Famco Chimney Cap Installation Nationwide

Famco Chimney Cap Installation: The Olympia Owner’s Guide

We stock and install Famco-compatible chimney caps across Olympia, with most jobs running $280-$520 installed depending on flue size and whether the crown needs resealing. Most Famco cap replacements we do in Olympia are booked within a week and completed in under two hours. Homeowners usually figure out something’s wrong when water starts dripping onto the firebox floor during a South Sound drizzle, or when they spot rust streaks running down the brick from a cap that’s lost its galvanizing.

Call (360) 464-2015

Which Famco Models This Applies To

Famco stamps a model number on the underside of the cap flange or on a small aluminum tag near the mesh screen. The most common units we see in Olympia are the 1000 Series (single-flue galvanized), 2000 Series (stainless single-flue), and 3000 Series (multi-flue covers). The 1000 Series runs 8″ to 13″ round or square; the 2000 Series starts at 8″ and tops out at 17″ for oversized factory-built flues. Multi-flue 3000 caps need exact outside-to-outside flue measurements, not just the chimney crown width.

Here’s where owners get tripped up: Famco changed its mesh spec around 2016. Pre-2016 caps use 5/8″ mesh; post-2016 use 3/4″ to meet updated California spark-arrester codes, and that inventory bleeds into Pacific Northwest distribution. If you’re matching a cap to existing brackets, the mesh height difference can leave a gap that squirrels exploit. We carry both mesh heights on the truck. Aftermarket equivalents from Gelco and Olympia Chimney match Famco dimensions but use slightly heavier 24-gauge stainless versus Famco’s 26-gauge stock grade. For coastal Olympia exposure, that 2-gauge difference matters after five winters.

Signs Your Famco Chimney Cap Is Failing

• Rust bleeding down the chimney face. Famco’s galvanized 1000 Series caps start losing protection at the weld seams first. Once the zinc coating breaches, Olympia’s marine-influenced air accelerates oxidation. The streaks you see are iron oxide mixed with creosote runoff, and they stain brick permanently if left long enough.
• Mesh screen pulling away from the frame. The spot-welded joints on older Famco caps fatigue from thermal cycling. Every fire heats the mesh; every rain cools it. After enough cycles, the weld cracks and the screen gaps open. That’s how birds get into flues in the Westside neighborhoods near Priest Point Park.
• Cap sitting crooked or tilted after wind. Famco’s standard mounting brackets are stamped steel with a single set-screw tension point. The 70 mph gusts we get off Budd Inlet in January can torque a loose bracket. A tilted cap channels water into the flue instead of off the crown.
• Water in the firebox after normal rain, not just storms. This usually means the cap’s lid has deformed from snow load or impact. Famco lids are single-piece stamped steel; they don’t dent back into shape. Once the pitch is compromised, water finds the low spot.
• Visible gaps between cap base and flue tile. The silicone sealant Famco ships with cures rigid and cracks in our freeze-thaw cycles. Olympia sees 20 to 30 partial freezes per winter, and that movement opens hairlines that expand to quarter-inch separations.

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Replacement Cost & What’s Included

The range depends on three things: whether we can reuse existing brackets, whether the flue tile lip is intact enough to seat a new cap, and whether the crown needs fresh silicone or CrownCoat. We quote the full number in writing before anyone climbs the ladder. That written price includes the cap, hardware, sealant, installation, and a photo record of the finished work under Haven Standard Clause 4. The 365-Day Done Right Promise covers labor and materials; if the cap fails or leaks, we fix it.

DIY or Call Us?

You can safely check three things from the ground: whether the cap is level, whether mesh gaps are visible, and whether rust streaks have started. Use binoculars. Don’t climb a wet roof in Olympia’s off-season; the moss on composite shingles in the South Capitol and Eastside neighborhoods is slicker than it looks.

What goes wrong with DIY cap replacement: improper flue measurement leading to a cap that doesn’t seat, over-torqued set screws that crack flue tile, and inadequate sealant application that lets water migrate behind the crown. A cracked flue tile turns a $300 cap job into a $1,800 liner repair. The camera goes in first. Everything else follows from what it finds. If you want a second opinion on a cap another company quoted, bring us the written estimate; our Free Second Opinion applies.

Call (360) 464-2015 for a written price before work starts.

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