Flue lining costs?

[Sidsick]

Hi,


we are going to havee a multifuel stove fitted to an existing chimney in our front room and have been checking out prices for lining our chimney. the property is just over 100 years old and had a wood burner insatalled previously but the chimney had no liner. the company we have spoken to have said to line the chimney alone will cost nearly a grand. This is lining the chimney and then filling around the gaps with foam stuff, the name escapes me. I wonder whether this is too much? I was under the impression that you could line the chimney with just a flexible flue liner without any need for filling. I have seen some liners with rockwoool insulation around them. am i bein ripped off or being charged for a job which need not be that complex.

 

[Ian Bond]

Can't help with a price, but don't allow anyone to do anything to the chimney that can't be undone later, if required.

The PPUK Agony Uncle has just answered a similar question. Ignore the thatch references if not applicable... I'm sure you can buy insulated sleeves for the liners too.

SUBJECT:Which flu liner?
FROM:Virginia Doran(Cambridgeshire)
I have a Grade 2 listed thatched cottage and I want to install a multi fuel stove and need advice on which types of flu liner would be safe and appropriate please? My chimney is not lined and used at present as an open fire and we have just recently had it cleaned professionally very recently again.

Virginia Doran
I would tend to avoid a liner that involves pouring concrete into the chimney because this can cause problems and is a very permanent alteration.

A Class 1 liner is essential and a standard flexible liner is acceptable. The important thing to remember however is that there must be good insulation around the liner for its full height.

The insulation would normally help to prevent condensation problems, but in this instance it serves a very important second role – to reduce the risk of heat transference from the liner to the chimney brickwork. With thatched properties sparks are an obvious potential fire risk, but heat is perhaps as much of a problem in that below the thatch is a very dry dusty zone that has a low combustion point that only needs heat to create a fire.

How the void between liner and chimney is insulated depends on various factors. If there are no other fireplaces or holes, etc you could install a register plate at the base and pour insulation such as LECA balls down around the liner. If there are holes, etc you could find a room covered in LECA if you are not careful!

In many instances a good thick wrapping with standard insulating quilt will do the job, but care must be taken as the liner is pulled through to avoid the insulation being pulled off.

An open fire, such as you have at present, is not usually such a problem because the fire draws cold air into it and up the chimney thereby cooling the flue gases, etc much quicker than those from an enclosed burner. However, with thatch I would still think about lining the flue as a precaution.

 

[Ian Bond]

Here's a site I bookmarked for future reference.

Rockwool sleeves, that's the fella I was thinking of.

http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/wood_burning_stoves/Flexible-Flue-Liners.html

 

[middi]

You should be able to purchase a double skinned flexible s/steel liner for approx £300.00. ( approx 7m long)

This can be fed down ( or up) the chimney void and fitted with a purpose made cowling ( can be purchased with liner), provided there is a clear run within the chimney void the fitting is relatively easy.

This arrangement works perfectly well, especially if the chimney has no external exposed surfaces. If there are external surfaces, some prefere to have the void backfilled with insulating granuels .

If the liner is well insulated it will be more efficient, especially on the initial firing where on an uninsulated liner it will take a few minutes longer for the liner to reach a more efiicient running temp, therefore slightly more fuel. Once the fire is up to temp. it does not make that much difference to it's efficiency.

But as they say " every tiny bit makes a difference"

( I have never used anything else, but the above on multi fuel burners)

 

[Taff in Glaws]

The price differences for liners etc let alone stoves is remarkable and I think it pays to shop around for some things.

http://www.firesonline.co.uk/acatalog/125mm_Multi_fuel_Flexible_Chimney_Liner.html

 

[Mark]

Im tempted to ask if that price is from a company in Harrogate which is famous for its pricing policy.

The only reason for high cost would be if roof access is so difficult that a cherrypicker is needed to get to the chimney or if part of the stack needs rebuilding or if you are going to use double skin insulated solid pipe (NOT the same as double skin flexy)

Real prices for liner start around £16/m not the £50+ that some companies quote.

The bits are quite expensive - cowls/flexy to stove pipe adapters, etc. but expensive as in maybe £200 for the lot (stove pipe/ brackets/ adapter/ cowl) But I read your post as £1000 just to put the liner and register plate in and insulate. Which I would view as expensive. And I assume because you already have a stove in place that you dont need work on the hearth or chimney? In which case I would guess that your quote is including in the order of £400 labour.

As has been said, you need the correct class of liner- for solid fuel, NOT the cheaper ones for gas which I think are only single skin. Of course it needs to be big enough - No smaller than the stove output and recommended minimum of 6" for woodburners.

I was told by a supplier that the 904 grade is only needed if burning smokeless fuel and 316 is fine for wood/coal.

Have a think about how easy sweeping will be. Im just about to refit one of mine and install a Y piece to make it easier to sweep the flue. Getting the brush/rods through our stove is possible but its a bit of a pain.

 

[Penners]

Middi's comments above about an insulated liner are quite correct. However there is another reason to ensure that your chimney liner is well insulated.

If the flue liner is cool, the combustion products that escape up it will be cooled before they are discharged to atmosphere at the top. They will condense and acids will be deposited on the interior of the liner. These can corrode the liner very quickly (I once saw a single skin flexible liner eaten through in two winters).

So you must ensure that your flue remains hot, by insulating it.

The initial costs of doing a proper job are higher, but they will save you money in the long term.

Our woodburner was installed four years ago by a specialist company. The total cost of the woodburner, plus installing a rigid stainless steel flue into the chimney, filling the whole chimney void with insulating granules and fitting a birdproof, rainproof cowl, was about £1100. This did not include the register plate, which already existed.

I hope that helps.

 

[middi]

IN Order to extend the life of these flex.liners, Penners explanation about the importance of insulating liners is spot on.

As others have suggested, shop around.

 

[skier-hughes]

When we looked at a new wood burner the guy who was selling them told us all of the above and said a rough price of about £1,000 would be needed for fitting it all, so I don't think it is expensive for a proper company.

 

[Andrew Bodenham]

I've just bought all the components (liner, bottom adapter, pot hanger, etc. ) to line my 6m flue for about £430, including some excellent insulation jacket which will be much easier and quicker to install than using vermiculite loose-fill.
So your £1K quote sounds about right, after you've paid a couple of installers for a day, plus scaffold or other access gear.

As other posters have said it certainly pays to shop around if you're buying parts yourself!

 

[Anita]

Yes it's certainly worth shopping around. We used a firm called fluesystems- and bought 9m of 7" flexible liner, 2 x birdguards and 5 x bags of micafil insulation for just under £300 online, and it all arrived very quickly and painlessly by courier a couple of days later.

 

[Nemesis]

The rigid flue pipes and connectors are very variable also in price (the ones which connect the stove to the liner). We have found Machine Mart to be quite reasonable.

 

[rog and gina]

do you need the same insulation type stuff around the liner for a gas fire?

 

[MdB]

No, at least ours hasn't and it was checked this morning (finally have heat again in the house, horray!)

Gas flues are not suitable for open fires / stoves for this reason.

 

[rog and gina]

Thats lucky, because we've just fitted ours without the insulation, and started to panic!

its lovely to feel warm again isn't it!

 

[Nemesis]

Slightly off topic but...

My eldery mother (86) has a gas fire with a back boiler. It's a fairly new model, a replacement for a similar older version. OK not the latest technology but it's what she is used to.

It has a ss lined flue, and a 'gas cap' on top.

She was called about two weeks' ago by British Gas to say that they would not be renewing her insurance on her system, which she has had for many years, as she has an 'open flue'. She is naturally very upset and concerned.

BG has been asked to put this in writing and we are waiting...

Anyone any idea what on earth is going on?

 

[Mark]

Gas burns 'clean' and you dont get all the deposits etc that you do with wood and coal so I wouldnt expect that the corrosion thing would be an issue.

As to BG and open flues? Is it the case that the latest regs specify a fan driven flue?

Or is it that BG want to sell a new appliance rather than maintain an old one?

 

[Nemesis]

It's not old, it was installed a couple of years' ago!

 

[Mark]

It's not old, it was installed a couple of years' ago!

/sucks teeth/
Oh, they dont last like they used to.
Trouble getting parts see.
These are very good.
:lol:

 

[Penners]

do you need the same insulation type stuff around the liner for a gas fire?

I don't think gas produces the same combustion products as wood, coal or oil. But it would be a good idea to ask an expert. You gas supplier may be able to help you.