Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Masonry repair
Gas fireplace serviceLevel 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Gelco Chimney Cap Installation: The Fort Worth Owner’s Guide
We stock and install Gelco-compatible chimney caps throughout Fort Worth, with most installations running between $325 and $475 including the cap, fasteners, and labor. If you call before noon on a weekday, we can usually get a technician to your home within two business days. The most common way homeowners discover their Gelco cap has failed is water staining on the ceiling near the fireplace, or rust flakes collecting in the firebox below.
Gelco caps are built to take North Texas weather, but the combination of hail, summer heat, and sustained wind does catch up with them. The cap itself rarely collapses. What fails first is usually the mounting hardware or the mesh screen. Either way, the fix is straightforward once we know what you have on the roof.
Which Gelco Models This Applies To
Gelco’s current line breaks down into two families: the GC Series (standard single-flue caps in black galvanized, stainless, and copper finishes) and the GCM Series (multi-flue caps for wider chimneys with two or more flues). Both use the same mounting bracket system, but the tension hardware differs between sizes. If you’re not sure which model you have, two measurements settle it: the outside width of your flue tile, and the outside length. We need both.
One compatibility gotcha specific to Gelco: the current mounting brackets changed in 2021. If your cap was installed before that, the old bracket footprint doesn’t always match the new caps, even when the flue measurements are identical. We keep both bracket patterns on the truck, so the swap doesn’t strand you waiting on a second trip. On the OEM versus aftermarket question, Gelco’s own caps hold up well enough in Fort Worth that we rarely recommend aftermarket alternates. The margin savings are small, and the fit tolerance on aftermarket brackets is looser than we like on a windy roofline.
Models We Work With
- Gelco GC Series – single-flue caps from 8″x8″ through 13″x13″ stock sizes
- Gelco GCM Series – multi-flue caps with custom widths up to 72″
- Gelco decorative copper caps – for older Fort Worth homes where curb appeal matters as much as function
- Pre-2021 Gelco caps – we carry the older bracket pattern for direct replacement
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Gelco Chimney Cap Installation Is Failing
- Rust streaks running down the chimney crown. This tells you the cap’s base metal is oxidizing. Gelco’s galvanized caps are dipped, but once the zinc layer is breached by hail or years of wet-dry cycles, the steel underneath rusts fast in Fort Worth humidity.
- Leaves or twigs inside the firebox. The mesh screen has torn or pulled away from the frame. Squirrels and birds find that opening within a week.
- Rainwater pooling in the smoke shelf. This is the classic sign the cap’s lid has shifted or the mounting brackets have loosened. Water that should sheet off the lid is instead running down the flue.
- A cap that rattles or shifts when the wind gusts. Fort Worth regularly sees 30-plus mph gusts in spring. A properly mounted Gelco cap should not move. Movement means the tension bolts are backing out.
- Visible gaps between the cap base and the flue tile. Heat expansion and wind vibration work brackets loose over two to four years. The gap lets embers, rain, and animals in.
Replacement Cost & What’s Included
A Gelco chimney cap installation in Fort Worth typically runs $325 to $475 for a single-flue cap, installed. Multi-flue caps run higher, usually $425 to $650 depending on the width and whether we’re custom-ordering a GCM size. The number you approve is the number on the invoice. That’s not a sales line, it’s how we work.
That installed price includes the cap itself, the correct mounting bracket for your flue, all fasteners, removal of the old cap, and one full year of coverage under our 365-Day Done Right Promise. If the cap loosens, rusts through, or otherwise fails within that year, we return and make it right at no charge. We are an independent chimney service company in Fort Worth, not a Gelco dealer or affiliate, so our warranty comes from us, in writing, not from the manufacturer.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
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AfterDIY or Call Us?
Replacing a chimney cap means working at roof height, often on a sloped surface, with a tool in each hand. If you’re comfortable on an extension ladder and your roof pitch is walkable, you can inspect the cap yourself: look for loose brackets, torn mesh, and rust at the seams. But we don’t recommend swapping a cap yourself unless you’ve done roofing or gutter work before. The fall risk is real, and the tension brackets on larger Gelco caps need to be set correctly or the cap becomes a projectile in a spring storm.
If you’d rather stay on the ground, call us at (682) 255-2144. We’ll send a uniformed, background-checked technician, take our own measurements, and give you a written price before any work starts. If it’s not clean and it’s not safe, we are not done. That goes for the cap too.
FAQs
Realistically, expect five to eight years from a galvanized Gelco cap in this climate. Hail is the wildcard. A single bad spring storm can dent the lid or crack a weld, shortening the lifespan by half. Stainless and copper versions run ten to fifteen years. Call us at (682) 255-2144 and we can tell you what you’re looking at based on the cap’s condition.
Sometimes. If the mesh screen is torn but the lid and brackets are solid, we can replace the screen and re-secure the frame. If the base metal is rusted through or the lid is dented beyond seating, replacement is the honest call. The cost difference between a screen repair and a full cap replacement is usually $150 to $200, so we’ll show you photos and let you decide.
A standard single-flue Gelco cap swap takes about an hour from ladder up to ladder down. Multi-flue caps run closer to two hours. We do most installations in one visit, assuming the flue measurements match a stock size. Call (682) 255-2144 to schedule a look.
We stock the most common Gelco GC Series sizes and both mounting bracket patterns on every truck. Custom GCM widths and copper finishes are ordered, which usually adds three to five business days. If we arrive and find a size we don’t have, we’ll write you a price for the right part and return to install it, no charge for the extra trip.
Call Flint Chimney Co Fort Worth
If your Gelco chimney cap has failed, don’t wait for the next rain to push water past it. Call (682) 255-2144 and we’ll schedule a visit, measure your flue, and give you a written price before any work starts. That price includes the cap, the install, and a full year of coverage under our 365-Day Done Right Promise. We’ve been doing this work in Fort Worth since 2002 as part of the Garrison Partners family, and we also work with DuraFlex and HeatShield parts when a chimney needs more than a cap.
Written by Hank Delano, Owner, Flint Chimney Co Fort Worth at Flint Chimney Co Fort Worth, serving Fort Worth and nearby areas.