What metal is best for chimney cap construction?
Main Factors: It is hard to find the best balance between style, longevity, strength, and cost. These factors do not naturally blend together. I work to reach the best balance possible on all the projects I build. (a) Chimney caps need to handle a great deal of heat, unless the exhaust is just from a natural gas heater. I have personally stoked up a wood stove so hot the steel exhaust pipe was glowing orange and lit up the living room. It was about 15 years ago and I was not trying to test this theory. I was just burning some paper garbage. You can see these statistics at a web site called Online Metals. Most metals handle high heat well, but steel commonly has a thin zinc coating for rust protection that melts at a very low temperature and will result in rust stains or worse. (b) A ticker heavier sheet metal is most always best, so that it is strong and less prone to wind damage. But that of coarse greatly increases the cost of the metal used and the shipping charges. It also makes it
