Wood stove installation estimate?

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  • Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
Status
Not open for further replies.

RandyG

Member
Hearth Supporter
Dec 22, 2010
122
Central Fla
I have just purchased a wood stock fireveiw and currently I am building my hearth. I was planning on installing the stove myself but decided to get an estimate on installing it. Had a local chimney sweep come out and gave me a price of 1100.00. I have a through ceiling and attic up through the roof install on an outside wall. I have all the piping and chimney package from the company. My question is does that sound reasonable, I was expecting a little less. I live in Florida so I really don't have of installers down here, thanks for your input.
 
sounds pretty high to me, really high.
i was told 35 dollars an hour for my chimney install, thats if i give the guy a hand. if he brings a helper it would be 50 an hour.
and was told it shouldnt take any more than 6 hours. so 210 bucks if i help the guy out. which i will do.

or i have a guy at work that will do it for 15 bucks an hour, he is a very good carpenter and dont think he would have much of a problem with cutting acouple holes.

i would make some more phone calls.
 
That's exactly what the going rate is here in SW Ohio. I went to 4 stove shops and they all charged $1100.00 for installation, but that included upto 20' of insulated SS liner also.
 
Thanks guys, thats what I thought, I will check with some local carpenters but I was just wondering about my insurance, how much if any would it save me by having a certified chimney sweep install vs not? They told me it would help on my insurance if I had a certification.Thanks again!
 
you'd have to ask your insurance company but where i live it wouldnt make a differnce.
you dont have to have a licence or certification to install a chimney.
if it was masonary ... the mason wouldnt have to be certified, just needs to know haw to lay brick and some pipe.

and with a double walled pipe threw a cieling and roof the biggest thing i see is cutting the holes. putting pipt together is easy. and have all your clearances of coarse
 
[quote author="Lynch" date="1294291175"]sounds pretty high to me, really high.
i was told 35 dollars an hour for my chimney install, thats if i give the guy a hand. if he brings a helper it would be 50 an hour.
and was told it shouldnt take any more than 6 hours. so 210 bucks if i help the guy out. which i will do.

or i have a guy at work that will do it for 15 bucks an hour, he is a very good carpenter and dont think he would have much of a problem with cutting acouple holes.

i would make some more phone calls
If you found someone for $35 an hour they are probably not licenced,bonded and insured.I have friends that are self employed that have to make $50 to $60 an hour to just to make ends meet and turn a little profit.
 
Great, I would happily pay 50-60 per hr to have it done, that still would be alot less than 1100.00. But the way its looking I will probably do it myself like I had planned. Woodstock is pretty good do it yourself company anyway.
 
When I called to get a few quotes they were all between $400 and $600 for labor. That would be getting the insert into the fireplace and running the liner. It cost me around $100 to hire a couple movers to lift it into the fireplace and I did the liner.
 
RandyG said:
I have just purchased a wood stock fireveiw and currently I am building my hearth. I was planning on installing the stove myself but decided to get an estimate on installing it. Had a local chimney sweep come out and gave me a price of 1100.00. I have a through ceiling and attic up through the roof install on an outside wall.I have all the piping and chimney package from the company. My question is does that sound reasonable, I was expecting a little less. I live in Florida so I really don't have of installers down here, thanks for your input.


Sounds a little high, but not much. This isn't a simple "lining the chimney" install. With materials my simpler installs ran me $1500-2000.
 
that seems a little high. Id say 10 man hrs to do the job providing all the stuff is there, and no curve balls tossed. $35 an hr is cheap, thats what the auto workers get for leaning on a broom. Id say $700 range
 
RandyG said:
Great, I would happily pay 50-60 per hr to have it done, that still would be alot less than 1100.00. But the way its looking I will probably do it myself like I had planned. Woodstock is pretty good do it yourself company anyway.
Nothing more satisfying than doing it your self.Do some research,draw up some plans,purchase your supplies and take your time.Don't be afraid to ask questions,lots of help here.
 
Hanko said:
that seems a little high. Is say 10 man hrs to do the job providing all the stuff is there, and no curve balls tossed. $35 an hr is cheap, thats what the auto workers get for leaning on a broom. Id say $700 range

In the auto industry for almost 20 years. Never had a chance to lean on a broom. The line was always moving too fast for broom leaning when I did assembly.
When doing machining, it was always about how many parts you could make in a day, not how many brooms you could lean on.
Maybe I worked in the wrong plants.....
Just my personal experience.
 
You guys are right, its probably best if I do it myself. I have a few challenges though, I have an offset of 16inches off to the right side of the stove to get away from my peak. Woodstock sent me two 45's to get this done. I'm just not sure how in what order the stove pipe go together. I guess once I get the stove in place
start trying to figure that out and the only other thing thats bothering me , besides getting the 500pound stove in the house is punching a hole in my roof!!! Just a little intimidating, I'm a telephone man, not a roofer and I just don't want any leaks!! I guess I'm stressing a bit about it, thanks everyone.
 
If you do it yourself, check with your insurance company and make sure what they need for documents. I would pull a permit and have the install inspected at least. Know that's a hassle, but if something happens badly, you can prove you complied with the law. You are lucky you are in Florida, it's 17* right now and headed to single digits. Wouldn't what to be outside right now working.
 
Randy, You are probably capable of doing MOST of the work yourself following JeffT's recommendation. I want to offer a suggestion but first I and others need an answer to this question: Is your house roof constructed of manufactured trusses or a main ridge beam with rafters? John_M
 
We're getting a direct vent gas insert installed into our existing masonry fireplace and installation is $250. One story house.
 
My house trusses are manufactured.
 
Randy,dealing with the shingles is usually a peace of cake if the roof is in good shape and the pitch is not to steep.Lets start from the stove,you need to locate where center-line of your flue,with offsets,is going to approximately penetrate your ceiling.You now need to locate the ceiling joist or trusses as mentioned earlier in the thread to check for clearance to combustibles and if any structural changes will have to be made.Joist are usually 16'' o.c. trusses 24'' o.c.
Hopefully you are dealing with trusses for ease of installation(more room). Find center of penetration between joist or truss and drive a nail.Go to Attic and plum bob from nail to roof sheathing and mark with X.You now have center-line of flue determined.
Move back to the stove and pipe everything possible up through the ceiling and save the roof penetration for last.Check the weather and make sure for a first timer that you have a full day to cut the roof penetration and relay the shingles.
Drive a nail up through the X in the sheathing.Go up on the roof and locate the nail.You now need to remove the shingles in this area.Not knowing what you have,you usually need to remove 3-4 rows above and 2 rows below the nail.For ease of removal you will need a flat bar(Stanley wonder bar).Start below the nail and gently slide the flat bar in and out to loosen the tabs of the shingles working side to side to find the edge of each shingle You may have to go 3' or more to each side of the nail to loosen the tabs on each shingle that needs to be removed.Work your way up the roof just loosening the tabs until you are 4 rows above the nail.
To remove shingles start at the upper tabs.Lift the loose tab gently and you should see the roofing nails.Just lift until you feel resistance lean down and look under,you do not want to break a tab.Take the flat bar and remove the roofing nails working your way down the roof.It will get easier as you work your way down.the upper shingle with the loose tab will stay. There should be 7-8 nails in each shingle(the nail under the tab and the nail under the tab from the shingle above it).You may have to remove more or less shingles depending on application.
Cut hole and install flue.For boot install look at other roof penetrations for pointers.Relay the shingles until you have one tab below your flue.Install flashing then cut shingles leaving 1/2'' gap around flashing rise.reinstall the rest of the shingles.Using roof cement(I like the tubes for a caulk gun)run a small bead to reseal tabs down.I hope I didn't make it sound more complicated than it is.

I left-out all flue hardware and connection.There are people far more qualified than I to coach on that
 
Wow,just re-read my post.I know I had like 5 paragraphs in there.
 
Randy, Let me add one more personal preference to the fine detail Jeff has provided. Because you have trusses, and assuming your stove will be centered in the room directly under the ridge of the roof, I would recommend you run the chimney up through the center of the ridge of the roof. This will add a little more work to the project but is very "do-able". You or a person who knows just a little about construction and roofing will have to build a chase around the chimney where it penetrates the roof. Properly constructed, the chase will prevent any form of water penetration. The chase must also meet the 2" clearance requirements for the chimney.

Once the chase is constructed you should wrap the whole thing in "Ice Shield" to prevent water penetration. Finish the chase with siding which matches your house. Then take measurements of the chase so you can have a custom stainless steel chase cap made to finish the project. Cover the open chase with a piece of plywood and waterproof plastic or other material until the cap is ready to install.

Providing more details at this point would confuse rather than clarify your thinking.

According to information in the Simpson stovepipe and chimney manual, a STRAIGHT run of pipe from the stove up through the roof will provide better draft and certainly simplify cleaning the chimney compared to a stovepipe and chimney with bends. On that same page in the Simpson manual it states that 15 deg. and 30 deg. elbows are permitted. However, 45 deg. elbows are not approved for use in the USA.

My chase and chimney, as described above, have been subjected to heavy downpours of rain with 50 mph winds and not one drop of water has penetrated the chase/chimney area. My stove has never had a problem with chimney draft issues. The extra work and a few extra dollars spent when the stove was installed two years ago will pay off in stove efficiency and good looks for years to come. Just my thoughts: John_M :)
 
JeffT, those are great details on the roof penetration. I'm about to do my own install here. I have old-fashioned rafters instead of manufactured roof trusses. What would be the difference in the install?
 
Randy must have been typing and posted the info about trusses while I was typing.Excellent advice about framing a chimney right on the ridge.Definitely would be my choice to go straight up and definitely easier to re-work shingles and flash a water tight seal.
 
OrpingtonManor said:
JeffT, those are great details on the roof penetration. I'm about to do my own install here. I have old-fashioned rafters instead of manufactured roof trusses. What would be the difference in the install?
As mentioned earlier the clearances will be tighter.Randy will have 22 1/2'' between trusses you will have(if 16'' on center)14 1/2'' between joists.You can shrink that down another 1 1/2'' for the rafter in that space(rafters and joists usually sit side by side on the bearing surface).
 
Jeff and John, I agree with both of you on going strait up but when I told wood stock about my setup, directly under ridge, they told me they didn't have an application for that type of install and it would be fine just going a little off pitch. Thus they have sold me a chimney package designed with the offset. I am really confused now, would it be ok to go ahead and use my current piping setup? Or, should I pursue sending back the offsets and ridge cap and getting my package reworked to go strait up? I've got a little time before I get to that point, hearth going alot slower than I anticipated. Thanks again for all your help.
 
Think you misunderstood,were talking framing a traditional chimney on your ridge out of wood or steel studs and trimming to match your house.

You could then take your finished dimension's to a sheet-metal shop to have a cap fabricated.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.