above, through the loft and into the chimney stack situated on the roof.
Chimneys and fireplaces were typical in house buildings before the 1900s because the fire was the primary method to heat homes. Once alternative fuels came into vogue, such as gas and electricity, people no longer relied on their fireplaces and either left them as-is for decoration or sealed them up.
Even if you no longer fire-up your fireplace, you still need to have your chimney cleaned and inspected annually. Think of it like an annual physical for your house.