Installation quote

[fran35]

Hey guys,
Need some expertise here. I just got a quote for a wood stove install in my finshed basement. The install is fairly simple, straight shot through concrete walls with 26 foot of stainless class A chimney. I am buying the Englander 30 NC and the chimney sweeping company is doing the install-they quoted me at 2942.00 for the parts, labor and shipping of materials. That factors 8 hours labor for the install and the materials cost 2142. I am thinking that this sounds outrageously high and am wondering if you guys agree. At this point I am considering doing it myself and having the professionals inspect it. Thoughts? Any advice on where to buy the materials a little cheaper that $2142?

 

[Fsappo]

If I was installing a stove someone didnt buy from me, I would charge exactly the same labor for that type of install. $800 ($700 if they were a stove customer)
If I quoted a 26' outside chimney at 10% off (which I would do again for a non stove customer. Stove customer would get 20-25% off depending on the time of the year) I come up with about $2000 in mats including pipe right down to the stove.

So, in my opinion, this price would be typical to what I would charge in Central NY.

Just go online or Home Depot if you want to save money and install it yourself. I doubt very highly that there are decent chimney sweeps hard up enough to install a chimney purchased elsewhere. You find someone desperate enough to do so and it should be a warning signal

 

[fran35]

Thanks, kind of what I thought. The guys were very straight up and seemed honest with me. I would love to pay a professional to do it, but I just do not have that money right now.

 

[cmonSTART]

It's pretty close to what I would charge too. I just quoted and confirmed a job very close to that. It was a hair cheaper, but they bought a stove from me.

Enjoy the 30NC!

 

[fran35]

In all honesty guys, if an install costs 2140 in parts from the vendor, how much will it cost me to buy it from a DIY place(26 foot of chimney)? The installer told me I could buy it through them if I wanted and do the install myself.

 

[ddddddden]

DIY. Home Depot here doesn't sell pipe, but Lowe's has 3-ft sections of SuperVent stainless class A pipe for ~ $68. Someone tried to p00 p00 it in a recent thread for not being the best, but, if you do a search on "SuperVent ," you will see that there are many happy users on this forum. It's made by Selkirk, a well established reputable mfr. The only issue I see with SuperVent is that you will probably have to special order pieces like elbows, and the folks @ Lowe's may not be much help. One person posted that he called Selkirk directly and ordered the parts for delivery to Lowe's. Good luck!

 

[Fsappo]

You may be able to pick up a chimney system for 30-40% less than a retail shop. Try one of the online whorehouses that are slowly putting us out of business.

 

[FordMastertech]

You may be able to pick up a chimney system for 30-40% less than a retail shop. Try one of the online whorehouses that are slowly putting us out of business.

Sad but true.

 

[Fsappo]

Yup, they really arent putting the good dealers out of business. That's all part of the internet age.

 

[ddddddden]

I join you gentlemen in lamenting the passing of an era when most of us could afford to pay the 100% markup of the typical business model, because we were able to charge similarly for our services. Let the austerity measures begin, for all, both buyer and seller. . .except the bankers. Bonuses for the bankers

 

[Fsappo]

The problem is the cost of running a brick and mortar business isnt going down. Pretty soon its just gonna be a bunch of websites and warehouses. What wont go away is the service business. Cant have some guy in Bangladesh install your wood stove or clean your chimney via IM...that is, until the robots. Fear the robots.

 

[cmonSTART]

Your creosote is terminated.

 

[DanCorcoran]

I wonder what it was like, back in the long-ago days, when Sears and Montgomery Ward first started publishing catalogs and selling mailorder. I wonder if local merchants (brick and mortar stores) weren't feeling a lot of the same angst that today's merchants feel. No doubt some were put out of business, but others survived and thrived. I'll bet it had something to do with customer service, after-sales service, repairs, etc. Just food for thought.

 

[humpin iron]

Price is about inline with what we would charge
Hey Den, please forward where I can get chimney pipe that has a 100% markup, been doin this 32 years ain't made that kinda mark up yet.

 

[soupy1957]

That's not a bad price, compared to us.........we spent something like $5K for our installation, when it was all said and done. I suppose that depends on the price of the stove, (I think we spend something like $2.5K" on our stove).

The only thing about YOUR installation that bothers me, is a "basement" install. Goes against my better judgment.

-Soupy1957

 

[wyosioux]

The only thing about YOUR installation that bothers me, is a "basement" install. Goes against my better judgment.

Soup--I am interested in why you think this is not a good idea?? I'm afraid your "better judgment" might indeed be worst. About a week ago, I awoke to -16 degrees outside. That is actual temp. and not wind chill. My stove is installed just as this guy described but only 20' of class A. After 8 hrs. of overnight burn it was 66 deg. in the basement, and 64 upstairs. I'll take that any day! Tell me what I can do to make this better, please.

 

[RedGuy]

It cost me significantly less then that to install my wood stove, however I had a masonary chimney to hold a liner. It cost me about $1,300 for the stove, insulation, and 20ft ss liner kit. I installed it myself, the quote I got to install the stove was $1,300 just for labor. I couldn't spend that for something I KNEW I could do my self.

 

[Hanko]

The only thing about YOUR installation that bothers me, is a "basement" install. Goes against my better judgment.

Soup--I am interested in why you think this is not a good idea?? I'm afraid your "better judgment" might indeed be worst. About a week ago, I awoke to -16 degrees outside. That is actual temp. and not wind chill. My stove is installed just as this guy described but only 20' of class A. After 8 hrs. of overnight burn it was 66 deg. in the basement, and 64 upstairs. I'll take that any day! Tell me what I can do to make this better, please.

Id like to hear what he has to say about that myself.

 

[Install fire 1]

Basement installs are much more expensive due to the obvious increaase in materials which puts labour up as well.

Very rare do i have any troubles with a stove installation in a basement. Some inserts are another story.

With the height, they typically have great draft. Good hot kindling fire with a good fire starter that burns for 15 plus minutes and off to the races.

I test fire every wood install, even with everything against the first fire, cold, moisture and oils still end up with a nice fire before I leave.

 

[soupy1957]

The only thing about YOUR installation that bothers me, is a "basement" install. Goes against my better judgment.

Soup--I am interested in why you think this is not a good idea?? I'm afraid your "better judgment" might indeed be worst. About a week ago, I awoke to -16 degrees outside. That is actual temp. and not wind chill. My stove is installed just as this guy described but only 20' of class A. After 8 hrs. of overnight burn it was 66 deg. in the basement, and 64 upstairs. I'll take that any day! Tell me what I can do to make this better, please.

When I was researching the wood stove install and burning of wood some years ago, and then exploring the topic in here, it was repeated in many locations that the wood stove is better placed on the floor where the family spends most of its time.

Since the Living Room, Dining Room and Kitchen (other than the bedrooms, which are "usually" located above the afore mentioned rooms), it seemed most common to see installs on the level above the basement (presuming a split level or raised ranch home), simply because the heat struggles to get up from the basement installs, and is not effectively getting the heat up to the bedrooms.

I'm sure that, and have read some, there are those who have done basement installs and are able to migrate their heat all the way up to the top floor, but the stove is working overtime to do it.

-Soupy1957

 

[Pagey]

The only thing about YOUR installation that bothers me, is a "basement" install. Goes against my better judgment.

Soup--I am interested in why you think this is not a good idea?? I'm afraid your "better judgment" might indeed be worst. About a week ago, I awoke to -16 degrees outside. That is actual temp. and not wind chill. My stove is installed just as this guy described but only 20' of class A. After 8 hrs. of overnight burn it was 66 deg. in the basement, and 64 upstairs. I'll take that any day! Tell me what I can do to make this better, please.

The "problem" with most basement installs is the fact that they're done in unfinished, uninsulated basements. Then people wonder why the stove doesn't "work right" and where all the heat is going. This is not to say that a basement install can't work - they can and they do. However, most people don't realize how many BTUs a concrete wall will bleed in a day. For those with finished, insulated basements and the proper floor plan, a basement install can work.

See the following for relevant figures: http://www.woodstove.com/pages/guidepdfs/BasementInstall.pdf

 

[Dakotas Dad]

The only thing about YOUR installation that bothers me, is a "basement" install. Goes against my better judgment.

Soup--I am interested in why you think this is not a good idea?? I'm afraid your "better judgment" might indeed be worst. About a week ago, I awoke to -16 degrees outside. That is actual temp. and not wind chill. My stove is installed just as this guy described but only 20' of class A. After 8 hrs. of overnight burn it was 66 deg. in the basement, and 64 upstairs. I'll take that any day! Tell me what I can do to make this better, please.

The "problem" with most basement installs is the fact that they're done in unfinished, uninsulated basements. Then people wonder why the stove doesn't "work right" and where all the heat is going. This is not to say that a basement install can't work - they can and they do. However, most people don't realize how many BTUs a concrete wall will bleed in a day. For those with finished, insulated basements and the proper floor plan, a basement install can work.

See the following for relevant figures: http://www.woodstove.com/pages/guidepdfs/BasementInstall.pdf

Friday I had an energy audit done on my home by the local electrical co-op. I knew I needed to insulate my basement walls and needed more insulation in the attic.. They do the audit, for free, then give you credits for fixing what was wrong.. free money since I knew these things already and intended to do them anyways..lol.

The guy guy who did the audit said my basement walls lose 1.8 btu's per hour per SQFT of WALL. I didn't measure just to see how high that number is, but its 1100 sgft of basement.. got to be a big number. If I had my stove down there I would be tearing through the wood for sure.

That's a great PDF there!

 

[fran35]

My basement is finished and the my biggest wide open living space and the staircase is wide open on both sides and no door at the top of the steps. I figure with the use of ceiling fans and the natural rise of heat I will be able to feel some relief for my $650 monthly LP heat bill(don't even ask). I realize that I will never eliminate the bill, but if I can cut it down markedly I will pay for the stove(wood is abundant here and free) and install.

One final question: I have an adjoing storage room to my garage that I am finishing through a contractor and he seems to think insulating the block walls that are below ground won't do much and it will increase moisture behind the dry wall. Thoughts on this?

 

[Dakotas Dad]

My basement is finished and the my biggest wide open living space and the staircase is wide open on both sides and no door at the top of the steps. I figure with the use of ceiling fans and the natural rise of heat I will be able to feel some relief for my $650 monthly LP heat bill(don't even ask). I realize that I will never eliminate the bill, but if I can cut it down markedly I will pay for the stove(wood is abundant here and free) and install.

One final question: I have an adjoing storage room to my garage that I am finishing through a contractor and he seems to think insulating the block walls that are below ground won't do much and it will increase moisture behind the dry wall. Thoughts on this?

Your contractor is wrong.. read the info in the PDF linked above. Put a vapor barrier up, insulate etc etc.