Kearns · Salt Lake County
Capping and Sealing Kearns Chimneys
The chimneys that cause the most damage in this part of the valley are the ones nobody uses. An abandoned flue still collects everything the sky sends at it.
The orphaned flue problem
Plenty of Kearns homes have a chimney that stopped doing anything years ago. The furnace was replaced with a high-efficiency model that vents out the wall, the fireplace was closed off during a remodel, or the family simply stopped burning. The stack is still there, still open at the top, and now nothing warm ever passes through it. That is the worst possible condition for masonry. A flue with warm exhaust in it dries itself out; a cold, disused one holds every bit of moisture that lands in it, and the freeze cycles work on saturated tile and brick all winter. Capping a chimney you no longer use is the cheapest maintenance decision available on the whole house.
Wind and dust from the west
There is very little between Kearns and the Oquirrhs, and less between the Oquirrhs and the desert. Wind arrives across open ground carrying fine dust, and open flue tops collect it in a way sheltered east bench chimneys do not. Dust settles on a damper, mixes with condensation and turns into a paste that seizes moving parts. It also mats a screen. A cap with generous screen area is worth more here than a decorative one with a small mesh window.
Chase tops rust before anything else
On the many homes with a framed and sided chimney chase, the flat metal lid on top is usually galvanized steel. It sits in weather, holds standing water where it has flattened out in the middle, and rusts through from the pooled area outward. Once it perforates, water runs down inside the chase onto framing and insulation nobody inspects. A stainless replacement with a proper slope and a sealed collar around the pipe removes the problem permanently.
Waterproofing, applied correctly
On a brick stack that is sound but porous, a breathable siloxane repellent keeps liquid water out while still letting the masonry dry outward. It goes on after any repointing is complete. What we will not do is paint or seal a chimney with a film coating, because trapping moisture inside brick is how you turn a slow problem into a fast one.
Questions
Caps & Dampers in Kearns — common questions
We do not use our fireplace at all. Should we still cap the chimney?
Yes, and it is arguably more important than on a chimney in use. An unused flue never warms up, so it stays wet through the winter and deteriorates faster. A cap is inexpensive and it stops water, snow, birds and blown debris in one move.
Birds got into our chimney last spring. Can a cap stop that?
That is exactly what the screen on a cap is for. Once the flue is verified clear, a stainless screened cap ends the problem for good. Note that some birds are federally protected during nesting season, which affects the timing of removal, and we will tell you if that applies.
Our chase top is rusty. Can it be patched?
Patching a rusted chase top with sealant buys a season at most, because the metal around the patch is at the same stage. A stainless replacement built with a slope and a proper storm collar costs more once and then stops being a maintenance item.
Will a cap make my fireplace draft worse?
A correctly sized one will not. The rule is that the open area under the cap has to comfortably exceed the flue area. Undersized caps and clogged screens do restrict draft, which is why we size them to the flue and check the screen every time we are on the roof.
Also in Kearns
Our other services here
Chimney Sweep Inspection Chimney Repair Fireplace Repair Installation Gas Fireplace Dryer Vents All Kearns services
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South Jordan South Salt Lake Taylorsville West Jordan West Valley City