Raccoons in Decorative Chimney Surrounds
We receive raccoon in the chimney calls quite often, as uncapped chimneys are favorite denning sites for female raccoons here in the Akron, Canton, Kent, OH area.
Typically a mother raccoon will climb down an uncapped masonry chimney flue to have a litter. She will birth and rear young raccoons on the chimney’s smoke shelf or another void. You can find more about the common scenario HERE.
This week, however, we’d like to discuss a variant of this common problem: raccoons that use a decorative chimney surround for denning or accessing the attic.
We’ve had a couple of raccoon jobs recently involving decorative chimney surrounds and thought it would interesting and informative to share.
What is a Chimney Surround, Faux Chimney, or Chimney Chase?
This picture to the right has NO CHIMNEY SURROUND. As you see, it is simply a chimney pipe projecting from the roof.
Do you like this look?
If you don’t like this aesthetic you would be in the camp of designers and homeowners who change this look by covering it up. It is done by adding what is referred to as a chimney surround, faux chimney, or chimney chase.
A chimney surround is simply a decorative covering which is affixed to the roof of a home in order to hide a chimney pipe.
Some are made to look very much like traditional masonry chimneys while others are framed and covered with siding.
Here are pictures of the two chimney surrounds that attracted the attention of raccoons lately here in the Akron, Canton, Kent area.
Both of these decorative chimney surrounds are made of metal. And though they are made to look like brick chimneys, they are really just covers to hide the chimney pipe inside. They stop at and are affixed to the roof.
Raccoons in Chimney Surrounds
If you have a chimney surround, maybe the pictures above are making you nervous…
Don’t be nervous. When installed correctly (correctly being the key word), they are almost always raccoon free.
In both of these recent instances, raccoons were able to get in because of improper installation.
When a decorative chimney surround is put together correctly, the pipe comes to the top of the surround and passes through a tight fitting lid. In our two cases, there was a gap between the pipe and lid, enabling a raccoon to slip into the void space created by the surround.
Here is an explanation using the white chimney.
1) The first problem is that the chimney pipe is shorter than the surround itself. As a result the chimney only goes to the bottom arrow in the picture above rather than where it should (the top arrow).
To the right, here is what it looked like with the brown chimney cap off. Because of this, once the raccoon peaked under the chimney cap there was an inviting void.
2) The second problem (and most challenging) is that there was a gap between the pipe and roof sheeting as indicated by the arrow.
As a result, the raccoon did not just stay in this void.
Instead, the female raccoon found this gap where the roof sheeting and pipe should have met.
Though it doesn’t look too big, the female raccoon was able to scoot through this gap and get into the attic. She had a litter there in a very inaccessible spot.
In the case of the second chimney surround (the black and white photo), the raccoon was not able to get into the attic. It was merely using the void in the chimney surround as a place to hang out. Again, had the chimney pipe extended through a tight fitting lid, this raccoon would not have become so interested.
Lessons Learned: Raccoons and Chimney Surrounds
After working these two jobs on decorative chimney surrounds, we share these two important points.
- Make sure the install on a chimney surround or faux chimney is well done. Whether you are contemplating putting a chimney surround on, already have one, or are buying a house with one, make sure it is inspected to see it is installed right. There should be no way for a raccoon to get into the void.
- Raccoons will find any weaknesses on a roof line. Preventative maintenance and quality installations of roofing/siding/soffit are imperative. This is not a new lesson, but one underscored in these cases.
Help with Raccoon Removal
For help with raccoon problems of all kinds in the Akron, Canton, Kent, OH area, please give us a call.
For more information on raccoons and raccoon removal, please visit:
