El Niño winter · Santa Barbara
Chimney Cap Installation in Santa Barbara
Rain’s coming, and forecasters expect this El Niño winter to be a wet one. Before the big storms, make sure water can’t get into your fireplace: down an open chimney, or through cracks at the top of the stack.
We fit the right cap for your chimney, check for cracks while we’re up there, and give you the price before any work starts.
- Since 1980
- CSIA Certified
- CSLB #1129695
- 4.9 from 178 Google reviews
Why a cap, and why now
Where the rain gets in
Two ways. One is obvious, one is not. A cap handles the first; a crack check handles the second.
Straight down an open chimney
An uncapped chimney is an open pipe into your living room. Every storm sends rain down it, onto the damper and the soot and creosote inside. That wet-campfire smell after the first storm? That’s rain on creosote.
Through cracks at the top
Years of sun and salt air open hairline cracks in the crown, the concrete at the top of the chimney, and in the mortar joints below it. Water seeps in through those even with a cap on top, and you won’t see it until the damage is done.
Either way, once water mixes with creosote it turns acidic. Winter after winter it eats the mortar between the bricks, rusts the damper and works its way down to the firebox. Those repairs cost many times what a cap does. A cap and a crack check now keep it from starting.
Takes thirty seconds
The sidewalk test
Go out to the street and look up at your chimney. No hood and no screen on top: rain goes straight in. A hood with a screen that’s rusted through or missing: so do birds and embers. A crack you can see from the street is already bigger than it looks.
Not sure what you’re looking at? Email a photo to info@tubulargeorge.com and we’ll tell you what it needs.
Fitted, not one-size
The right cap for your chimney
Chimneys here come in every shape. We measure yours and recommend the cap that fits it and suits the house. If you already have a cap, we’ll tell you straight whether it’s still doing its job.
No surprises
What happens when you call
You call or send the form
We set up a time to come by. Estimates are free.
We look and measure
The top of your chimney, the flue size, and the crown and mortar joints for cracks.
You get the price first
A price before any work starts, with photos of what we found.
Serving Santa Barbara, Montecito, Goleta, Carpinteria, Summerland and Hope Ranch
Family-owned and on Santa Barbara roofs since 1980. We also handle fireplace repair, and we serve Montecito, Goleta and Carpinteria.
- Since 1980Family-owned, local
- CSIA certifiedChimney sweeps
- CSLB #1129695Licensed contractor
- 4.9 stars178 Google reviews
Chimney cap FAQs
Do I need a chimney cap in Santa Barbara?
If you can see down into the flue from the street, yes. Our coastal air keeps the creosote in a flue damp all year; direct rain on top of that rusts the damper, cracks the liner and soaks the firebox. A cap also keeps birds, rats and leaves out, and it’s where the spark arrestor the code requires goes.
I already have a cap. Is it still doing its job?
Look at the screen: if the mesh is rusted through, clogged or missing, embers and animals get through. Then look at the crown, the concrete at the top of the chimney: cracks there let rain in under the cap. We check both on every cap visit and during every chimney sweep.
Is a spark arrestor required in California?
Yes. The California Residential Code (R1003.9.2) requires an approved spark arrester on every chimney serving a fireplace or appliance that burns solid fuel, with mesh openings between 3/8 and 1/2 inch and a screen or cap that can be removed for cleaning. Our caps are built to that spec. On a windy sundowner night, that mesh is what keeps embers in the flue.
How much does a chimney cap cost?
It depends on the size and shape of your chimney and the cap it needs. Call (805) 682-5939 and we’ll come take a look. You’ll have a price before any work starts.
What if you find cracks?
We show you photos, explain what they need and give you a price for that too, before anything is done. Cracks caught early are a small job. Water that’s been getting in for a few winters is a bigger one, which is the whole reason to check now.
What if I have a gas fireplace?
Gas fireplaces vent differently from wood-burning ones, so what the top of your chimney needs depends on the fireplace. Call (805) 682-5939 and we’ll tell you.
Will a cap hurt my fireplace’s draft?
A correctly sized cap doesn’t, and it cuts the downdrafts a gusty day sends into the room. A screen clogged with soot can, which is one more reason for the annual sweep.
Do you check the cap during a chimney sweep?
Yes. Every sweep includes a look at the flue, crown, cap and firebox, with photos of anything that needs attention.
Do I really need to do this before the El Niño storms?
The forecast shifts the odds; it doesn’t promise a storm. What a wet winter does promise is that once the big storms hit, everyone with a leak calls the same week. A cap is a dry-weather roof job, and the schedule is open now.
Call us to protect your fireplace before the storms.
Estimates are free. Monday–Friday, 8 AM–5 PM.
(805) 682-5939