One of our services, fitting chimney cowls, plays an important role in the protection of wildlife especially in geographical areas such as Northumberland and the North East coast.

Originally cowls played a different purpose, particularly with open real fires. Made of galvanised iron, the cowl would stop the wind blowing smoke back into the house down the chimney. It also stands to reason for the same purpose, that cowls make the room automatically warmer and more draft free. The choice of a right cowl will make the heat from a fire more efficient, and so are a critical part of a chimney not only from health and safety point of view but also from ensuring a fire does its job properly.

A further benefit is that a cowl stops any rain or snow travelling into the chimney, which can be responsible for causing all sorts of problems including damp in the brickwork, problems with electrics within the chimney breast or causing your log burner or fire basket to rust.

And of course, as already mentioned, a cowl will prevent birds and other wildlife entering your chimney or even worse nesting in them. Many birds do view cowls as a safe place to land, or to balance on enjoying the warmth from your home - we can also prevent this with our bird caging service that protects the wildlife and any equipment on your roof too, including solar panels.

Cowls should also be checked regularly, as they can work loose in storms and high winds. If one where to travel off a roof to ground level, it could become a dangerous missile!

To check if you have a cowl already, if you need one or if yours needs replacing, please contact Jayne in our office on 0191 252 4308, and we do an initial survey visit to discuss your options.