Bought a house last year and the owner did an install of the log burner himself….

Only 2m of flue liner, the oak mantel is only 4″ away from the stove pipe, not signed off by building regs…. just shoddy all around. Does anyone know what it might cost for someone qualified (HETAS) to take out the old liner, fit a new 10m? flue liner and also remove the oak mantel and re-fix it the proper distance away from the stove pipe and re plaster etc…? I’m guessing around the £1000 mark? Just what we need before Christmas!

I would get a normal builder to sort out the mantel, using Part J of building regs as a reference for clearances.

TBH what you’re suggesting wouldn’t work out much cheaper than basically installing from scratch – all the same elements are there. I think a grand is possibly a bit optimistic even for the non-constructional parts of it.

Did the burner pre-date building regs, or did your conveyancing solicitor not think to ask for building control docs/HETAS compliance certification at the time?

whats between the oak lintel and the stove pipe ?

Ours is getting fitted on Monday – £2250 all in including a £900 stove (that’s for all the knocking out, making good, liner, plates etc etc etc.

So I would suggest about £600-£800 (as you could buy the liner yourself).

But I wouldn’t worry about having to sink the money before Christmas as you will have no hope of getting someone in to do that work in the next few weeks…

Flue down chimney work cost me £400, but included pointing my side of the chimney and him knocking out my fireplace (was simple). Building materials for that might have been another £85 in chimney pot, cowl, sand, cement. I think the cowl alone was about £36. 3 storey house so, I bought 12m of 6″ 316 flexi flue (only intend to burn wood so was told 316 would be fine), nose cone, top plate and clamp which came to about £250 from flexifluedirect.
For reference, same builder knocked out an old lintel in my kitchen and put a new one in higher up, cost me £375, but didn’t include any plastering (insurance co are doing that), so for plastering you might be looking at another £300.
Fitting the stove, someone else will have more idea as I’m not there yet. I’m budgeting £500 labour + £150 for pipe, adapter, clamp, register plate.

So around £2000 would be my guesstimate.

I’d take professional advice about the oak lintel, 4″ from stove pipe might be acceptable.

Thanks for the advice. The existing log burner was put in by the previous owner. He is now disputing that he did any work on it other than putting in the log burner. He didn’t get it signed off by building regs and we went for the basic survey so it didn’t get picked up.

The previous owner didn’t declare any building work on the solicitors ‘buyers’ form though so hopefully we have a chance in the small claims court…. I feel another thread coming on.

A bit of me wonders if my solicitors should do more to help. They offered some ‘free’ advice but that has quickly dried up and they now want £250 plus VAT to even talk to me any more! I know they have a living to make too but I think handing it myself might be the way forward.

Even putting the new log burner in puts him in breach of regs, whatever the state of the existing flue.

TBH if he did’t declare the works on the form, I can’t see how your solicitor can be expected to do more than they have already. It’s a separate action as far as they are concerned.

Might be worth a Small Claims punt, or at least using that as leverage to extract some cash from your seller.

As above, the flue might actually be sufficient, although it’s not ideal. Get HETAS in to look at it and smoke test the flue/chimney combination. I’d be probably dropping in a new flue liner TBH, as one bodge normally means there are plenty more just out of sight.

We have been quoted £1100 for 10m of 904 liner,associated gubbins, connecting up our existing woodburner and certificating the install. Bear in mind that we are in the south east where all trades can charge premium rates.

Small claims court? Am I missing something? You got a free ‘undeclared’ wood burning stove that needs a little work and you want to take money off the vendor? If he’d have took the stove with him you’d have nowt but a hole and no claim. Weird attitude imo. You have three choices as I see it; get it reinstalled properly, either by a HETAS bod or DIY with building control sign off, rip it out and have a nice gas fire (it’s on and offable, what’s not to like) or use as is with a CO detector for reassurance. Might not sound ideal but it obviously worked for the previous occupant. It’s your life.