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What changes the cost of a fireplace?
A fireplace quote depends on the appliance, whether the opening and hearth already suit it, and what the flue needs, and this guide does not print a fitting figure. In England and Wales a solid-fuel installation is building regulations work, and a carbon monoxide alarm belongs in the room.
Last reviewed:What a fireplace installation includes
A fireplace installation can mean a stove in an existing opening, a new surround on an old hearth, or a chimney that needs lining before anything is lit. The appliance is the visible part. The flue, the hearth and the air supply are the parts that decide whether it is safe to use. A quote that prices only the stove leaves those out.
This guide does not print a stove price or a fitting price. A log burner looked at as its own cost guide is log burner installation. This page is the wider fireplace: opening, hearth, flue and who signs the work off. It does not tell you how to cut a breast or how to drop a liner.
QuoteZila is starting in Cheshire. Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach are among the first towns, and anyone in the UK can post a job or register. An older chimney and a house with no chimney are different jobs in any of those towns. Say which one you have.
What the quotes should itemise
| Item | What good writing includes | What a thin quote skips |
|---|---|---|
| Appliance | Fuel, make and model, output as the installer states it | "A stove" with no size |
| Opening | Existing opening used, or altered | Structural work hidden in a single line |
| Hearth | Existing hearth kept, extended or rebuilt | A hearth that is too small for the appliance |
| Flue | Suitable as it is, swept, or lined | A liner assumed but not written |
| Ventilation | What air the appliance needs, in the installer's words | A sealed room with no air supply mentioned |
| Alarm | Carbon monoxide alarm in the room [S2] | Left for you to buy later |
| Register | HETAS category, or Gas Safe if the fire is gas [S1] [S4] | A general builder with no registration named |
| Making good | Plaster, hearth slabs, decorating | A finished fire and a ruined breast |
| Waste | Rubble, old fire, soot | Left in the garden |
| VAT | Included or not | A business over the £90,000 line [S6] |
Photos of the opening, the hearth and the chimney pot from the street, not from the roof, give the installer somewhere to start.
Building regulations and the register
HETAS says that in England and Wales, installation work for domestic solid fuel, wood and biomass, and the heating, controls and hot water that go with it, is subject to building regulations. Most of that work is notifiable to the local authority. The information is used for household insurance and when a property is sold. If the work is done by a HETAS registered installer who is registered for that category, the installer can self-certificate through HETAS instead of you making the application to the local authority yourself [S1].
Ask to see that the registration matches the job: a stove, a liner, or both. A sweep and an installer are not the same registration. QuoteZila does not look the register up for you.
Approved Document J, paragraph 2.34, says a carbon monoxide alarm should be provided in the room where a new or replacement fixed solid-fuel appliance is installed [S2]. If the appliance is gas, paragraph 3.43 says the same for a new or replacement fixed gas-burning appliance, excluding one used only for cooking, and the engineer must be Gas Safe registered and competent for that work [S2] [S4]. Gas Safe Register. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.
HSE: work at height. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.
Gas work is for engineers on the Gas Safe Register. HSE explains work at height in its questions.
The chimney and working above the floor
Anything on the stack, including a pot, a flashing or the top of a liner, is above floor level. HSE says you are working at height if you work above ground or floor level and a fall could cause personal injury if precautions were not taken [S3]. Do not climb the roof to inspect the pot. Ask the installer how they will reach it. HSE: work at height. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.
This page does not describe hearth sizes, flue distances or how to core a chimney. Those dimensions belong in the appliance instructions and in Approved Document J, applied by the installer to your opening. If the quote says the opening must be altered, ask whether that is decorative or structural, and who is responsible for the structure. A builder and a stove installer may both be needed. Say so when you post, if you already know the breast has to change.
Comparing the paperwork
Citizens Advice says written quotes from at least three traders help you judge the price, that a quote is fixed and an estimate is a rough guess, and that accepting a quote creates a binding agreement, so keep it in writing [S5]. For a deposit, do not agree to more than 25 per cent, and take a receipt [S5].
VAT is separate. A business must register when taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000 [S6]. Ask whether the total on the page includes it.
A quote you can compare will name the fuel, the appliance, the flue work, the hearth, the alarm and the way the job is certificated. Two quotes that each say "fireplace fitted" are not comparable.
A surround, a stove, and a flue are three prices
People say "fireplace" for a stone surround, for a cast-iron insert, and for a stove with a flue liner. A mason can supply a surround. An installer registered for solid fuel can sign off an appliance. Neither quote includes the other unless it says so. If you want both, ask for two lines and say who drills the hearth and who makes good the plaster.
The opening you have may not accept the appliance you like. Ask the installer to say, after a look, whether the opening is used as it is, reduced, or rebuilt. A reduced opening can be a metal register plate and a flue connection, or it can be building work. Those are different weeks and different trades. Removing a chimney breast is a structural job and is not this page. If the breast is staying, say that, so nobody prices demolition.
Ventilation is the installer's calculation from the appliance instructions and from Approved Document J, not a hole you guess in the wall. Ask them to state whether the room needs extra air and how they will provide it. A sealed window and a powerful stove can be the reason a quote looks larger than a neighbour's. The neighbour's room is not your room.
Soot, the old grate and the rubble from the opening have to go somewhere. A quote that is silent about waste is often a quote that leaves it. Ask for bagging and removal as a line. If the chimney has not been swept, say so. A sweep and an installation can be the same week and still be two visits. HETAS says the installer who self-certificates must be registered for the category of work being done [S1]. Ask for that category in the quote.
Insurance and a future sale are why the paperwork matters, on HETAS's own wording: the information given to the local authority is required for household insurance and when the property is sold [S1]. Keep the certificate with the house papers. A missing certificate is not repaired by a photo of the stove. Ask the installer to say, in the quote, where the certificate will be sent and how long after the work you should expect it. If two businesses are involved, a mason for the surround and a registered installer for the appliance, ask which of them notifies the job and which of them hands you the paper. A photograph of the finished fire is useful for your own records. It does not replace that paper.
Jobs you might post
These are examples, not taken from real job posts.
- "Existing open fire, class 1 chimney as far as we know. Please quote to fit a solid-fuel stove in the opening, including a hearth check, a flue inspection and a carbon monoxide alarm. HETAS installer for this category. Do not price a gas fire."
- "No fireplace at present. Please survey and say whether a flue can be added, and quote only if you can self-certificate the work. Building work to the wall priced separately."
- "Gas fire, not solid fuel. Please send a Gas Safe engineer to replace it. Include the alarm. This is not a wood-burner enquiry."
Posting a fireplace job
Say the fuel in the first line, and attach a photo of the opening. Up to five matched local businesses can send a quote [QZ2]. QuoteZila is free for customers and local businesses [QZ1].
Honest status: QuoteZila is new. We're starting in Cheshire, beginning with Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach, and growing area by area. Anyone in the UK can still post a job or register a business. How fast you get quotes depends on how many local businesses have joined near you. Businesses can register and receive jobs straight away. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire.
Posting a job is not open yet
See our heating engineers page and builders page.
Questions about fireplace quotes
How much does it cost to install a fireplace?
This guide does not print a figure. An inset stove in an existing opening is a different job from opening a breast, building a hearth or lining a flue. Ask for written quotes that name the appliance and the flue work.
Who can sign off a solid-fuel installation?
HETAS says that in England and Wales, domestic solid fuel, wood and biomass installation work is subject to building regulations and most of it is notifiable to the local authority. A HETAS registered installer, registered for that category of work, can self-certificate the work through HETAS rather than you applying to the local authority yourself.
Do I need a carbon monoxide alarm?
Approved Document J says that where a new or replacement fixed solid-fuel appliance is installed in a dwelling, a carbon monoxide alarm should be provided in the room where the appliance is located. Ask for it on the quote. This page does not set out how far from the stove the alarm sits.
Can I fit the stove myself?
No. The flue, the hearth and the ventilation are part of a controlled installation. Work on a chimney, above floor level, is also work at height where a fall could injure someone. Hire an installer who is registered for the category of work, and do not open the flue yourself.
Is a gas fire the same paperwork?
No. A gas fire is gas work for a Gas Safe registered engineer. This page is about solid-fuel fireplaces. If the appliance burns gas, say so in the post and use a gas engineer. The alarm rule for a new gas appliance is also in Approved Document J, and it excludes appliances used only for cooking.
How should I compare quotes?
Citizens Advice says to get written quotes from at least three traders. A quote is a fixed price and an estimate is a rough guess. Ask each installer to include the same appliance, the same flue work and the alarm.
Does QuoteZila check fireplace installers?
No. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire. You can report a quote or a business from your job page.
This page is general information, not professional or legal advice. QuoteZila does not check Gas Safe, WaterSafe, NFRC, NICEIC or other registrations against the register on your behalf: look them up yourself.
Part of Cost guides. All services
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Related pages
- Gas Fire Removal: What Changes the Quote. What moves a gas fire removal quote: capping the supply, a back boiler, the chimney, the hearth and what goes in its place. Gas work is for a Gas Safe engineer.
- Ground Source Heat Pump Costs: Quotes and Grants. Ofgem's average ground source heat pump quote, the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant, and what the ground loop, house and heating system add.
Sources
- QZ1: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila home and FAQ copy.
- QZ2: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila FAQ How does getting quotes work.
- S1: Building regulations guidance, HETAS. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.hetas.co.uk/regulations/
- S2: Approved Document J, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6336e58be90e0772dc9651a2/ADJ_2022.pdf
- S3: Work at height: frequently asked questions, HSE. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/faqs.htm
- S4: Domestic gas: frequently asked questions, HSE. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/faqs.htm
- S5: Before you get building work done, Citizens Advice. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/before-you-get-building-work-done/
- S6: Register for VAT, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.gov.uk/register-for-vat