Famco Chimney Cap Installation Nationwide

Famco Chimney Cap Installation: The Marietta Owner’s Guide

If you already own a Famco chimney cap and it’s rusted through, dented from a storm, or rattling loose in a Marietta breeze, we can match it and install a replacement. Most Famco chimney cap installations in Marietta run $285 to $485 installed, including the new cap, hardware, and labor. We stock common Famco sizes on the truck, so in many cases we can complete the swap the same day we come out. Most homeowners discover the problem the hard way: they hear a metallic banging on the roof during a storm, or they glance up and notice the cap is sitting crooked and birds have started showing interest. Either way, it’s a part that does not fix itself.

Call (478) 796-8742

Key Takeaways

• Famco caps are well made, but Georgia humidity and Marietta storms shorten the lifespan of the mesh screening faster than the lid
• We stock Famco-compatible caps in the most common sizes and can source the rest within a few days
• Every installation gets a written price before we start and a written guarantee when we finish
• Call (478) 796-8742 and a live person answers, any hour

Which Famco Models This Applies To

Famco makes chimney caps in three series you will see most often in Marietta homes: the EC (economy cap with expanded mesh), the LBC (leg base cap for square flue tiles), and the VAC (vacuum-style cap for drafting problems). The part number stamped on the lid or base tells you what you have. Most Famco caps use a 5/8-inch mesh screen and a 24-gauge galvanized or stainless hood, and the fit is determined by the outside diameter of your flue tile, not the liner inside it. That’s the compatibility gotcha that trips up a lot of homeowners: you can measure the liner and buy the wrong cap if you do not measure the tile itself. A cap listed for an 8×8 flue tile typically fits tiles that are 7-1/2 to 8-1/2 inches outside, and that tolerance matters.

For the OEM-versus-aftermarket decision: Famco’s own caps are solid, but so are quality aftermarket equivalents from DuraFlex, HeatShield, and Gelco when matched correctly. The real question is whether you want a galvanized cap at the economy end or a stainless cap that will outlast the Georgia humidity. Nathan Corliss has pulled more than a few galvanized caps off Marietta chimneys where the mesh had rotted to lace after six or seven years. Stainless costs more up front, but on a cap, it is the difference between replacing it in a decade and not thinking about it again for twenty-plus years. We are an independent service provider, not affiliated with Famco, so we can give you a straight answer about what matches and what lasts.

Signs Your Famco Chimney Cap Installation Is Failing

• Rust staining down the flue tile or crown. When the galvanized coating breaks down on the mesh or base, water picks up rust and washes it onto the masonry. You will see orange streaks below the cap after rain. That means the cap is already perforating.
• Bird or animal noise from the chimney. The mesh screen is the first thing to fail on any cap, Famco included. Once a few squares of the 5/8-inch mesh rust through, squirrels and starlings find the opening fast. If you hear scratching, the cap has a hole.
• Cap is loose, crooked, or spins freely. The legs or clamps that grip the flue tile work loose over years of expansion and contraction. A cap that moves under hand pressure is no longer keeping rain out, and a strong wind will finish the job.
• Water in the firebox after heavy rain. A failing cap lets water run straight down the flue. If you open the damper after a storm and the firebox is wet, the cap is the first suspect, not the flashing.
• Debris and leaves accumulating at the fireplace opening. The cap’s hood may be intact while the mesh at the base has opened up. Leaves, twigs, and pine needles from the oaks around Kennesaw Mountain find their way in and pile up on the smoke shelf.

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

Here is what a Famco chimney cap installation actually costs in Marietta, in plain dollars.

• Galvanized Famco or equivalent cap, common stock size: $85 to $150 for the part
• Stainless steel cap, common stock size: $165 to $260 for the part
• Oversized, custom-order, or specialty draft cap: $220 to $380 for the part
• Labor, including roof access, cap removal, flue tile inspection, and installation: $165 to $225

Total installed, most jobs land between $285 and $485. What drives the range is the cap material, the flue size, and how easy the roof access is. A two-story Marietta colonial with a steep pitch costs more to work on than a single-story ranch off Canton Road. Every quote is written before we touch anything, and the number on the invoice matches the number on the quote. The installation itself is covered by our written guarantee, and if the cap or our mounting work fails inside the guarantee period, we come back and make it right at no charge. That is the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and it has been the standard at Ashby Chimney Marietta since 2002.

DIY or Call Us?

Here is the honest split. There are a few things you can safely do from the ground: read the part number off the cap with binoculars, check for visible rust or tilt, and confirm whether birds are using the chimney. Anything beyond that means getting on the roof, and that is where we draw a firm line. Chimney cap work means working at height, often on a wet or mossy roof, leaning over a crown that may have loose bricks under you. Falling from a roof is not a risk worth taking to save a couple hundred dollars, and that says nothing about doing the job wrong and ending up with a cap that launches itself into the neighbor’s yard during the next Marietta thunderstorm. Tell you the price first, show you the work, put it in writing, that’s the whole job. If you would rather keep your feet on the ground and have it done right the first time, call (478) 796-8742.

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