Stop chase top leaks with chimney chase cover replacement in Balm

Keeping the air space around the pipe open

Factory-built chimneys are installed with a required air space between the pipe and anything combustible. The manual for one widely used system calls for a two-inch clearance to combustibles and building insulation around its chimney. That space has to stay open when a chase top is replaced.

While the cover is off, we look down into the top of the enclosure for insulation, debris or nesting material pressed against the pipe. Anything that does not belong there is noted and removed where it can be reached safely, and deeper problems inside the chase are explained on the estimate.

When a chase cover can be repaired instead

Not every leaking chase cover needs replacing. A cover in sound metal with one open seam, a loose fastener or a storm collar that has slipped can often be repaired, and the estimate shows that smaller repair when it fits.

Replacement makes sense when the metal is rusted through in several places, when the cover holds water across its surface or when it was never shaped to drain. Patching those covers tends to buy a short time before the next leak.

• Repair: one failed seam, loose fasteners or a slipped storm collar on sound metal
• Replace: rust holes, a dished surface or an opening with no raised collar
• Look further: soft framing, wet insulation or stains well below the top

What happens on chase cover replacement day

On installation day, our team protects the roof around the chase, removes the old cover and clears old sealant and fasteners. The top of the chase is checked, the new cover is set and fastened through its skirt, and the storm collar and cap go back on.

Before leaving, we check the pitch, the fit on every side and the seal at the storm collar, and haul the old cover away. You get a plain summary of what was done, and if anything unexpected turned up while the top was open, you hear about it before any extra work.

Questions worth asking before you approve a chase cover

A clear estimate answers a few practical questions. Which metal and thickness is proposed, and how will the cover get its pitch? How tall is the collar around each pipe, and how will the storm collar be sealed? How is the cover fastened, and what happens to the old one?

It should also say what happens if the framing under the old cover turns out to be soft, and how that would be priced. Our estimates answer each of these in writing, and we are glad to go through them with you before you decide.