How do I keep birds and animals from nesting in my fireplace vent or chimney?

Two building eras, two nesting problems

The century-old chimneys around Montford, North Asheville, and Biltmore Village were built with wide, warm flues that chimney swifts and starlings treat as prime real estate, and the smoke shelf inside an open masonry firebox is the exact ledge a squirrel or raccoon looks for. A stainless cap sized to that specific flue — not a hardware-store universal — shuts the door while still letting exhaust and rain clear the way they should.

Newer West and South Asheville construction runs sealed direct-vent gas, so the problem flips: it's a wasp nest or a mat of leaves packed against a louvered sidewall or roof termination, not a raccoon in the chase. Keeping that factory screen intact, seated, and clear is the entire job, and it's easy to overlook until the burner starts acting starved.

A short run from Emma Road

Because our shop sits right here at 629 Emma Rd, an Asheville cap check is one of the shortest runs we make — up on a Montford roof and back before lunch to confirm the cap is seated, screened, and shedding water off the flue rather than into it.

City elevation holds our nights in the 20s well into spring, which gives animals a long season to hunt a warm cavity. A late-summer look, before the first hard cold, catches a rusted or knocked-loose cap while it's still a small fix instead of a smoking-flue emergency.

Before you light the first fire

If something has already moved in, don't test it with a flame — a packed flue shoves smoke and carbon monoxide back into the room, and chimney swifts are federally protected on top of it. We clear the nest by hand, inspect the flue for damage, and repair or replace the cap so the same tenants can't return. Call (828) 545-0525 to book an Asheville cap check.