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Photo: Fireplace Renovation
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The Pleasures of a Wood Fire
I couldn’t have said it better myself:
“…don’t overlook the intangible benefits of wood heat. First to mind is the simple attractiveness of an open fire, the changing pattern of light in the firebox, reflected to dance on the walls and ceiling. The licks of flame, glow of coals and the infinite variety of shapes and patterns. Bright sounds: snaps and pops and gentle roar of heated air passing into the flue.”
From John Vivian’s book Wood Heat (Rodale Press, 1976)
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Choosing the Right Chimney Cap
Chimney caps come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and designs. Browsing through all the options can be baffling, so we’ve come up with some resources to help you.
The first step is to determine what kind of flue or flues you have. The flue is the center pipe inside your chimney. Most flues are round, rectangular, or oval. Click on the description below that best matches your situation.
For multiple flue chimneys, you have a couple options- outside mount or top mount. Top mounts attach to the top of the crown, while outside mounts attach to the sides of the chimney, slipping over the top like the lid of a shoebox. Outside mount caps provide the most protection for your chimney, but are more expensive than top mount caps.
California residents and others in fire-prone areas: California regulations require the mesh on chimney caps to be 5/8 inch, compared to the national 3/4 inch standard.
Not finding what you need? We specialize in custom chimney caps in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors. Call us at 888-834-7375 or email us for a quote.
Have any questions or need more advice? We would be happy to help! Give us a call at 888-834-7375 or shoot us an email at answers@fireplacemall.com
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Three Common Fireplace Myths
1. Rarely used chimneys don’t need to be cleaned or inspected.
If you don’t use your fireplace 
often, it doesn’t get dirty, right? While creosote buildup may not be a regular issue with infrequent use, annual chimney inspections are still vital to detect other problems. For example, chimney sweeps will check for and remove bird nests and check for dangerous cracks in the in chimney and flue. Infrequently used fireplaces and chimneys should be inspected once a year, while fireplaces used more than three times a week should be cleaned and inspected annually.
What’s the fuss about? Read about the dangers of chimney fires.
2. Fireplaces are poor sources of heat.
An old line about fireplaces is that they’ll cook you on one side and freeze you on the other. The myth is that fireplaces may feel warm when you’re right next to them, but they don’t actually radiate any heat into your house. In fact, the heat you feel directly from the fireplace is only part of the equation. As the fire burns, it heats the brick in your chimney, which then will radiate warmth long after the fire has died down.
Click here for tips on getting more heat out of your fireplace.
3. Burning softwoods like pine will cause heavy creosote buildup in your chimney.
Pine and other softwoods contain large amounts of sap, or resin. Long-standing wisdom has been that this resin, when burned, will cause large amounts of creosote to accumulate in your chimney. However, the University of Georgia is reporting this old wisdom to be false. They claim research has shown that creosote forms from burning low-temperature fires, not resin-rich woods. As long as the softwood is sufficiently seasoned, creosote should not be a concern. Keep in mind, however, that while pine burns very hot, it burns quickly and emits a lot of smoke.
Read about the best types of wood to burn in your fireplace.
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