Chimney Cap Installation in Encino - Custom Fit, Lifetime Warranty

Last October, a homeowner on a hillside lot above Coldwater Canyon noticed blackened leaf fragments and small embers scattered across her clay tile roof after a Red Flag wind event. Her chimney cap was a 15-year-old galvanized steel unit, and the mesh screen had corroded through in two places. She could see daylight through the holes. Her concern was specific and urgent: the property sits less than a quarter mile from designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity zones, and a compromised spark arrestor screen meant her fireplace was a direct ignition source for her wood-shake patio cover and the dry brush lining the canyon slope below. She called us before lighting another fire that season.

This is a pattern we see repeatedly along the Mulholland Drive corridor and the hillside estates bordering Hidden Hills. Large custom homes built in the 1980s and 1990s often have oversized fireplaces with multi-flue chimney stacks, and the original caps were spec'd for general weather protection, not wildfire-proximity performance. Galvanized steel corrodes faster than owners expect in the Valley's heat cycles, and the mesh gauge on many older caps doesn't meet current Los Angeles spark arrestor requirements. By the time a homeowner notices the problem, the cap has already failed its most critical job. A chimney inspection before fire season catches these failures early, often before any interior damage develops.

We performed a Level 2 camera inspection on both flues per NFPA 211 standards before sizing the replacement cap. The interior flue tiles were intact, but the crown had hairline cracks from years of thermal expansion. We repaired the crown first, then fabricated a custom multi-flue stainless steel 304 cap with 5/8-inch mesh screening. That mesh size matters: Los Angeles Fire Code requires spark arrestor screens with openings no larger than 1/2 inch, and 5/8-inch nominal mesh meets that standard once wire thickness is accounted for. The cap also functions as full animal exclusion, keeping raccoons, squirrels, and nesting birds out of the flue. Galvanized caps along the Coldwater Canyon hillsides typically last 5 to 8 years before corrosion compromises the screen. Stainless steel 304 carries a lifetime warranty against rust-through.

We bolted the cap to the crown with stainless steel masonry anchors rated for 70 mph wind loads. Santa Ana gusts routinely exceed 50 mph along ridgeline properties near the Mulholland Drive corridor, and friction-fit caps blow off. A bolted cap stays put. The entire installation, including the crown repair, took one visit. If your property borders the wildland-urban interface and your cap shows rust, pitting, or screen damage, a replacement before November is the single most effective fire-prevention measure for your chimney system. We follow CSIA guidelines for cap selection and sizing. You can review their recommendations on chimney cap and rain protection at the link below, and if your chimney crown or masonry needs attention during the cap install, our chimney repair service covers that work in the same visit.