Family-owned chase cover service in Ocoee

A damp odor from the fireplace after rain

A musty or wet-ash smell from the fireplace after a storm can mean water is reaching the unit. Moisture mixes with old ash and soot, and the odor carries into the room. The source may be the chase cover, the termination cap or the joints of the pipe, so we check each in turn, beginning with the top. If cleaning the firebox is part of the fix, it appears as a separate line. The smell often fades within a few dry days once the water path is closed and the firebox is cleaned.

When only the cap needs replacing

Sometimes the cover is sound and the damage is limited to the termination cap, such as a rusted hood, a broken screen or missing fasteners. In that case the cover stays, and chimney cap replacement is the right job. We will not sell you a chase cover your chase does not need. The inspection separates the two, and the estimate prices only what is failing. The replacement cap must be the one listed for your chimney model. Replacing a sound cover just because the cap failed adds cost without adding protection.

What to tell us when you call

A few details help us plan the inspection of your Ocoee chase, and none of them requires a ladder. You do not need to know the metal or the fireplace model. If you still have closing papers or the fireplace manual, those help too. If the fireplace is on a second floor or behind furniture, mention it so we plan the inside look as well.

• When you first noticed rust, stains or noise
• Whether the fireplace burns wood and is still in use
• Whether the roof or siding was replaced recently
• How many stories the chase rises

Sealing washers and exposed fasteners

Where a manual allows fasteners exposed to the weather, each one needs a sealing washer that compresses under the head and closes the hole around the shank. Washers of the wrong material crack in the sun, and overtightened ones split. We set exposed fasteners with washers suited to the metal and check each one before leaving, because a single weeping screw can stain the siding below it. Where the manual calls for fasteners only through the skirt, none go through the top at all.