Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Masonry repair
Gas fireplace serviceLevel 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Famco Chimney Cap Installation: The West Palm Beach Owner’s Guide
We stock and install Famco chimney caps throughout West Palm Beach, with most installations running between $265 and $410 including the cap, mounting hardware, and labor. We can usually get a Famco-compatible cap on your chimney within 48 to 72 hours of your call, and we carry several common sizes on the truck. Most owners discover their cap has failed the same way: they see rust stains bleeding down the brick, hear a loose cap rattling during a storm, or find bird nesting material inside the flue. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already been up on a ladder once and didn’t love what you saw.
Which Famco Models This Applies To
Famco makes cap systems for both single-flue and multi-flue chimneys, and the model number determines everything about the installation. The most common units we see in West Palm Beach homes are the Famco SC series (single-flue, slip-in or bolt-on with a standard mesh screen) and the Famco MC series (multi-flue, requiring a custom footprint measured across the crown). If you have a pre-fabricated or factory-built chimney, you’re looking at a Famco cap made for round metal flues, usually a 6-, 7-, or 8-inch inner diameter.
Here’s the compatibility gotcha that trips up a lot of homeowners: Famco sizing refers to the outside dimension of the flue tile, not the inside opening. A cap listed as 13×13 is made to slip over a 13×13-inch flue tile. But clay tiles from the 1970s and 80s, which shows up constantly in older West Palm Beach neighborhoods like Flamingo Park and El Cid, often run slightly under or over their nominal size due to mortar squeeze-out. We always measure the tile with a tape before ordering. A quarter-inch of variance changes whether the cap seats tight or wobbles loose in the first wind. We also work with the Famco universal-fit caps when the flue is an oddball size, but those need a mounting bracket we prefer to install professionally.
One decision we’ll walk you through: genuine Famco versus a quality aftermarket equivalent. Famco stainless steel caps are well-built and worth the price when the flue dimensions are standard. On custom jobs where the tile is non-standard, an aftermarket stainless cap cut to spec can be the smarter buy. We’ll give you a straight recommendation either way, with the price difference spelled out in writing before we start.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Famco Chimney Cap Installation Is Failing
- Rust streaks down the chimney crown or brick face. This is galvanized or lower-grade stainless breaking down. In West Palm Beach’s salt-humid air, a cap that would last 15 years inland can start showing corrosion in 8 to 10. The rust is cosmetic at first, but it means the metal is thinning.
- You hear the cap banging or clanking in wind. The mounting brackets or screws have loosened. A cap that rattles is a cap that will eventually lift off entirely during a summer squall, and a loose cap can chip the crown when it lands.
- Bird noises or nesting material in the firebox. The mesh screen has a hole or has pulled away from the frame. Starlings and sparrows in Florida are aggressive about getting into open flues. We’ve pulled nests the size of a basketball out of chimneys in West Palm Beach.
- Water in the firebox after heavy rain. Even a small gap between the cap’s base and the crown lets rain drive in. South Florida gets 60 inches of rain a year. That water soaks into the firebox, degrades mortar joints, and accelerates rust on your damper.
- You see daylight around the cap when looking up from inside. The cap has shifted, or the original install wasn’t sized to the flue. Any visible gap is an open channel for rain, debris, and animals.
Replacement Cost & What’s Included
In West Palm Beach, a Famco cap installation runs $265 to $410 for most single-flue chimneys. Multi-flue chimneys with custom footprints run $390 to $640, because the cap is usually cut to order and the crown mounting takes longer. Here’s the breakdown:
- Cap cost: $85 to $210 for a standard Famco stainless single-flue; $180 to $380 for custom or multi-flue.
- Labor: $140 to $220 for a standard rooftop install, including old cap removal, cleaning the tile lip, and re-setting with stainless mounting hardware.
- Disposal of the old cap: included.
- Photo documentation: included. We take before and after photos of the install from the roof so you can see exactly what was done without climbing up there yourself.
Every cap install comes with our written 365-day Done Right Promise. If the cap shifts, loosens, or fails within that year for reasons related to our workmanship, we return and make it right at no charge. The cap manufacturer’s own warranty covers material defects separately, and we’ll handle that claim for you if it ever comes up. You’ll have the price in writing before we put a ladder on the roof. No side charges, no “while we’re up here” surprises. As Ruben Castellano puts it: if I wouldn’t put it in writing, I won’t say it to your face, and the other way around.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterDIY or Call Us?
Here’s the honest split. What you can safely do from the ground or a short ladder: note the cap model number if it’s stamped, measure the flue tile’s outer width and depth if you can safely reach the chimney top, and take photos from below. That’s genuinely useful information for us.
What we don’t recommend: working on your own roof. A chimney cap swap involves working at height near the roof edge, usually on a sloped or tiled surface, often after rain has made it slick. One misstep is a hospital trip. The spring-loaded mounting brackets on some Famco models are under tension and can snap back hard enough to take off a fingertip. And if the crown is cracked or spalled, a cap installed on damaged masonry won’t seat properly anyway. That’s a repair you want us to see before we quote. Call (728) 203-8687 and we’ll come assess it. The estimate is free, and you’ll know exactly who’s showing up before we arrive, by name and photo.
FAQs
A stainless steel Famco cap in South Florida typically lasts 10 to 15 years before the mesh or mounting hardware starts to show meaningful corrosion. Coastal salt air and our wet-dry-wet humidity cycles shorten that compared to inland climates. Galvanized steel caps, which we see often on older West Palm Beach homes, fail in 5 to 7 years. We recommend stainless for every replacement. Call (728) 203-8687 and we’ll tell you what’s currently on your chimney and how much life it has left.
Sometimes, but usually not worth it. If the mesh has a small tear, we can patch it with stainless wire and get you another year or two. If the mounting brackets are rusted, the cap frame is warped, or the base no longer sits square on the flue, replacement is cheaper than a repair that will fail again in a season. We’ll show you photos of the damage before we recommend anything.
Most single-flue Famco cap installations take 45 to 90 minutes once we’re on site. That includes removing the old cap, cleaning the flue lip with a wire brush, checking the crown for cracks, and mounting the new cap. If we find crown damage that needs attention, we’ll quote that separately and you decide before any extra work happens.
We stock the most common Famco sizes on our trucks: 8×8, 8×13, 9×13, 12×12, and 13×13 single-flue stainless. For multi-flue or non-standard dimensions, we order from our supplier and install within 48 to 72 hours in West Palm Beach. We also keep parts for DuraFlex, HeatShield, and Gelco systems if your chimney has any of those components. Call (728) 203-8687 with your measurements and we’ll check the truck before we come out.
Get a Free Estimate in West Palm Beach
If your Famco cap is rusting, rattling, or letting in water, don’t wait another rainy season to deal with it. Every week of delay is more water in the flue, more mortar degradation, and more cost down the road. Call (728) 203-8687 for a free estimate. A live person answers, day or night. We’ll give you a written price before any work begins, and the technician who shows up will be the person you’re expecting, background-checked, identity-verified, and introduced to you by name and photo before we ever ring your doorbell. Ruben Castellano has been serving West Palm Beach chimneys for years, and he’ll be the first to tell you when a cap can wait. When it can’t, we’ll fix it properly and stand behind it for a full year.
Written by Ruben Castellano, Owner, Alcott Chimney West Palm Beach at Alcott Chimney West Palm Beach, serving West Palm Beach and nearby areas.