Chimneys and chimney flues come in all shapes and sizes. If you sell chimney caps, your single-flue selection is simple: just four chimney cap sizes — 9 inches by 9 inches, 9 inches by 13 inches, 13 inches by 13 inches, and 13 inches by 18 inches — cover about 95% of your customers.
Multi-flue caps are much more complicated, though. At HY-C, we make a sizable stock selection of multi-flue chimney caps, but unfortunately, it’s still much more difficult to cover everyone.
This is because single-flue caps are installed directly on a chimney flue, and flues come in a few standard, predictable sizes. Multi-flue cap sizes, however, depend either on the dimensions of a chimney’s crown or the chimney brick itself, which vary wildly.
Still, if your customers need a multi-flue chimney cap outside of the standard dimensions, you need to be able to serve them. And that’s where custom chimney caps come in.
In this guide, we’re going to outline everything you need to know about becoming a custom chimney cap distributor with HY-C. From the types of custom caps available to actually getting the caps made and shipped, by the time you’re finished here, you’ll have all the information you need to start providing custom chimney caps to your customers.
HY-C’s Custom Chimney Cap Selection
Before diving into the logistics of the custom chimney cap ordering process, let’s outline the styles of custom chimney caps HY-C has to offer. We make three different kinds of custom chimney caps:
- Custom Band-Around-Brick chimney caps
- Custom Big Top chimney caps
- Custom Skirt-Type chimney caps
Custom Band-Around-Brick caps are available in:
- Aluminum (with a maximum base size of 60 inches by 96 inches)
- Stainless steel (with a maximum base size of 48 inches by 96 inches)
Custom Skirt-Type caps are available in:
- Aluminum (with a maximum base size of 60 inches by 96 inches)
- Stainless steel (with a maximum base size of 48 inches by 96 inches)
- Copper (with a maximum base size of 38 inches by 88 inches)
Custom Big Top caps are available in:
- Galvanized steel (with a maximum base size of 40 inches by 96 inches)
- Stainless steel (with a maximum base size of 40 inches by 88 inches)
- Copper (with a maximum base size of 38 inches by 88 inches)
The HY-C Custom Chimney Cap Ordering Process
Now that you know what kinds of custom chimney caps we make and the sizes and material options we offer, it’s time to place an order. If you don’t already do business with us, the first thing you’ll need to do is become an official HY-C sales partner.
For existing HY-C sales partners, the custom chimney cap ordering process basically works like this:
- Your customer places a custom cap order through you
- You send the custom cap order to us
- We make the custom cap and send it to you
- You send the cap to your customer
While that’s the basic structure, the ordering pipeline is admittedly more nuanced than that at every step. So, let’s lay out the entire custom chimney cap ordering process from start to finish.
1. A Customer Expresses a Need for a Custom Chimney Cap
Whether it’s a homeowner, a roofing professional, or a chimney sweep, the custom chimney cap process always starts the same way: someone discovers that they need a chimney cap in a non-standard size.
They may reach out directly to you as a custom HY-C chimney cap distributor, or they may reach out to us (in which case, we’ll refer them to the closest distributor to their area).
2. The Customer (or You) Fills out the Custom Chimney Cap Order Form
The next thing we’ll need is for either you or your customer to fill out the HY-C custom chimney cap order form. This form has all the information we need to build the right chimney cap for your customer, including:
- The style of cap they want (Band-Around Brick, Skirt-Type, or Big Top)
- The length and width of their chimney
- The height of their flue tile (from the top row of chimney brick)
- The metal type (aluminum, stainless steel, copper, or galvanized steel, as applicable)
After the form is filled out, it can be sent back to us by email (at orders@hy-c.com) or by fax (314-241-2277). Be sure to include your name and phone number on the form.
3. We Calculate the Price of the Chimney Cap Based on the Information in the Order Form
The price of a chimney cap varies based on 3 factors:
- The style of cap
- The type of metal
- The dimensions of the cap
We’ve developed a complex custom chimney cap pricing calculator based on all the possible combinations of metal types, styles, and dimensions available. Obviously, because of the “custom” nature of custom chimney caps, prices vary greatly from cap to cap.
Very generally, though, here’s a range of prices based on the custom cap’s material, dimensions, and style:
- Aluminum custom chimney cap MSRP range: $185 to $1,700
- Galvanized steel custom chimney cap MSRP range: $230 to $1,250
- Stainless steel custom chimney cap MSRP range: $320 to $2,400
- Copper custom chimney cap MSRP range: $500 to $3,200
As you can see, these price ranges are very wide depending on your customer’s needs. Note also that the prices shown here are MSRP prices — that is, the price a homeowner or end user will pay for a finished cap.
4. You Place the Custom Chimney Cap Order
After we’ve determined the actual dimensions of the cap and its price, the next step is simple: you (as the distributor) will place an order for the cap on behalf of your customer.
After you do, we’ll create a manufacturing order on our end (based on the order you submit) that will be sent to our custom chimney caps department in our factory.
Because each custom chimney cap is unique, unfortunately, we’re unable to accept refunds on them after an order is placed. For this reason, it’s pivotal to triple-check the custom cap order form before sending it in.
5. HY-C Makes the Custom Chimney Cap
After the logistics and the paperwork are all sorted out, the process of actually making the cap begins. The employees in our custom caps department have been making custom chimney caps for years, and they’re well-equipped to make anything your customer needs.
When your order finally reaches our custom caps department, maximum lead times are generally around 7 business days. Caps are often finished sooner than that, and they rarely take longer to make than that 7-business-day window.
6. We Ship the Cap to You (or Your Customer)
When the custom cap is finished, the only thing left to do is ship it out. Shipping is handled in one of two ways:
- We can ship the cap to you (and you can then ship it to your customer)
- We can drop ship the cap directly to your customer
We can accommodate either method, and we leave the decision up to you. Whatever you decide, though, note that we’ll invoice you for the cost of manufacturing the cap. From there, you can charge your customer for the finished chimney cap.
Note also that finished caps are shipped unassembled. They’ll need to be put together by the installer.
How Do You Start Offering Custom Chimney Caps to Your Customers?
By now, you should have a good sense of the entire custom chimney cap process from start to finish. But how do you start actually selling custom chimney caps to your customer base of roofers, chimney sweeps, or contractors?
Well, if you’re not a HY-C sales partner yet, you need to become one. We set up new customers all the time, and if you’d like to become a sales partner, we’ll be happy to facilitate that process.
If you are a current HY-C sales partner, you can start ordering custom chimney caps from us at any time. Be sure to let your customers know that you’re an authorized dealer and utilize the custom chimney cap order form to order what they need.
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