El cheapo chimney liner

[princeperch]

So I'm going to get the chimney lined for a small 4kw stove. Some of the quotes I've seen are eye watering - 3k odd.

Anyway what I'm thinking of doing is installing the liner down the chimney with a friend, and then get building control in the inspect and approve when the stove is all connected up. I reckon subject to any unforeseen issues, I can get the lot in and signed off for about 800 quid. Yes going on the roof is risky but I can feed the liner to a friend on the roof through my loft windows, so if we go steady hopefully it'll be ok.

I don't want to spend mega bucks on the premium liner, the cheaper one will do.

At the lower end of the market the thickness of flexible liner seems to vary.

These are the two I've narrowed it down to.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Flue-Liner-Kit-Installat...

The 316 grade is a recognised budget liner.

This other one is also cheap but doesn't seem to have a grading as such and is a bit thinner

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321608736140?var=5108700...

If I go with either will my house burn down?

I'll bung up some pictures shortly of course so you can see how wrong it'll all go.

[XJ75]

I had a Charnwood C4 supplied and fitted for £2400. That included the stove, hearth and chimney liner, hire of a cherry picker to line the chimney and all labour. If access to your chimney isn't bad you might not even need a cherry picker which saves around £300. I'm in Surrey too where apparently things cost more, so maybe you should get a few more quotes?

[princeperch]

I'm all for people earning a good living but some of the quotes I've seen are taking the p.

Eg one installer tried to sell me 316 grade liner at 20 quid a metre. 350 quid for a hearth.

500 quid to knock out the infill of the breast render and plaster.

100 quid to design deliver and install the hearth.

2 chimney sweeps at 65 quid a pop?

The hard part is getting on the roof and popping the liner in. Once you've done that you just need to follow part J to the letter..

[ooo000ooo]

princeperch said:

The hard part is getting on the roof and popping the liner in. Once you've done that you just need to follow part J to the letter..

The hard part is when it gets stuck halfway down and someone has to make the decision to cut a hole or 2 in the chimney breast to get it moving.

[rhinochopig]

ooo000ooo said:

princeperch said:

The hard part is getting on the roof and popping the liner in. Once you've done that you just need to follow part J to the letter..

The hard part is when it gets stuck halfway down and someone has to make the decision to cut a hole or 2 in the chimney breast to get it moving.

been there...

OP if you're doing it yourself buy the best quality liner you can afford. It can be a horrible horrible job, so doing it again in 20 years as opposed to 10 is very much more appealing given what a messy horrible job it is. Did I mention the mess and how horrible it can be!

[Simpo Two]

ooo000ooo said:

The hard part is when it gets stuck halfway down and someone has to make the decision to cut a hole or 2 in the chimney breast to get it moving.

Or say 'fkit', pull it out and sell it on eBay...

[Matt_N]

Funnily were just having a multi fuel stove installed at present, got 3 quotes, went with the middle one as they seemed the nicest and also chipped the quote down a little bit too.

For :

Removal of gas fire / cap off gas / sign off
Removal of existing fireplace and take back to builder's opening
Render exposed fire place
Supply and fit slate hearth
Suppy and fit 5kw Baby Gabriel stove
Supply and fit twin wall flue liner / register plate and chimney pot cowl
Connect everything up and commission system and supply HETAS

£2200

Having been there yesterday whulst they bashed everything out and dropped the flue liner down, yes I probably could do some of it myself but with a 1 year old, we need the lounge back in working order asap and I'm quite clumsy at DIY!

[princeperch]

Thanks chaps. For those that got their chimney lined and who posted here, what
Liner did you get?

[bazza white]

We are going to diy. £100 for a scaff tower then will borrow a roof ladder. We have a harnesses to. Varied is £250 sign off and hoping to sign off a pair in one hit. Will save a fortune.

Some good info on
http://www.stovefittersmanual.co.uk


Let us know how you get on, I'd be interested to know.

[LeadFarmer]

Matt_N said:

Funnily were just having a multi fuel stove installed at present, got 3 quotes, went with the middle one as they seemed the nicest and also chipped the quote down a little bit too.

For :

Removal of gas fire / cap off gas / sign off
Removal of existing fireplace and take back to builder's opening
Render exposed fire place
Supply and fit slate hearth
Suppy and fit 5kw Baby Gabriel stove
Supply and fit twin wall flue liner / register plate and chimney pot cowl
Connect everything up and commission system and supply HETAS

£2200

Having been there yesterday whulst they bashed everything out and dropped the flue liner down, yes I probably could do some of it myself but with a 1 year old, we need the lounge back in working order asap and I'm quite clumsy at DIY!

Thats probably not a bad price when compared to some. What area do you live please as I'm currently getting quotes to get a stove installed in m home.


The prices can be frightening can't they!

A local fireplace shop has just quoted me £3,300 to supply and fit a stove and everything needed. Admittedly I chose a £1,200 Purevision stove, but that still means they are charging £2,100 for the liner, hearth, register plate, flue pipe, connector, chimney pot and labour.

The expensive part of their quote is the 10x metres of 904 grade liner @ £650. Thats £65/meter. I can buy the same online for £36/meter. http://www.fluesupplies.com/product_info.php?cPath...
Their labour to fit everything comes to £750.

Im about to phone a few HETAS fitters to see what they charge, perhaps with me buying the parts myself.

Edited by LeadFarmer on Wednesday 20th January 10:29

[Matt_N]

LeadFarmer said:

Thats probably not a bad price when compared to some. What area do you live please as I'm currently getting quotes to get a stove installed in m home.


The prices can be frightening can't they!

A local fireplace shop has just quoted me £3,300 to supply and fit a stove and everything needed. Admittedly I chose a £1,200 Purevision stove, but that still means they are charging £2,100 for the liner, hearth, register plate, flue pipe, connector, chimney pot and labour.

The expensive part of their quote is the 10x metres of 904 grade liner @ £650. Thats £65/meter. I can buy the same online for £36/meter. http://www.fluesupplies.com/product_info.php?cPath...
Their labour to fit everything comes to £750.

Im about to phone a few HETAS fitters to see what they charge, perhaps with me buying the parts myself.

Edited by LeadFarmer on Wednesday 20th January 10:29

I'm in North Bristol.

We too had a quote at £3100 + VAT!

Though I think they were busy and pricing themselves out of the job as he said they wouldn't be able to do it until mid February.

Cheapest was £1700 but the guy didn't fill us with any confidence, 'yeh one of my mates will do this, the other that, him round the corner will sign it all off', uhh no thanks!

[princeperch]

well I just paid £12.00/m inc vat and delivery for the 316 liner which seems very fair. 10m winging its way to me now. i'll pick up the other required bits off ebay or wherever.

picked up some nice limestone the other day too for the hearth which was a fraction of the price of slate.

[jjones]

princeperch said:

well I just paid £12.00/m inc vat and delivery for the 316 liner which seems very fair. 10m winging its way to me now. i'll pick up the other required bits off ebay or wherever.

picked up some nice limestone the other day too for the hearth which was a fraction of the price of slate.

We picked up slate at a reclamation yard, guy there cut it to size and it was £40.

[LeadFarmer]

Choosing a stove isn't easy is it. Each fireplace shop I visit recommends completely different stoves for my application. One recommends Dunsley, another recommends Purevision and another recommends Contura. I guess it all depends on which manufacturers they are loyal to? Individuals Ive spoken to have recommended Clearview, Stovax and Charnwood. So many to choose from.

[princeperch]

I got my limestone hearth from B and Q, a big slab of it for 12 quid.

I got my stove off ebay, £150.00, new, 4.5kw. I'm sure from what all the stove shops said from when I spoke to them that it will explode in my face and kill everyone in a 10 mile radius.

we shall see.

[roofer]

I drove to Scotland last year and bought 16 LM of twin wall and all the various elbows brackets the lot for £900 . All brand new in boxes.

Fast forward to November, I get some local Hetas bods round to quote.

" Nah, we can't install that, needs to be our own" The stuff I bought is proper, CE marked etc.

They quoted £3600 k just for the chimney on 1 .He was advised to get off the scaffold Quicksmart before injury ensued..

Got a mate of a mate, also Hetas did it (2 chimneys ) for £400.

Shop around !

Edited by roofer on Wednesday 20th January 18:03

[AndrewCrown]

Prince

I know these prices seem outrageous....but I'm of the view that skimping here is a little bit skimping on tyres and brake pads.

It's simply not worth the risk on your best asset and on the lives of your loved ones.

I would encourage you to get it done properly... It's not just a metal pipe... There is draw, gases and 250c there is a science to it all...

Don't mean to sound like an old school ma'am.....

A

[LeadFarmer]

AndrewCrown said:

Prince

I know these prices seem outrageous....but I'm of the view that skimping here is a little bit skimping on tyres and brake pads.

It's simply not worth the risk on your best asset and on the lives of your loved ones.

I would encourage you to get it done properly... It's not just a metal pipe... There is draw, gases and 250c there is a science to it all...

Don't mean to sound like an old school ma'am.....

A

For me its not a matter of skimping on safety, its a matter of not being ripped off. Im asking each company to quote for the highest grade 904 stainless steel liner, yet some of the prices quoted are well above what can be bought elsewhere. I can source it on the internet for £35/meter, yet my local fireplace shop is charging almost double. So they are loading the prices on parts, and also charging a hefty labour fee for the install. Im prepared to pay for top quality components, but not be ripped off in the process.

[AndrewCrown]

Lead... I do understand your point on not being ripped off....these are businesses after all and they make margin on labour and parts, my point is get it done professionally and there is no ongoing worry and it's all done to a standard. I've been there bought the t shirt on Diy installs of woodburners and chimney liners... Ended up costing more than a professional fit due to uninstall and smoke issues... I don't think people get that woodburners aren't just a fire box... The temperatures, gases and stresses are a totally different ball game to an open fire.....

LeadFarmer said:

For me its not a matter of skimping on safety, its a matter of not being ripped off. Im asking each company to quote for the highest grade 904 stainless steel liner, yet some of the prices quoted are well above what can be bought elsewhere. I can source it on the internet for £35/meter, yet my local fireplace shop is charging almost double. So they are loading the prices on parts, and also charging a hefty labour fee for the install. Im prepared to pay for top quality components, but not be ripped off in the process.

[Garett]

We bought our house in August last year and it already had an 8kW stove installed, very poorly I might add. It still had a vent pot on the roof and the the fireboard was sealed with expanding foam, including around the flue and no liner either. Unbelievable that the previous owner didn't suffocate/catch fire!

So as part of the deal buying the house we knocked the price down, budgeting £1k for the re-installation. The first guy wanted to sell us a stove, redesign the hearth etc, he wanted £2k. We shopped around and found someone to do it for £700+ £50 for a chimney sweep prior to installation (it was filthy). This included drilling a hole venting to an outhouse (as its over 5kW), new pot, lined and steel register plate. All done off a 25m boom on the back of a truck.

We are in Yorkshire though, I imagine in London you pay London prices.

ETA - We went for the 316 grade liner, which should last 15 years at least, so I was told.