Woodburner fitting – How much!!!

I am getting quoted about £1000 – £1100 for fitting a woodburner into an existing fireplace.

This seems totally ridiculous to me.

Can anyone recommend a fitter in West Kent/East Sussex area?

Anyone got any DIY advice?

I am thinking getting the register plate opening in the right spot may be tricky, also the roof access for fitting a cowl etc. bit of a nightmare.

does that include lining the chimney?

I think it does but it wasn’t a formal quote just a “typical” installation cost over the phone.

I thought the liners only cost about £150?

If it takes 2 blokes, 2 days…it sounds about right dunnit.

Joe – Does it take 2 blokes 2 days?

If it does then fair enough but I thought it would be more straight forward than that?

That’s cheap.

Thats about average, it is nuts.

Ive fitted 3 at my own places and mates. I was always quoted about a grand on top of actually buying a burner. It should take no longer than a day for 2 people. thi sdoesnt include any plumbing for back burners etc.

Basically, fit burner into position, get on roof/chimney and lower something like a hammer down the chimney on a length of rope. This can be tricky, itll get stuck etc. Once its through, attach to liner and pull through. This again will get stuck but its not that bad with 2 of you.

Once its through, attach to a 1 meter rigid pipe, seal to wood burner, fit heat plate above fire etc.
Ive never bothered filling the cavity, havnt seen a need personally. Works a treat, if your at all practical you can do it yourself 🙂

I save myself a fortune heating my house purely by free wood 😀

I spent 2k on morso squirrel 5kilowatt instalation and it was the best 2k i have ever spent. 2 blokes all day andi had prepared fireplace and slated all around. If you can source free/ very cheap wood easily pays off 2k in a 5 years i reckon.

Besides it cheers up the whole family for at least 4 months.

Oh and Ive always got liners online for a quarter of the price of local shops/specialist suppliers. I make sure they have the same BSI rating or whatever it is as well.

Ive just had a quote of £450 (inc parts) to fit an inset stove I already have into an existing 16″ open fireplace. This includes:
Knocking out the old fireback/throat and increasing the space behind the fireplace
Trimming a bit off the existing stone fire surround so the stove will fit
Knocking a hole above the fire surround in order to connect to the existing clay liner then making good afterwards.

Not sure I’m going down this route though and may just get the existing flu lined – got someone else giving me a price for that in about an hour, so I’ll post back.

I already have a standalone stove that I fitted myself (no liner) and it’s pretty easy. But because this one involves making room for an inset stove I’m happier leaving it to the pro’s.

Sharkbait – Where abouts in the UK are you? That seems quite reasonable.

Chester!

We are in a smokeless zone (Bristol) so had to have the stove installed and certified by a DEFRA-approved chap. Be careful this doesn’t apply to you.

We paid £850 for the installation (including flue liner). Took no longer than a day.

Anyone had one installed in a house without a fireplace? Options are straight up through upstairs bedroom cupboard and then through the roof with the flu or out through the wall and up the outside. Had read out and up was more expensive due to angle flu joints?

I guess the angle of the flue on an out and up option and the resultant ellipse might make it more difficult to cut the hole, fill and reseal it.

1100 quid fitted including stove, liner, bends, cowling an a pair of welders gloves. Fully hetas certified. I dealt in cash!
2 men 7 hrs tops plus plentiful of tea breaks supplied by the mrs. Stove retailed about £500 fwiw

Be careful going up the side of your house as you should really be using isulated twinwall flue so as not to melt a small child when theyre passing by. Can pick it up for about £50/metre for standard straights.

Anyone had one installed in a house without a fireplace? Options are straight up through upstairs bedroom cupboard and then through the roof with the flu or out through the wall and up the outside. Had read out and up was more expensive due to angle flu joints?

Just doing it, but you need to be aware that the stove needs to be (a minimum) of 300mm from any combustable surface and you’ll need to secure the flue every 2m (it can’t be supported by the stove). There are also roof regs to follow.

Stove is £1700, plus a large slate hearth, steel bench (for stove to sit on), 9m of flue plus labour and other bits and pieces – about £5500. And I’m supplying/installing the scaffold, otherwise they’d need to hire a cherry-picker (the ‘chimney’ is 3 storeys’ up).

If I were having an installation without a chimney I’d go up to ceiling level internally, then through the wall and up the outside of the house in twinwall rather then mess with the roof.
As an update on my installation price, the installer apparently couldn’t find our house even though I had said that a sat nav would take him to the wrong place. Nor could he find his phone so he went home instead. Luckily he found his phone just in time to answer my call telling him to stick his quote up his own flu.
If he can’t find his phone in the car in daylight then I don’t want him installing my stove. Tosser.

Shem – can you point me in the right direction of your online stove supplies please?

yes it can be done in a day and for a grand.. and others can take a week and stand you 3500.

each job/stove/flue is individual and to quote without seeing the job is wasting everyones time.

If I were having an installation without a chimney I’d go up to ceiling level internally, then through the wall and up the outside of the house in twinwall rather then mess with the roof.

Wall is 3 foot thick (stone wrapped around a rubble/cobble core)…, roof I’ll be far easier and no bends to screw up the flue/cleaning.

Anyone had one installed in a house without a fireplace?

We’re just about to have this done. We’re having a double sided stove installed against an internal wall. We’ll knock through to the room behind which is open to the rest of the house so we’re hoping to warm most of the downstairs. The flue will go straight up through the ceiling on one side of the wall, through an upstairs fitted cupboard and then up and out through the roof.

£2k – Morso Badger
2x blokes-1,5 day – could’ve been quicker but we had other trades in the house.

Ilkley stove centre – supply & fit.

Money & time well spent.

its on right now and its ace

We were quoted £7,500 to fit one in the kitchen which was straightforward but for the sloping roof! Same mob quoted £3,500 for standard fireplace fitting in front room. When I asked them to break down the costs, I was told “it’s difficult” and then they stopped communicating wth us.

Now halfway through an intensely long-drawn out and shambolic installation that was a grand less. I’m hoping it will be finished before summer next year.

Wall is 3 foot thick (stone wrapped around a rubble/cobble core

Ahhhh, that would be different then!

winston_do, can I just advise, its worth making sure you have a HETAS registered fitter, or at least someone who understands and respects building regs.

There are loads of so called fitters out there, who are no more than gold rush cowboys, jumping on the latest cash making fad!

Talking from personal experience here, sadly 😉

Thought I’d revive this as I finally had another stove fitter round this morning. I was pretty impressed – he said a lot of stuff that made sense regarding lining and interestingly said that 904 liner wasn’t worth going for as it’s not lasting as long as they say it will, and guarantees mean not a lot because you are limited in what you should burn (no treated anthracite as it can rot a liner in a couple of years, just wood and grade A coal).
Anyway prices where £450 for fitting the liner/stove (inc knocking out the existing firebacks and a couple of other bits.) and £620 for the liner and fittings (and some extra bits for the stove that i need) which is a bit steep I think but I think I can supply my own.

We paid about £1500 all told to remove an existing decorative fireplace, and install a 5kW Stovax burner we’d bought. It was a proper HETAS qualified company and they fitted double skinned liner, CO2 alarms etc and made good all the surround.

Seemed expensive at the time but it’s been worth while doing. We love it.

Today’s bit of keyhole surgery
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Untitled[/url] by LOVATSTOVES[/url], on Flickr[/img]

New liner is now in after some wrestling in the rain. Quite satisfying really.
150+ year old sandstone chimneys are unpredictable to say the least. You never quite know what’s in there till you start digging. Mostly it’s stones, birds nests and dust though. 🙂

We’ve been quoted fitting costs of about £1500 on top of the price of the stove. Anyone know a good firm near Rochdale/Ramsbottom? Has to be HETAS as we’re in a smoke-control zone.

Andy

Has to be HETAS as we’re in a smoke-control zone

Why? I’ve just posted this on the boiler thread, but these ‘competent persons’ schemes are just there to self-certify that you’ve followed building regs. It’s perfectly possible to fit it yourself, or have a builder fit it, and get it certified by submitting a building notice and having it inspected by the council.

Smoke control zone will affect your choice of burner, but I can’t for the life of me understand why it would compel you to use HETAS.

We did what I’ve just described. We had quotes of 1200 for just fitting and comissioning, and frankly that was taking the piss in a captive and misled market. Some building control depts will imply or even tell you to use HETAS because they can’t be arsed, but it’s not a requirement, just a convenient and expensive way to do it.

These are the relevant regs if using an existing chimney.

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/AD_J_wm.pdf

They really aren’t that complicated. The council will want to see the flue smoke tested to check for draw and leakage, and see there is adequate hearth thickness and clearance either side of the appliance.

If the burner is over 5kw, then there are some additional things you’ll need in terms of ventilation.

I bought 10m of 316 flue liner + all the fittings from a place online for about £250.. Think the place was called fluestore. Only thing I had to get seperately was the register plate. That cost £50 made to measure (also online) and was very good quality galvanised with a built in collar & trapdoor.

Fitted it myself in a day but read (and complied with) all the building regs. Didnt bother getting the jobsworth from the council to sign it off. Few plumbers in the family so I’ll wait until one of them gets their HETAS.

Hardest bit was getting the pipe round the bends in the chimney as 10m weighs quite a bit and balancing on the chimney stack, at night, in a gale and with no scaffolding was a little unnerving to say the least.

Sounds very reasonable tbh doesn’t sound like your getting shafted

Also, should only be a day job at the most if they 2 days get someone else in

Banks – was that directed at me? They said it’s almost always a one-day fit.

If anyone’s reading this and in need of some bits – I’ve got a couple of sections of 5″ flue and a 90 degree bend that we’ve ended up not using. I’d be happy to sell for not a lot…

simonbowns@me.com

It was about £1200 for the knocking out, making good, slate hearth, flue liner, cowel, registar plate and connector pipes.

The making good wasn’t up to my standard, so I’m finishing that bit now. I should be painting not on here. I’ll post the final pictures up on my other install thread as soon as I’m finished.

We’ve been quoted fitting costs of about £1500 on top of the price of the stove. Anyone know a good firm near Rochdale/Ramsbottom? Has to be HETAS as we’re in a smoke-control zone.

If they are still trading, DO NOT use Ramsbottom Stoves. Just Do Not. PM me if you want to know why.

We recommend Ian at Acorn Chimneys in Burnley but he’s good so he is always booked up at least 6 months in advance.

Just an update – Our disaster fitting saga continues. I think we’re on visit 8 now….! Top tip – if you turn up to fit the slate hearth, always make sure that you have it with you……aaaaargggghh!!

We were however most worried about the flue liner, as our roof is hanging on by its fingernails to say the least, and so we insisted on using our own chap who is aware of how bad it is and has been up before. He came on Saturday bang on time and had the liner down in minutes, all done. If only the rest of it had gone that well, and it’s bizarre that the bit I was most worried about turned out to be the easiest. I still don’t think it’ll be done by Summer 2013, although the stove is now plonked in the middle of the front room carpet. God knows what it’ll be like when done.

Tabago yes, if your manchester based – feel free to pm me for details.

Had 3 fitted now by the same folks, always started work at 8 and gone by 1, 2:00. It really shouldn’t be a two day job unless you have a house made of cheese