COMING SOON... photos of cowls NOT suitable for a chimney in use ( a live chimney)

ALL CHIMNEYS WHICH ARE NOT IN USE NEED TO BREATHE OR THEY WILL DRY OUT AND MAJOR DAMAGE CAN OCCUR TO BOTH THE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE CHIMNEY.

SAVE YOURSELF A LOT OF HEARTACHE AND CHOOSE THE CORRECT COWL FOR A CHIMNEY WHICH YOU ARE NO LONGER GOING TO USE

The following picture is the type of Cowl we highly recommend. For 3 reasons

0. The metal 'hat' keeps the rain out. Most important if the chimney is very straight
0. The mesh stops birds and debris
0. Perhaps most importantly, the height of the mesh allows the chimney sweep to get brushes right up and out of the pot without disturbing the cowl. This means the brush can be 'jiggled' to dislodge any build up of soot on the mesh thereby keeping the airflow to a maximum.

The clamps on the OUTSIDE of the pot mean that when the chimney is swept, the brush will not push any 'legs' out from inside.

A lot of cowls have metal legs which just push into the top of the pot.
These are not ideal from the sweeps point of view and are easily dislodged or knocked off completely. Not ideal for either the sweep or the client!