The Peotone cap that blew off, and why we fasten caps the way we do
Open ground, a big spring storm, and a cap that had been sitting on friction for fifteen years. The homeowner found it in the neighbor’s yard.
What happened
A homeowner near the Will County Fairgrounds called after a storm: their chimney cap was in the yard next door and the flue was open to the sky. The cap was a standard single-flue galvanized unit that a previous owner had installed. It had four legs with set screws that clamp to the outside of the flue tile. Two of the screws were rusted to nothing. The other two had never been tightened. The cap had been sitting on the tile by weight and habit.
Why Peotone is hard on caps
The towns north of us on the open prairie, Peotone, Monee, Grant Park, get the wind straight across the fields. A cap on a two-story house is thirty feet up with nothing to shelter it. Galvanized caps rust at the screws first, because the screws are where the coating was scraped off during installation. Once one screw goes the cap rocks in the wind, works the others loose, and eventually goes over the side. In the meantime it has usually been letting rain in around the loose legs.
What we install instead
We install stainless steel caps, fastened with stainless set screws torqued against the tile, and on tall or exposed chimneys we add a bead of high-temperature sealant under the legs. Multi-flue chimneys get a single cap that covers the whole crown and bolts to the masonry. The difference in cost between a galvanized cap and a stainless one is small; the difference in how long it stays on the chimney is decades. While we were on the roof we found the crown had a crack the cap had been hiding, so it got a crown coat the same visit.
If this sounds like your house: we handle chimney caps and crowns across Kankakee County, and our Peotone page covers what we usually find there. Call (815) 449-4264, 7am to 9pm, any day.
Quick questions
My cap is still on but it rocks. Should I worry?
Yes. It is one storm from leaving, and the loose legs are letting water in now. It usually just needs stainless screws and tightening.
Are stainless caps much more expensive?
Modestly. They last far longer and do not stain the roof with rust.
Do you need to see the chimney to quote a cap?
A photo and the flue tile dimensions are usually enough. Starting prices are on the pricing page.
Can a cap make my fireplace smoke?
If the screen is clogged or the cap sits too low, yes. We size them for clearance.
Published September 25, 2026 · Updated September 26, 2026 · By Jacob Dove, Friendship Chimney Sweep, Bourbonnais IL