I'm getting an Jotul Oslo 500 soon and have no chimney yet. I had a professional installer come out today to give me a quote, they only do fireplaces and chimneys and seem to have a very good reputation and skillset. They want to use ICC's Excel chimey pipe, which is a brand I had not looked at yet (been looking at Duraplus and Selkirk mostly). The price they quoted for the Excel parts is really high (~$2850) compared to about $1500 for Duraplus and $1900 for Selkirk. He sung a nice song about how the Excel chimney pipe is the best available etc., but I knew to ask here for honest opinions. Is Excel pipe really worth the extra expense? I see it is rated to withstand longer chimney fires, but is that overkill?
Also does $500 for labor sound correct for thru the wall chimney installation? (I'm building my own hearth pad and putting the stove in place myself)
Also does $500 for labor sound correct for thru the wall chimney installation? (I'm building my own hearth pad and putting the stove in place myself)