Old World Craft Finds New Use in Modern Home Design: The Return of the Copper Chimney Pot

Most homeowners see the business end of a chimney as the hearth. After all, this is the part that throws off warmth and adds visual charm to the interior of a room. Architects and builders; however, regard the chimney top with equal importance. The chimney top is usually the tallest point on the house and is often a home’s visual pinnacle. One of the best ways to visually enhance the chimney top is to add a chimney pot.

Chimney pots have been around for hundreds of years. First as a necessity in that they extended the exhaust point of fireboxes which often burned coal. Later as chimney pots became the standard for chimney tops, they became a status symbol. At one time, England even had a special tax just for chimney pots. Likely brought to America by French and English settlers, the chimney pot has a prominent place in the design and construction of distinctive American homes and estates.

As home science and building techniques advanced, functionally, the need for chimney pots was eliminated. The advent of zero clearance or prefabricated fireplaces as well as the use of round metal  exhaust pipes for furnaces and other appliances offered a functional albeit unsightly alternative to the beloved masonry chimney and the ornamental chimney pot. But what may have been functionally acceptable was not esthetically pleasing and homeowners are turning to the chimney pot as a way to not only cover but enhance their chimneys once again.

Chimney pots come in a variety of materials including iron, cast cement, and copper. The latter being the most popular due to its versatility and distinctive look. Many homeowners have custom copper pots made to include architectural features of their homes. They are placed as stand alones atop a chimney or in clusters on a multi-flue crown. Considering most are made using time honored crafting techniques, these are affordable, easy to install, and made to last a lifetime.