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Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Property/DIY

3500 quoted to install woodburning stove - reasonable?

32 replies

Igglybuff · 05/12/2009 16:57

We're in a first floor flat and want a woodburning stove installed. We've been quoted 3500 after a survey, price includes the stove, hearth, ripping out old gas fire, flue liner, a metal "box" which sits in the old fireplace - basically everything... I had about 2k in mind so was a bit shocked (I'm SE London/Bromley area). Apparently the biggest cost is the flue liner.

can anyone tell me if this reasonable. We're going to get other quotes but your help would be appreciated!

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AMumInScotland · 05/12/2009 17:04

We paid about £4000 (6 years ago) for a stove, concrete & tiled hearth, and putting in a chimney - 70s built house, so there was no fireplace or chimney there at all. So, I'm not too surprised at £3500.

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GrendelsMum · 05/12/2009 17:32

Well, it depends a lot on what stove you're getting - stoves vary wildly in price, from hundreds to thousands, so we can't tell how much you're being charged for fitting from what you've said.

We paid about £1500 for a stove and about £200 to our local sweep for fitting - but this was to go into a fireplace and chimney in good condition which didn't need re-lining. The stove (a Clearview 8kw) is burning beautifully as I type.

You can buy flue liners online, and find a local sweep to fit, which might be cheaper.

Do you know what the metal box is for?

However, on the practicalities - if you're in a first floor flat, where on earth are you going to put your wood pile? Stoves do get through a lot of wood in an evening if you're actually using them to heat a room, and it all has to be kept somewhere. If you're planning to buy it a bag at a time from a petrol station, you're going to be spending a lot of money on wood. If you're buying lots of wood at once and storing it outside, it does make rather a mess when you carry it through the house - no problem if you are downstairs with hard floors, but I can imagine it would be awkward in a flat.

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Igglybuff · 05/12/2009 17:33

Thanks AMum. DH has his heart set on one but balked at the cost. However if it's about right we'll go for it.

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ABetaDad · 05/12/2009 17:42

I have a local shop that sells wood burning stoves. Here is the link to their Wood burning Stoves section.

It does not include fitting but looks like you could get a good one £400 - £700.

I know the shop and they are excellent.

TBH though I do agree with GrendelsMum. My parents have two of them but they have an Aga as backup and an elecric immersion heater and an oil fired boiler. OK for heating rooms in a big old farm house but not very controllable, not instant heat and not terribly practical for a flat in my view.

Go with a wall mounted gas condensing boiler and radiators. Gas is going down in price and it is clean simple and effficient.

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sarah293 · 05/12/2009 17:44

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Jajas · 05/12/2009 17:49

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FiveGoMadInDorset · 05/12/2009 17:58

Why on earth do you want a wood burning stove in a flat? Sorry we live in a draughty old farmhouse which thy are great but you will roast in a flat unles you get a very low KW one.

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Igglybuff · 05/12/2009 18:07

Loads of responses! Sorry my internet seems to have slowed down so my previous response has disappeared!

We were going for a low KW 4-5 in our living room. It's a maisonette really - an old victorian conversion which originally was a 6/7 bedroom detached house, now split into two large flats 3 bedroom flats. Our flat is spread over three floors so very big - about the size of a semi. It's pretty drafty and cold in winter! We could have open fires instead - our downstairs neighbours have one in their living room. We also have one in our bedroom upstairs, but not used.

In terms of logs, we've got a very large garden (70ft) for storing wood and we have an outdoor "balcony" immediately outside our kitchen to put logs. We already have about 3 trees worth of wood as we cut down trees in our garden a couple of years ago.

The stove itself is 700 plus VAT so not very big. Apparently the metal box is to line the fireplace grendelsmum - although I'm not entirely convinced.

My DH has his heart set on a stove!

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Lauriefairyonthetreeeatscake · 05/12/2009 18:12

Yep, reasonable price - I have just this week paid £6400 for a 12kw stove plus new tank and 3 new radiators - it will heat all the radiators and hot water once I get the hang of it. It took four days and was a lot of mess.

You need a larger stove if you want it to heat the whole maisonette - your place sounds bigger than mine (titchy detached cottage).

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FiveGoMadInDorset · 05/12/2009 18:14

OK Makes sense now, more of a house type flat rather than a flat flat.

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Igglybuff · 05/12/2009 18:15

ABetaDad had a quick look at the site, thanks. Price looks about what we would pay for the one we want. I think most of the cost is labour etc - we've asked one company to do the lot, but I wonder if it's cheaper to break up the job a bit.

Laurie we don't want to heat the whole maisonette - we think this stove will be enough for the living room and bedrooms upstairs (as radiators are pretty ineffective up there!)

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Igglybuff · 05/12/2009 18:17

Yep Five, more of a house! The company didn't seem to think it was strange to have a stove so should be okay.

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FiveGoMadInDorset · 05/12/2009 18:21

The only thing I can think a metal box would be for is to reflect the heat
back into the room so the wall doesn't absorb it.

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Igglybuff · 05/12/2009 18:22

Five, ah ok. I'll get DH to ask what the other options are because the box is made to measure, so would cost a fair bit I think.

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shallishanti · 05/12/2009 18:29

Grendelsmum, how did you know your chimmney didn't need lining?
I got the impression they always did, but then someone told me it's just a way to get a few more £1000 off you....and then a friend said they actually make the stove less efficient not more.
we have an open fireplace which works fine (ie draws and everything) does that indicate not needing a liner?

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FiveGoMadInDorset · 05/12/2009 18:30

DH seems to think that it is reflective as well, but also says depends on the bricks behind it. He also says it could be aesthetic reasons, we have just put slate behind our pot bellied stove in our kitchen.

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FiveGoMadInDorset · 05/12/2009 18:30

And chimneys have to be lined.

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upahill · 05/12/2009 18:33

We had ours put in this summer. It cost £1,500.
This was for the chimney sweep and smoke test, wood burner, fireplace opened up, liner, and sandstone mantle and pillars and stone hearth. It was HETAS approved contractor which is the equivalant of Cogi for gas contractors. The contractors picked up the burner for us to make things easier.

The flue liner is one of the biggest expenses but it makes things more efficent.

We live in a 1930's semi detached.
Hope this helps.

I am thrilled to bits with it and looking at burning now!!!

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FiveGoMadInDorset · 05/12/2009 18:35

Because unless you have a hole to clean with then it is very difficult to clean your chimney, open fires do not need a flue.

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Igglybuff · 05/12/2009 18:41

shalli - on another occasion, someone said we wouldn't need a liner. However the company says we do. DH wants the liner.

Five - the box is black so not reflective (well the one shown to us in a shop) and is "aesthetically pleasing". I will def ask about other options.

Thanks upahill! DH has visions of watching it burn (a highlight of our holidays to the Lakes is staying somewhere with a stove )

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upahill · 05/12/2009 18:46

When it came to the liner our contractor said it was completely optional if we wanted one or not. It cost an extra £400.00 (ie without the liner the job from start to finish would have been £1,100. However with the liner it would make things more efficient. There was no pressure and we decided in the scheme of things £400 wasn't that much.
It took 3 days I think to install ( I was away working this summer when it was being done)

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Igglybuff · 05/12/2009 18:50

upahill Can I ask whereabouts you live?

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upahill · 05/12/2009 18:54

Sure! East Lancashire.

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Igglybuff · 05/12/2009 18:56

Thanks! I'm sure there's a London premium so good to know

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GrendelsMum · 05/12/2009 19:01

Shallishanti - You asked how we knew whether the chimney needed lining or not. The sweep and stove-fitter who fitted our stove has been sweeping the chimneys here for the last forty years or so, and he seemed personally offended on behalf of the chimney when we suggested that it needed lining. He said that it was in very good nick and didn't need a liner, so we took his advice.

Igglybuff - you said that you thought the stove would heat up the living room and the rooms upstairs. I'm dubious about whether it would heat the upstairs too - we have an 8kw and it heats the living room somewhat, but does not get anywhere near heating the bedrooms.

If I had £2000 to spend on making my house toasty, I'd do what we did, which was to spend approx £1200 on a Honeywell house heat control system to control the heat of every individual radiator at all times of the day and night. It really is amazing - the system knows what room ought to be what temperature at what time on what day, and makes it be that temperature. It is honestly fabulous. Our stoves are nice (and we currently have no CH due to building works) but each only does an individual room, whereas the Honeywell system cost less and runs the wole house.