Cost to remove a chimney stack over £5k??

[questionsquestions1]

I have an unused chimney stack that appears to be letting in water. the chimney needs some simple ventilation, to avoid damp, but otherwise isn't needed.

A (highly recommended) roofer visited and recommend that rather than repairing the chimney, it would be cheaper to reduce it so the chimney stops in the attic, just below the roof, then add a vented tile above it in the roof.

I was very surprised when the quote came back at £5,460 (breakdown shown in attached image).

Is this reasonable or am I being ripped off? How much has anyone else paid for similar work (and if so how long ago was it)?

Also is this really a sensible plan? I find it hard to believe that there isn't a simpler and cheaper way to just make the chimney water tight while keeping some ventilation.

Thanks

Can’t comment on the actual chimney work but scaffolding is absolutely through the roof at the moment (no pun intended!).

I was always told to get 3 quotes and then go with the middle one. Having said that, that doesn't sound unreasonable for the work listed. I'm guessing they're highly recommended for a reason.

I don't think it is unreasonable.

I think it sounds okay. Scaffolding is costly but essential and whacks the cost up on any job working at height!

Pretty average cost for the work at the moment. You could try and get the scaffolding directly from a scaffolding company if your builder is subbing that out. But I doubt it would reduce it by much. Same for the skip. Although 350 is also fairly standard

I've never had chimney work done, but anything that involves scaffolding and going safely on a roof is expensive and you don't want someone who'll do it without.

I think if I'd have had to pluck a figure out of the air I'd have guessed at around £4/5k

We paid something similar a few years ago. The roofer who did it had previously fixed a leak in the same chimney and had come back twice to repair it free of charge after the adhesive melted in extreme heat of two different summers (repairs were properly done and held through winters but couldn't stand up to 40 degree heat)

I'd say definitely remove the chimney stack and that's a fair price to do it.

I don’t think it’s that bad a quote. Scaffolding is expensive and always has been. Fwiw, we had a stack repaired and made water tight and needed scaffolding 23 years ago. The entire cost was a little over £1,500 - bear in mind that was 23 years ago, your quote sounds very good !

we’ve just had a chimney sweep out, and he’s quoted 4/5k just to have a replacement chimney flue liner - no scaffolding needed. So again, I would think your quote is in the right area.

I work in insurance so see chimney costs all the time.
I'm sadly not shocked at the amount. If you do get a cheaper cost I would probably be abit concerned about the quality of work. This so costly average unfortunately:(

That sounds about right to me too. The way costs are rising I wouldn't hang about, it's not going to go down again.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Disappointing, but it appears it's a fair quote!

Are there any cheaper options I could try first? e.g. can I get someone to attach themselves with a harness somehow (so no scaffolding needed) and have a go at just patching it up? Or is scaffolding always needed?

It feels like it could be a simple job of finding one gap and filling it. If it's this expensive to do the fool-proof fix, maybe I should have one try at a cheap quick fix first?

@questionsquestions1 sometimes it is better to pay once and get the job done right first time. Otherwise it’s hinge start to get very costly very quickly, and when you add up costs spread over a couple of years, followed by a proper fix, then you end up wishing you had done it correctly in the first place.
it is only my opinion as a home owner - but things I don’t mess about with are electrics, gas, water and stuff like this I can’t see to keep an eye on or could cause a lot of further issues down the line.

can I ask - has this roofer been up on the roof to look at how bad the stack is or used a drone or camera to inspect it? Is it possible that this isn’t actually a simple repair of a loose bit of mortar, but needs an entire rebuild? Hence better to remove and cap?

@Alphabet1spaghetti2 Thanks. He just had the view from a window that I've shared as an attached photo in my original message. You can see damage at the top section, but not much else from there (as far as I can tell anyway)

But you've tried to fix it before and it hadn't permanently solved your problem.

I would just get on and fix it now. Otherwise you're going to be back here in the future with a higher quote and another lot of time wasted getting trades out to quote and do the work

Does your roof need replacing? If so could you get a quote for a new roof and chimney work combined? Our new roof including the chimney stack removed to attic floor height cost under £10k this year.

Then I’m guessing that he suspects that there is further damage under that rendering. Render can be used to hide a multitude of problems. His experience may be telling him that what looks like a small issue to a layman, is 9/10 times going to unearth a host of issues.
I would be inclined to ask him if this is a likely scenario, and be inclined to (depending on his response) to have to get it done sooner or later.

The thing with chimneys is that you cannot see them and keep an eye on them - when they fail and fall down, the cleanup and repair bill will be very likely to be a lot more. Even worse they can kill people when they do fall. As a now known issue, I would be concerned my house insurance would not be paying out, if I didn’t take a professionals opinion on what would be the best option going forward. (Must stress this is only my opinion- I’m not in insurance or the building trade).

Interesting TV aerial installation.

The whole thing looks a mess, so not really surprised by the price.

No-one will do it without scaffolding, no-one worth paying anyway. Would you?!

@User562377 I've never tried to fix it. I've never had anyone look at it or do anything to it. That's why I'm just asking the question of whether it's worth trying something simpler first.

Sorry, I completely misread that. It was someone else who patched up their chimney and the patch melted in the heat.

All the same, if you've got someone who can properly fix the problem once and for all for what turns out to be a reasonable price I'd go ahead if I could afford it. I've wasted too much time and money on patching things up in the past.

The only tradespeople that would be willing to do the job without scaffolding should be avoided because they'll be in direct opposition to standard working at height regulations brought into law in 2005.

It might be worth seeing if you can negotiate a lower cost for the scaffolding independently but I'd be surprised if you can - it seems to be a very in demand trade at the moment.

Overall, given the way prices have skyrocketed the last couple of years that seems like a reasonable quote. If they come highly recommended I'd get them booked in before the chimney becomes a liability and voids your house insurance.

Looking at that quote i dont think its a reasonable price at all……5 and a half grand !!!! If there is 2 of them and they really stretch it out its no more than days work ( weather permitting). Materials are £100 tops and im sure being a roofer they have most of them already. Concrete tiles are £2 max

scaffolding looks expensive too i was quoted a few weeks ago £500 to do one side of my house About 14 metres and up to roof height.

last skip i had, 8 yard was £296including the vat but was on the drive so no permit. Im not sure there’s enough brickwork on that chimney to fill a 8 yard either ?

if i was you i would get more quotes.

Its a straightforward job , ive done exactly the same on my own house before but i took the whole stack down to the ground .

If you don’t use the chimney then taking it down below the roof level is the best way to rule out any future leaks.

but like you say it could be a simple fix like a loose piece of lead or missing pointing ? If he didnt even get the ladders out and actually have a look then i think id go for more opinions.

That's very pricey. Hard to say on scaffold without more detail.
I'd say it's a day's work for two people, though with certain unknown variables, 2 days as a worst-case.
One skilled chap and Labourer say £600 inc vat a day for both.
Materials (felt, batten, fixings, vent tile, replacement tiles/slate) £100 max.
Definitely get other quotes!!
Roofer for 20-odd years.

You do realise that if there was a health and safety issue you would have questions to answer without scaffolding don't you? Where would the hoist be attached to? Doesn't look like a particularly robust structure.....

the chimney needs some simple ventilation, to avoid damp

And how much would this ^ work cost?