OK folks, the most common question we were asked at the Greenville, SC, Home & Garden Show at the TD Convention Center just last month was:
“I’ve got birds in my chimney. When is a good time to have my chimney capped to keep those birds out next year?”
We’ve talked about this before, but it’s such a common question that it’s worth discussing again. I’m going to expand on it here today — with a little bit of a different spit.
The Good News
The birds are getting ready to leave and go South for the winter. October is a GREAT time to address this issue! Do it NOW and you won’t have to try and remember in March or April, only to realize that the birds have already taken up residence for another summer. Learn more about the life cycle of chimney swifts here.
The Better News
You can “kill two birds with one stone” (pardon the pun here). If you choose a full-coverage, stainless steel chimney cap with an animal guard AND a lid that extends out past the sides of your chimney, you will be keeping out the birds AND protecting your chimney from water intrusion. While a single flue cap will keep out the pesky chimney swifts and other critters and the messes they make, it will not provide much protection against water seeping through the crown wash (the sloped part at the top of your chimney). Birds are noisy, messy pests, but water intrusion is a silent threat to your chimney. Excessive water entry into a chimney encourages damaging mold, mildew, and moss growth on your chimney exterior, and can lead to premature deterioration of the structure. Plus, lots of chimneys stink, but wet chimneys always smell worse.
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Want to know more about how water can negatively affect your masonry chimney? Click here. To learn more about how those of us at Blue Sky Chimney Sweeps|Bless Your Hearth can help you protect your chimney from birds and water entry, click here.