How do I keep birds and animals from nesting in my fireplace vent or chimney?
Candler's fast-growing subdivisions came with basic, decorative builder-grade fireboxes — some on the natural-gas lines extending out from Asheville, others on propane toward the Pisgah Highway — and either way the defense against nesting is the same: keep the sealed vent's factory screen intact, or fit a stainless cap on any older masonry flue.
Builder-grade fireboxes, mixed fuel
The decorative fireboxes builders drop into new Enka-Candler and Hominy Valley homes are sealed direct-vent gas, terminating at a screened cap. Whether the house is on a gas main or a propane tank, that factory screen is what keeps wasps and birds out of the vent housing — the maintenance is inspection and cleaning, not a new cap.
Owners here often want a real heat-producing upgrade within a few years anyway. Any swap to a stronger sealed unit is licensed gas work, permitted through Buncombe County, and it comes with the same screened termination that resists nesting from the start.
Hominy Valley's bowl, and clean burning
Candler sits in a natural bowl where air settles, which is part of why clean-burning sealed appliances are the smart call here — and a sealed, screened termination is inherently harder for an animal to nest in than an open flue. On the older masonry chimneys still around, a fitted stainless cap does that same job up top.
Spring is peak nesting, so a late-summer look keeps the vent clear before the burning season starts. If something's already lodged in there, we remove it — never a fire, which backs up carbon monoxide and harms protected birds. Fifteen minutes west of the shop. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Candler
We install and service fireplaces throughout Candler and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes west from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
- Do chimney caps need to be inspected or replaced?
- What should I check on the outside vent cap of a direct vent fireplace?
- How often should the venting on a direct vent gas fireplace be inspected?
- Does an outdoor wood-burning fireplace chimney need sweeping too?
- How do I know when my chimney needs to be swept?