How do I keep birds and animals from nesting in my fireplace vent or chimney?
In storm-rebuilt Swannanoa, a lot of new and renovated fireplaces are going in, and every fresh install is a chance to cap the flue right from day one — a mesh-sided stainless cap on a masonry chimney or the factory-screened termination on a new gas unit — so birds and squirrels never get the foothold an old, cracked cap used to give them.
Rebuilds are a clean slate for the cap
The Grovemont area's 1940s-to-'60s homes came with original masonry fireplaces, and where storm damage forced a rebuild or renovation, owners are putting in new fireplaces and stoves. That's the ideal moment to get the crown, liner, and cap sound together — a correctly sized stainless cap on a fresh flue is far harder for an animal to defeat than a rusted one patched onto old brick.
On the new gas installs going into these rebuilt homes, the sealed vent termination arrives screened from the factory; the ongoing job is simply keeping that mesh clear of the leaf litter and debris this valley collects year-round.
Valley damp, and the annual look
Swannanoa's river-valley fog and cold-air pooling keep the air damp much of the year, which is hard on masonry and rusts caps sooner than you'd expect. Whatever went in during the rebuild, an annual inspection keeps corrosion and an early nest from quietly undoing it.
We're fifteen minutes east, and gas venting work here is permitted through Buncombe County. If a nest is already in an older flue, we remove it rather than burn it out — smoke backs up and swifts are federally protected. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Swannanoa
We install and service fireplaces throughout Swannanoa and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes east from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
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- 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?