Chimney flue
lining price.

We went back through every line of our 2024-2026 quotes that mentions a chimney, a flue or flue lining. Nine projects include a stove, an insert or a closed fireplace to connect. On none of them is the flue lining a separate line: the flue, the connection and the roof outlet are priced with the appliance, because one cannot be chosen without the other. We therefore cannot give you a price for flue lining alone drawn from our quotes, and we do not invent one.

These amounts are excluding tax. In a dwelling more than two years old, demolition and enclosures generally fall under 10% VAT: €660, €1,540 and €2,200 incl. VAT for the three demolitions, €165 for the fire-resistant extra, €1,650 for the enclosure. One, two or three quotes do not make a price list: read them as reference points. The price of the appliance installed with its flue is detailed in our guide Price of an installed pellet stove. Source: survey of our 2024-2026 quotes in Savoie and Haute-Savoie.

Lining means sliding into an existing masonry flue a metal flue suited to the appliance. The cost depends less on the tube than on the work around it:

• The height between the appliance and the outlet: a house with an upper floor needs more length, and more time to lower it down the flue.
• The diameter, set by the appliance's instructions: an old flue too narrow for the tube required means a different solution is needed.
• The condition of the flue: if it is cracked, offset or obstructed, it may need sweeping beforehand, or even a new flue.
• Access to the chimney stack: work is done from the roof, and a high or steep roof may require scaffolding.
• The distance to timber in the roof frame and floors: if insufficient, it calls for an insulated flue or a different route.
• The finishes: finishing plate at the base, outlet and cowl at the top, connection of the appliance, enclosure in the room.

Two prices found online are therefore hard to compare: one counts the tube alone, the other the outlet, the access and the connection. Always ask what the line includes before comparing.

On five of our projects, the appliance takes the place of the existing fireplace, "with recessing and finishing" in the words of the quote. The visit then decides whether the old flue can be lined or whether a new one must be created up to the roof. Sealed stoves follow a different logic, that of the balanced flue (ventouse), explained in our pellet stove guide.

When the fireplace disappears altogether, its demolition is priced separately, and the chimney head can be dealt with when the roof is redone: a 2025 quote in Aix-les-Bains provides for our carpenters to demolish two chimney heads down to below the roofing while the covering is stripped. The steps of a complete renovation are in our guide Roof renovation, and the cost of other demolition work in Price of interior demolition.

A single quote covers the appliance, the flue, the roof outlet and the enclosures: our salaried craftsmen carry out each part, each in his own specialty.

A check before any connection. Before connecting an appliance to a flue, the contractor must check that the flue is compatible with the intended use. It is this check, and not a general rule, that decides whether to line, repair or create a flue.

A safety distance. The NF DTU 24.1 flue-work standard replaced the old "fire clearance" of 16 cm with a safety distance between the outer face of the flue and any combustible material. It appears in the flue's designation: in "T450 N1 D 2 G50", the last marking indicates 50 mm.

A plate and a data sheet. The flue installer fits a rating plate that repeats this designation, and gives the client a flue identification sheet. Keep it with your invoices: it is the identity card of your installation.

A well-placed outlet. For a natural-draught flue, the outlet must rise at least 40 cm above any part of a building within 8 m (order of 22 October 1969, article 18). On a flat roof or a roof with a slope of less than 15°, it must rise at least 1.20 m above the exit point, and at least 1 m above a parapet of more than 20 cm.

The decree and order of 20 July 2023, applied since 1 October 2023, set the rules at national level. The flue and its connecting pipe must be swept at least once every twelve months (public health code, article R1331-71).

The chimney sweep must prove a professional qualification (CAP, BEP or equivalent, or three years of experience) and give you, within 15 working days, a certificate that names the flue or flues swept and confirms they are clear along their whole length.

Beyond 6 stacked cubic metres of logs or 2.5 tonnes of pellets burned per year, the order recommends two sweepings, one of them during the heating season. A commune or prefecture may impose more: ask at the town hall. A new flue lining does not exempt you from these sweepings.

Installed with an appliance that qualifies for the 5.5% rate, the flue lining follows that rate: the tax authority classes the adaptation of combustion-product exhaust systems among associated work (BOFiP, BOI-TVA-LIQ-30-20-95), provided it is invoiced within three months and relates to the same elements.

Carried out on its own in a dwelling more than two years old, it falls under the 10% rate; in a dwelling less than two years old, under the standard 20% rate. The detail of the three rates is in our guide VAT at 5.5%, 10% or 20%. To choose the appliance itself, start from our guide Replacing an oil boiler: which heating?