Level 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.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Chimney Cap & Crown Across Solon
A chimney cap or crown failure in Solon, OH is rarely a small problem. It’s the start of water intrusion, liner damage, and in a lot of Solon homes, the first sign that a 30-year-old zero-clearance fireplace has reached the end of its rated life. We’re Emberly Chimney Cleaners, and our Chimney Cap & Crown crews work across Solon every week, from the subdivisions off SOM Center Road to the newer builds near Aurora Road. If you’ve spotted a cracked crown, a missing cap, or a raccoon that’s made itself at home above your damper, call (980) 580-8641. Corrine Halstead leads our team, and every job starts with a written price before any work begins.
Why Emberly Chimney Cleaners Is Solon’s Preferred Chimney Cap & Crown Company
Solon homeowners tend to ask the same question: “Can you show me the problem before I pay to fix it?” That’s exactly how we work. Every visit includes a camera-scan inspection under NFPA 211 Level 2, and the photo record is yours to keep. Clause 4 of the Haven Standard requires it, and we’ve operated that way since 2009. We don’t describe a cracked crown in vague terms. We put the camera on it, show you the spalling, and explain what it means in one sentence. Then we hand you a written scope and written price before anyone touches a tool.
Our reputation in Solon is built on that evidence. Homeowners off Pettibone Road and in the Thornbury subdivision have called us after other companies recommended full rebuilds that the camera footage didn’t support. When a competitor’s written quote says one thing and our camera shows another, bring it to us. The Free Second Opinion on any written estimate is always available. We’ll tell you plainly what needs work now, what can wait, and what doesn’t need touching at all. Corrine Halstead has built the team around that honesty, and it’s why Solon keeps calling.
Response time to Solon is straightforward. Scheduling and dispatch run from our Cleveland office, and crews are in Solon regularly throughout the week. When you call (980) 580-8641, a live person answers. Not a voicemail, not a web form. You’ll get a named technician assigned to your job and a text when they’re on the way. Background-checked, uniformed, and carrying the license information we display on every page.
Our Chimney Cap & Crown Services in Solon
Cap Installation
Most Solon homes we visit fall into one of two categories. Traditional full-masonry chimneys along older corridors near SOM Center Road need standard stainless caps sized to the flue. But the bulk of Solon’s housing stock, the colonials built between 1975 and 2000, sits on factory-built zero-clearance fireplaces. Those chases need caps designed differently. We stock stainless caps for both configurations and install them with a written warranty on the workmanship, not just the part.
Cap Replacement
When your existing cap is dented, rusted through, or sitting loose on a settled chase top, replacement is usually the cleanest fix. Solon’s lake-effect snowbelt means caps take real abuse: 60-plus inches of snow annually, ice damming, and tree branches coming down in storms. We remove the old cap, inspect the flue top, and set the new cap with fresh mechanical connections. If the flue liners are exposed or corroded, you’ll see that on camera before we quote anything.
Crown Repair
A chimney crown is the concrete slab that caps the masonry and sheds water away from the flue. In Solon, freeze-thaw cycling cracks crowns faster than almost anywhere else in the region. Water gets into those cracks, freezes, expands, and spalls the crown face. We repair crowns with proper sloped overhangs so water sheds correctly, not with a flat patch that fails in two seasons. For crowns on the many full-masonry chimneys along SOM Center Road, we’ll show you the exact crack patterns on camera and explain whether repair or full re-pour makes sense for your chimney’s age.
Crown Coating
Sometimes the crown is structurally sound but the surface is porous and absorbing water. In those cases we apply Gelco CrownCoat, a flexible sealant that bridges hairline cracks and prevents further water intrusion. It’s a common call in Solon, where crown coatings on snowbelt-exposed chimneys take repeated abuse. We’ll tell you honestly how long the coating should last on your particular chimney and document the application with photos.
Multi-Flue Cap
Large Solon colonials often have two or three flues running up a single chimney chase. A standard single-flue cap doesn’t cover that. We fabricate and install multi-flue caps that span the entire chase top, protecting every liner at once. In Solon’s heavily wooded subdivisions off Aurora Road, a multi-flue cap with a stronger gauge body also stands up to branch strikes better than thin single-flue caps.
Custom Cap
When standard caps won’t fit, a custom cap gets specified. On a cul-de-sac off SOM Center Road, our crew found a Copperfield multi-flue cap crushed by a fallen maple branch, with two flue liners exposed. We installed a custom stainless multi-flue cap over the DuraFlex liners and recoated the spalled chimney crown with Gelco. So custom isn’t a last resort in Solon. It’s often the right answer for wider chases, unusual flue configurations, and caps that have failed once before.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
BeforeAfterTrusted Brands We Service in Solon
We work with DuraFlex, Copperfield, and Gelco materials regularly because they hold up to what Solon weather throws at them. Gelco CrownCoat for the snowbelt’s freeze-thaw crown damage. DuraFlex liners when the old clay tile has glazed over from long cold-idle burning. Copperfield caps for multi-flue chases and custom applications. We source through the Haven buying network specifically to keep prices honest. When a Solon job needs a cap in an unusual size, our suppliers turn it around fast, and we’ll give you the timeline in writing before we order anything.
Common Chimney Cap & Crown Problems We See in Solon Homes
- Freeze-thaw crown cracking. Lake-effect moisture seeps into hairline crown cracks, freezes, and splits the slab within a few seasons. This is the single most common crown failure we document in Solon, and it’s why CrownCoat applications here need more frequent checkups than in cities 50 miles south.
- Branch-damaged and dislodged caps. Solon’s tree canopy is a real selling point for the lots, but it drops branches onto unprotected flue tops. We’ve replaced more dented and knocked-loose caps off Aurora Road than anywhere else we work.
- Settled chase tops on factory-built fireplaces. Homes built in the 1980s and 1990s often show chase top settlement. The original cap loosens, gaps open, and water runs down the outside of the flue assembly. By the time you see staining on the ceiling, the chase has been leaking for a while.
- Raccoon and squirrel nesting above the damper. In Solon’s formal living rooms, the decorative fireplace often hasn’t been lit in years. The cap is missing or loose, and the flue top becomes a den. We find active nests on a majority of inspection visits in the wooded subdivisions. Stainless cap installation usually solves it permanently.
Pricing for Chimney Cap & Crown in Solon, OH
We publish ranges because you should know the number before you call. A standard single-flue stainless cap installation in Solon runs $220-$390. A multi-flue cap for a large colonial chimney typically lands at $450-$850, depending on chase width and gauge. Custom caps run $600-$1,100. Crown repair runs $350-$700 for typical spalling repairs; a full crown re-pour is $800-$1,400. CrownCoat application on a standard masonry crown runs $300-$550.
What moves the number is what the camera shows: a cap replacement on an accessible single-story chase costs less than a steep roof on a two-story colonial off Pettibone. You’ll see the same line-item breakdown we quote, in writing, before any work starts. Call (980) 580-8641 and we’ll schedule the inspection. Estimates are free, and the photo record from your inspection is yours whether you book the work or not.
We Also Serve Cities Near Solon
Beyond our regular Solon work, our crews cover Maple Heights, Hudson, Cleveland, and Euclid. The same written price, camera-scan documentation, and 365-Day Done Right Promise applies no matter which city you’re calling from. If you’re in one of those neighboring communities and have a cap or crown issue, call (980) 580-8641 and we’ll route a crew to you.
Serving Solon, OH - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Solon area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Chimney Cap & Crown in Solon
A zero-clearance fireplace chase is a framed and sided box around a factory-built flue, not a masonry chimney. The cap sits on a metal chase top, and airflow requirements differ. A cap for a masonry flue won’t fit correctly, and forcing one creates gaps where water and animals get in. In Solon, where the late-70s through 90s building boom filled subdivisions like Thornbury and Derby Downs with these factory-built units, we stock caps sized specifically for chase tops on 25-to-45-year-old systems. Call (980) 580-8641 and we’ll specify the right cap after a camera-scan inspection.
No. A round single-flue cap only covers one liner. If your Solon colonial has two or three flues in the same chase and you cap only one, the others stay exposed to snow, rain, and animals. You need a multi-flue cap that spans the entire chase top. We see this constantly on larger homes off SOM Center Road and Aurora Road, where multiple flues share a single chimney structure. The written quote for the correct cap setup is free. Call (980) 580-8641.
Every 4 to 7 years is the practical range for Solon’s climate. The lake-effect snowbelt puts more freeze-thaw stress on crowns than drier inland towns. We’ve seen Gelco CrownCoat hold for 7 years on a sheltered chase and need a recoat at 4 years on an exposed ridge line. The camera record from your previous application shows us wear patterns, so we can give you a specific reapplication window for your chimney rather than a generic guess. Call (980) 580-8641 and we’ll schedule a crown inspection.
Partially. Third-degree creosote glaze is a tar-like coating that forms when flue gases cool too quickly, and it’s common in Solon homes that burn heavily for short periods then let the fireplace sit cold for days. A properly fitted cap reduces one ingredient in that cycle: moisture. Wet air and rain entering an uncapped or poorly capped flue accelerate glazing. A cap reduces it. It does not remove existing glaze; that requires cleaning, and in some cases a new liner. Our camera inspection will show you the creosote class and whether the cap is contributing. Call (980) 580-8641 for a scheduled visit.
Because an unlit fireplace with a missing or loose cap is an open cavity, protected from weather, with easy access from the roof. In Solon’s wooded subdivisions, tree canopies act as highways for squirrels and raccoons. They enter through the flue top, nest above the damper, and often chew the damper cord or leave nesting material packed against the flue. A stainless cap with proper screening stops that permanently. We find this on a majority of inspection visits in Solon’s formal living rooms, so don’t be surprised. Call (980) 580-8641 and we’ll cap it properly with a written quote first.
Contact Emberly Chimney Cleaners in Solon
If your chimney cap is dented, your crown is cracking, or you’ve heard animal activity above the damper, don’t wait through another Solon winter. Water intrusion turns a $300 cap replacement into a $3,000 liner and chase repair faster than most homeowners expect. Call (980) 580-8641 today. Corrine Halstead and our team will schedule a camera-scan inspection, show you exactly what we found, and hand you a written price before any work begins. That’s how we’ve done it on 38,000-plus chimneys since 2009, and that’s how we’ll do yours in Solon.
Written by Corrine Halstead, Owner at Emberly Chimney Cleaners, serving Solon and the surrounding communities under the Haven Standard.
Chimney Cap & Crown in Nearby Areas
