Project Story: A Batch of Custom Chimney Caps for a Truckee Builder

A builder with several homes going up around Truckee called us with a familiar late-stage problem: the roofs were nearly done, the chases were framed, and every chimney needed a cap that matched the architecture, met California spark arrestor code, and could be delivered on a schedule. Stock caps were the wrong sizes and the wrong look. We fabricated the whole batch at our Reno shop.

Measuring for a Batch, Not a One-Off

The homes shared a design language but the chase dimensions varied, so each cap was built to its own measurements. The builder sent us chase top dimensions and flue positions for every home. We confirmed each one against the framing before cutting, because a cap that is even half an inch off on a chase cover will either not seat or leave a gap that lets weather in.

Materials and Details

The caps that would read as bright metal against dark roofs were built in 24-gauge 304 stainless, which handles flue gas exposure and Sierra weather without corroding. Caps that needed to disappear into the roofline were fabricated from steel and powder coated to match the trim color.

Every wood-burning cap in the batch got a spark arrestor screen with openings no larger than half an inch, integrated into the cap body rather than tacked on. That is required in Truckee and throughout the California side of the Tahoe basin, and it is the detail most stock caps get wrong.

Delivery

The finished caps went out on a flatbed together, labeled by lot number so the crews could set each one on the right chase without guesswork.

Builders working in Truckee, Tahoe, and Reno: if you have multiple chases to cap on one project, batching them through our shop keeps the details consistent and the schedule predictable. Start on our chimney caps page.