Do chimney caps need to be inspected or replaced?
Yes — Mars Hill runs on two clocks: easy-use gas fireplaces in the university-area rentals, and propane or wood out in the Spring Creek and Gabriels Creek coves where the cap's screen is the main thing keeping animals out of the flue. Inspect it yearly; replace it when it rusts or loses that mesh.
Campus rentals, rural coves
Mars Hill really runs on two clocks. Around the university, the demand is for simple, reliable gas fireplaces in rental housing, and those still depend on an intact cap or vent termination to draft and to keep weather out. Out in the Spring Creek and Gabriels Creek valleys, homes lean on propane and wood, and those chimneys sit among trees full of birds and squirrels — where the cap's mesh is the main thing keeping animals from nesting in the flue.
It's the same part doing very different work depending on where you are in town. On the rentals it's easy to forget until it fails; out in the coves it's a working screen you don't want to lose. Either way, a yearly look is what keeps it from becoming a mid-winter surprise.
Cold enough that draft matters
Mars Hill is one of the colder spots we serve, so both wood and gas hearths run hard through a long season. A screen matted with leaves and debris or a cap knocked askew chokes the draft right when you're leaning on the fire, and the damp mountain air rusts galvanized caps through in only a few winters. Stainless or copper is the durable pick, and the cap gets checked with every sweep.
We're about 30 minutes north of our Asheville showroom, covering the university area, Spring Creek, and Forks of Ivy. A single fall visit can cover the cap, the sweep, and the fuel connection in one trip. Wherever propane or gas connects to an appliance, that side is our licensed lane. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Mars Hill
We install and service fireplaces throughout Mars Hill and the rest of Madison County — just 30 minutes north from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
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