Make sure your fireplace functions properly so it's ready whenever you, your family and friends want to enjoy it. Proper ...

Q. After our brick chimney deteriorated severely, we had the top six rows of brick replaced and a new concrete chimney cap put on top. The first year went fine, and we were happy with the work.

Probably here: A chimney is not just an elongated window, not just a portal from inside to outside with deep, brick sills. A chimney, in fact, is a machine for generating airflow to fuel combustion.

Chimney caps protect the chimney and flue from water and ice damage, ... Hand tighten 1 1/2-inch to 1 3/4-inch long 1/4-inch Tapcon screws through the cap edge and into the brick.

What’s the best way to install a cap on a masonry chimney? How would you rebuild my chimney crown? – Theresa D., Boulder, Colorado DEAR THERESA: Be careful what you wish for.

Q. This week: The brick chimney on our 1930's era house looks like it needs repair. From the ground I can see cracks in the bricks, and some of the cement and pieces of the bricks have come off and ...

The chimney cap attaches to the flue liner, so outside dimensions should be taken to ensure the cap is the right size for the chimney. Make sure you’re burning the right wood.

Based on my observations of chimneys I’ve inspected, I’d say that not one in 10,000 has the type of chimney cap the Brick Industry Association recommends.

What’s the best way to install a cap on a masonry chimney? A: The chimney cap I’d build would be a reinforced, sloped concrete slab that would overhang the edges of your stone chimney by about ...

Q. I have an existing brick chimney that absorbs water. The water comes through and ends up around the roof line near the ceiling of my Deck house. As it absorbs more water, it keeps moving down ...

Chimney caps are the workhorse of the rooftop: They help exhaust smoke and prevent downdrafts; they keep water at bay; they protect the chimney's brickwork and they ward off critters like birds ...