Olympia Chimney Chimney Cap Installation Nationwide

Olympia Chimney Chimney Cap Installation: The Allentown Owner’s Guide

An Olympia Chimney chimney cap installed in Allentown typically runs between $285 and $520 depending on flue size, cap style, and whether the flue tile needs repair before mounting. We stock Olympia Chimney-compatible caps in common sizes for Allentown’s pre-war and mid-century brick homes, and most installations finish in under two hours. You’ll know it’s time when you spot rust streaks down the chimney face, hear water dripping in the flue during rain, or find debris - twigs, leaves, even squirrel nests - on the smoke shelf below.

Call (610) 632-1394

Allentown’s freeze-thaw cycles hit chimney caps harder than milder climates. Water gets under the lid, expands when it freezes, and slowly works the seams loose. Russell Haines and our crew see this pattern every spring in neighborhoods like West Park and the older homes along Hamilton Street. The cap looks fine from the ground, but the mounting flange is rotting where you can’t see it.

Which Olympia Chimney Models This Applies To

Olympia Chimney manufactures caps for both round and square flue tiles, and the fit has to be exact - a half-inch off and you’ll get blowback or water intrusion. Most Allentown homes we service need caps for 8″×8″, 8″×12″, or 13″×13″ flue tiles, though we’ve fitted custom widths on the oversized flues common in Center City Victorians.

To identify your cap, look for the Olympia Chimney stamp on the underside of the lid or the model number etched into the mesh screen. If corrosion has eaten the stamp away, measure the flue tile opening at the crown - outside edge to outside edge - and note whether it’s clay flue tile, poured concrete, or a stainless liner top.

We carry both OEM Olympia Chimney caps and quality aftermarket equivalents from Gelco and Famco. The OEM units match original specs exactly; the aftermarket options often run thicker gauge stainless (304 or 316) and carry longer corrosion warranties. For Allentown’s salted-road runoff and acidic rain, we usually recommend the 316 stainless upgrade - it costs more upfront but we see fewer callbacks after year five.

Hearthstone Chimney Co. is an independent service provider. We are not affiliated with Olympia Chimney.

Signs Your Olympia Chimney Chimney Cap Installation Is Failing

• Rust stains bleeding down the brick. The cap’s base flange or lid seam has corroded through, letting water wick behind the cap and run down the chimney face. In Allentown, this accelerates after winters with heavy road salt use - the salt spray gets into micro-cracks and speeds oxidation.
• Water dripping or pooling in the firebox after rain. The cap’s lid is cracked, tilted, or missing its storm collar. Water follows the flue tile down and exits at the damper or smoke shelf. Left alone, it rots out the damper frame and stains the hearth.
• Bird or squirrel noises in the flue, or nesting debris on inspection. The mesh screen has detached, corroded away, or was never installed. Animals build nests that block draft and create fire hazards; we’ve pulled full squirrel litters from caps with gaps no bigger than a quarter.
• Downdrafts or smoke rollout on windy days. The cap’s lid is too low, too flat, or the wrong style for your flue height. Olympia Chimney makes directional and standard lids; an Allentown home on a hilltop or with a two-story exposure often needs the taller directional model to deflect crosswinds.
• The cap is visibly tilted, loose, or missing entirely after a storm. Mounting brackets have corroded or the masonry anchors pulled free. This is the failure mode that does the most damage fastest - an unsecured cap can slide down the flue and jam, or fall and damage the crown below.

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

Most Allentown Olympia Chimney cap installations fall between $285 and $520 total. The lower end covers a straightforward swap on a sound flue tile with a standard cap. The upper end reflects 316 stainless, custom sizing, or flue tile repair to create a level mounting surface.

We don’t start work without a camera inspection - you’ll see photos of the flue top, crown condition, and exactly why we recommend what we recommend. The price we quote is the price on the invoice. Our 90-Day Done Right Promise covers the installation in writing, no arguing: if water gets in or the cap loosens, we come back.

DIY or Call Us?

Here’s what you can safely check yourself: from the ground with binoculars, look for tilt, missing mesh, or obvious rust. Tap the cap gently with a long pole - a solid ring means it’s seated; a rattle means loose hardware. That’s the limit of what we’d advise.

Installing a chimney cap means working at roof height on a sloped surface, often near a brick chimney with deteriorated mortar. The cap itself is manageable, but dropping it or misaligning the mount can crack flue tile or damage the crown - repairs that cost far more than the cap. And without a camera inspection, you won’t know if the flue tile is cracked underneath or the crown is spalling, conditions that make any cap installation temporary at best.

We carry Olympia Chimney-compatible caps on the truck, sized for Allentown’s common flue dimensions. Background-checked, uniformed technicians complete most jobs in a single visit. Call (610) 632-1394 for a free estimate - we’ll give you the straight answer on whether yours can wait or needs attention now.

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