Gelco Chimney Cap Installation Nationwide

Gelco Chimney Cap Installation: The Easton Owner’s Guide

We stock and install Gelco-compatible chimney caps for Easton homeowners, with typical installed prices running $340-$680 depending on flue size and whether your cap is a standard single-flue or a custom multi-flue model. Most Gelco cap replacements we book in Easton are completed in a single visit because our trucks carry the common 8″, 10″, and 13″ x 13″ Gelco stainless sizes. You usually discover the problem after a windstorm sends the cap sailing into your yard, or when water starts dripping down the flue during a hard Lehigh Valley rain.

Call (610) 756-1504

Which Gelco Models This Applies To

Gelco caps break down into three main series you’ll see on Easton homes: the standard single-flue models (8″x8″ through 13″x13″), the outside-mount models that cover the full crown, and the multi-flue caps for homes with two or more flues clustered together. The label is stamped on the underside of the mesh skirt or on the cross-bar, though after a decade of Pennsylvania freeze-thaw cycles, that stamp can rust to illegibility.

Here’s how we match it when the label is gone. We measure the flue tile opening, note whether it’s clay or stainless, and check the crown overhang for an outside-mount application. Gelco’s single-flue caps use a simple leg-and-screw attachment that fits most standard flue tiles, but the outside-mount series requires a minimum 1.5-inch crown overhang to seat properly. We’ve seen Easton homeowners order the wrong series online, discover the fit is off by half an inch, and end up with a cap that channels water straight into the mortar joint instead of away from it.

We carry OEM Gelco caps and quality aftermarket equivalents from Copperfield and Famco. The aftermarket units match Gelco specs for mesh size (5/8-inch spark arrestor spacing, Pennsylvania code-compliant) and 304 stainless construction. For most Easton replacements, the aftermarket cap performs identically at a lower parts cost. If your home is in a historic district with strict visual requirements, we can source the exact Gelco finish to match.

Hearthstone Chimney Co. is an independent service provider, not affiliated with Gelco.

Signs Your Gelco Chimney Cap Installation Is Failing

• Visible rust streaks down the flue tile or chimney face. Gelco caps use 304 stainless mesh and lid, but the leg screws and cross-bar hardware are often galvanized steel that corrodes first. Once those fasteners weaken, the cap loosens and tilts, catching wind like a sail.
• Water dripping into the firebox during rain, or a musty smell after storms. The cap’s primary job is to shed water away from the flue opening. A dented lid, separated mesh skirt, or cap shifted off-center creates a direct funnel into your chimney. In Easton’s freeze-thaw climate, that water expands in the flue liner and opens hairline cracks you cannot see from below.
• Debris, bird nests, or squirrel droppings in the firebox. Gelco’s 5/8-inch mesh is designed to block animals while allowing smoke passage. When mesh corrodes or pulls away from the frame, it creates gaps large enough for starlings and red squirrels, both persistent nesters in the Lehigh Valley.
• The cap is missing entirely after a windstorm. Easton sits in a wind corridor off the Delaware River, and gusts hitting a loosened cap can pop the screws clean out of soft mortar. We find caps in flower beds, on garage roofs, and once in a neighbor’s yard two houses down on College Hill.
• Spalling brick or deteriorated mortar on the chimney crown directly below where the cap should sit. A cap that channels water onto the crown instead of off it accelerates mortar decay. By the time you notice this from the ground, the crown may need rebuilding alongside the cap replacement.

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

The range depends on three factors: cap size and series, whether we can reuse existing anchor points or need to drill new ones into sound mortar, and whether the crown or top course of brick needs attention before the new cap goes on. We price this upfront, before any work starts. The estimate includes the cap, stainless hardware, installation, and a photo-documented inspection of the flue top and crown condition. Every cap we install carries our 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing, no arguing. If it’s not right, we come back.

DIY or Call Us?

There’s one thing a careful homeowner can safely check: whether the cap is merely loose or actually damaged. Binoculars from the ground, or a careful look from a secured ladder at gutter height, will tell you if the cap is tilted, missing screws, or dented. Do not climb onto the roof to inspect it yourself. Easton’s older colonials, especially the steep-pitched homes near the Delaware Canal, have roof angles that punish overconfidence.

What goes wrong with DIY cap replacement: drilling into the crown without knowing where the flue liner ends and the structural masonry begins, using non-stainless hardware that rusts out in two Pennsylvania winters, and installing a cap with insufficient clearance above the flue opening, which traps smoke and creosote. We’ve also seen homeowners overtighten leg screws and crack the flue tile, turning a $400 cap job into a $900 liner repair. If the flue is clear and the mortar is sound, that’s all the good news you need. If you’re not certain of either, call us.

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