Hail hit your roof? Check these 4 chimney parts

Denver Fireplace & Chimney · October 17, 2026

Why Denver chimneys take so much hail

NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory says Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming usually see the most hailstorms, and that the corner where the three states meet, known as hail alley, averages seven to nine hail days a year. A KOAA explainer puts the Front Range right at its heart and adds a local twist: because Denver sits so high, hail has less distance to fall and less time to melt before it lands.

The cost shows up in the numbers. The May 8, 2017 storm that hit Denver and Lakewood caused about $2.3 billion in damage, which Fox Weather, citing the National Insurance Crime Bureau, called Colorado's most expensive insured catastrophe. The NICB counted roughly 167,000 auto claims and 100,600 homeowners' claims from that one day. In 2024, KDVR reported that Colorado ranked fourth in State Farm's hail losses, at $521 million in claims with that one insurer.

Roofs get the attention after a storm, and adjusters walk the shingles. The chimney sits in the same hail and is easy to miss.

1. The chimney cap

The cap is the metal hood with mesh sides over the flue. Hail dents the lid, flattens the mesh and can knock the cap loose on its mounting. A cap with torn mesh lets birds and squirrels in. A cap pushed down onto the flue opening can restrict the draft, which matters most for gas appliances that vent up the same chimney.

From the ground, look for a lid that is no longer flat or sits crooked. Typical cap replacement runs $250–$850 depending on size and material.

2. The chase cover, if your chimney is framed and sided

Most homes built since the 1990s in Highlands Ranch, Parker, Lone Tree, Broomfield and Thornton (Census median build years of 1997 to 2004) have factory-built fireplaces with a metal flue pipe inside a framed box called a chase. The top of that box is a sheet-metal pan, the chase cover. Hail dents it into shallow bowls. Water pools in the dents, the coating wears through, and rust follows.

The tell-tale sign is an orange-brown streak running down the siding below the top of the chase. By then water has often been getting into the framing for a while. A chase cover typically costs $300–$700 to replace. We compare galvanized and stainless covers in a separate post.

3. The crown and flue tiles

A brick chimney is capped by a crown, a slab of concrete or mortar around the flue. Hail can chip the edges and open cracks, and clay flue tiles that stick up above the crown can crack or break at the top. Denver's roughly 135 freeze-thaw days a year (NOAA normals) then work water into every new crack all winter, so small hail damage grows.

Crown repair or replacement typically runs $600–$2,200. A broken flue tile at the top is usually found during the same inspection.

4. The flashing

Flashing is the metal that seals the joint between chimney and roof. Hail can dent or lift it and can crack the sealant along its top edge. If the roof is being replaced after a storm, the flashing should be redone along with it, not bent back into place. Flashing repair typically costs $300–$1,800. A water stain on the ceiling next to the chimney is the most common sign that it failed.

Before you call your insurer

We don't promise what insurance will pay, and coverage depends on your policy. What we can do is make the claim easier to document. During our free inspection we photograph every hail-damaged part, close up and in context, and give you a written price for each repair. That photo set is what you hand to the adjuster.

• Note the storm date. Adjusters ask for it.
• Take your own photos from the ground and from windows. Don't climb onto a wet or damaged roof.
• Don't let anyone throw away the old cap or chase cover before the adjuster has seen it or photos of it.
• Check inside: stains on the ceiling or wall near the chimney, or rust flakes in the firebox.