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Custom-Made Chimney Caps in Seattle
Stock caps do not fit every chimney. We measure, fabricate and fit custom caps for multi-flue, oversized and historic chimneys. Free quote, price match.
- Free 2nd-opinion quotes
- Price match + 10–25% discount
- Same-day service often available
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Most chimney caps come off a shelf in a handful of standard sizes, and for a single square clay tile that is fine. But a lot of chimneys in Seattle, Tacoma and Everett were not built to a standard. Three flues of different heights on one crown. A tall brick stack with a wide, sloped crown and no tile projection to clamp onto. A round terra-cotta pot. A fireplace and a furnace flue sharing a chimney with a chase cover that no stock cap sits on. When a stock cap will not fit or will not seal, we make one that does.
A custom chimney cap is measured to your chimney and fabricated from stainless steel or copper, usually as a full-coverage top-mount cap that covers the whole crown. It keeps rain off every flue and off the crown itself, keeps animals out, and can be shaped to suit the house, which matters on a visible chimney on a Craftsman or Tudor. This page is for the non-standard cases. For a straightforward single flue, start with chimney cap installation or cap replacement.
The quote is free, and we price match any written quote and take 10-25% off.
Symptoms
Signs you need custom-made chimney cap
- Two or more flues on one crown, at different heights or spacing, and no single cap covers them
- A stock cap has been forced onto a flue that is too large, too small or not square, and it leaks or rattles
- The flue tile does not project above the crown, so a clamp-on cap has nothing to grip
- Round, oval or decorative terra-cotta flue pots that no standard cap fits
- A very wide or oddly shaped crown that keeps cracking because rain sits on it
- An older home where a plain galvanized cap looks wrong on the chimney
- Previous caps kept blowing off because none of them really fit
Common causes
- Older masonry chimneys built with flues sized to the bricks, not to modern cap dimensions
- Chimneys that were added onto over the years, leaving flues of different heights
- Decorative or historic flue pots that were never meant to take a clamp-on cap
- Crown rebuilds or liner jobs that changed the top of the chimney after the original cap was sized
- Wide crowns that shed water badly and need full coverage rather than a hood over each tile
How It Works
Our custom-made chimney cap process
A custom cap lives or dies by the measurements, so we take our time at the top. We measure the crown edge to edge, each flue's outside dimensions and height above the crown, the spacing between flues, and any slope or overhang on the crown. We check that the crown is sound enough to anchor into, because a top-mount cap bolted to a crumbling crown will loosen. Then we photograph everything, talk through the style options with you, and give you a free written quote for the cap and any crown work it depends on.
Measure and photograph
Every dimension of the crown and every flue is recorded on site, with photos, so the cap is built to the chimney and not to an estimate.
Design the cap
We work out the skirt height, the hood clearance above the tallest flue, the mesh layout and the finish. You see the design and approve it before anything is fabricated.
Fabricate
The cap is made from stainless steel or copper, with a cross-broken or peaked lid so water sheds instead of pooling, and stainless mesh sized for your fuel.
Prepare the crown
Cracks get sealed or the crown gets repaired first if the anchors need sound concrete. See <a href="/services/chimney-crown-repair/">crown repair</a> for what that involves.
Install and anchor
The cap is set level, anchored into the crown with stainless hardware, and sealed at the skirt. We check that every flue drafts freely under the hood and send you photos of the finished top.
Options
Repair and service options
Custom does not mean one design. The main choices are coverage, material and shape.
- Full-coverage top-mount cap: one cap over the entire crown and all flues. The most common custom build, and the best protection for a wide crown because the crown stays dry too.
- Multi-flue cap with a fitted base: a cap sized for two or three flues where the crown is in good shape and full coverage is not needed.
- Fitted caps for flue pots: round or decorative terra-cotta pots get a cap shaped to the pot, not clamped onto it.
- Stainless steel: our standard for everything exposed to Puget Sound weather; it does not rust and can be finished bright or brushed. See stainless steel cap installation.
- Copper: for visible chimneys on older Seattle and Tacoma homes where the cap is part of the look. It weathers to brown and then green and costs more than stainless.
- Lid style: flat with a cross-break, hipped, peaked or a decorative profile to match the roofline.
If the chimney also has a framed chase, the cap and the chase cover can be built together so they fit each other.
Pricing
What affects the price
- Overall size of the crown and the number of flues under the cap
- Stainless steel versus copper
- Lid style: flat, hipped, peaked or decorative
- Complexity of the flue layout, such as different heights or round pots
- Crown repair needed so the anchors hold
- Roof pitch, chimney height and how the top is reached
- Whether a matching chase cover is fabricated at the same time
Every chimney is different, so you get a written quote after we look at the system. Ask about our price match and free second-opinion quote.
Safety & Seattle Conditions
Safety considerations
Measuring for a custom cap means working at the top of the chimney with a tape and a camera, on a roof that is wet for much of the year. Please leave that to us; it is part of the free quote. We also check the crown and the top courses of brick while we are there, because a cap is only as secure as what it is bolted to.
If you have multiple flues and one of them serves a gas appliance, tell us. Gas vents have their own clearance and termination rules and the cap hood is designed around them. We never ask you to touch or adjust a gas appliance.
Seattle & Puget Sound conditions
Full-coverage caps earn their keep in this climate. Sea-Tac's normal precipitation is 40.34 inches a year, and about 73% of it falls from October through March, so a wide crown spends the whole heating season wet. The Brick Industry Association links saturated masonry that freezes and thaws to cracking and spalling, and Seattle sees about 60 days a year that touch 32F with winter lows averaging around 37F, which means repeated freeze-thaw crossings rather than one long freeze. A cap that covers the crown keeps most of that water off it.
Seattle's median home was built in 1976, Tacoma's in 1967 and Shoreline's in 1969, and older masonry chimneys are where we see the multi-flue, off-size and decorative tops that need a custom cap in the first place.
Our Work
Custom-Made Chimney Cap in action
Get a free custom chimney cap quote
Call 206-453-2045 or text a photo of your chimney top. Free quote and measurement, price match plus 10-25% off.
☎ 206-453-2045 Request a QuoteQuestions
Custom-Made Chimney Cap FAQ
How do I know if I need a custom chimney cap instead of a stock one?
If you have more than one flue, a flue that is round or not square, a tile that does not stick up above the crown, or a stock cap that has already been tried and keeps leaking or blowing off, you are a custom candidate. We measure during the free quote and tell you honestly whether a stock multi-flue cap would do the job for less.
How much does a custom chimney cap cost?
More than a stock cap, because it is measured, fabricated and fitted to your chimney, and the price depends on size, flue count, material and lid style. We give you a written quote for free, and if you have a written price from another company we match it and take 10-25% off. A custom cap in stainless is a long-term purchase; it should be the last cap that chimney needs.
How long does it take to get a custom cap made and installed?
Longer than a stock cap, because fabrication follows the site measurement. We give you a timeline at the quote. If the flue is open in the meantime during the wet season, we can often fit a temporary stock cap on the main flue so rain stays out until the custom cap is ready.
Can you match the cap to a historic home?
Yes. We can build in copper or stainless with a hipped, peaked or decorative lid to sit well with a Craftsman, Tudor or pre-war brick chimney. The cap still has stainless mesh and a proper drip edge; the style does not cost you any function. Bring us a photo of the house and we will suggest profiles.
Will a full-coverage cap protect my chimney crown too?
It helps a lot. The lid sheds rain past the crown edge, so the crown stays drier and freeze-thaw damage slows down. It does not repair an already cracked crown; if the crown is cracked we seal or repair it first, because the cap anchors into it. See crown sealing and crown repair.
What happens if the custom cap does not fit?
Then it is on us. We build from our own measurements and our guarantee is simple: if you're not happy, we're not done. We adjust or remake the cap at no charge until it sits right and sheds water the way it should.
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