Famco Flue Liner Replacement Nationwide

Famco Flue Liner Replacement: The Miami Owner’s Guide

Famco flue liner replacement in Miami typically runs between $1,800 and $3,400 installed, and we usually complete the swap in a single day once the correct liner is in hand. The most common way Miami homeowners discover their Famco liner has failed is during a Level 2 inspection after a chimney leak, a water stain appearing on a ceiling near the chase, or rust flakes collecting at the base of the firebox. A failed liner is not a cosmetic problem – it’s the part of your chimney that keeps combustion gases and heat away from the wood framing in your home.

Call (850) 787-8597

If you’ve been told your Famco liner needs replacing and you want a second opinion with a written price before anyone touches the flue, that’s exactly what we do. Nathan Corliss and our crew at Ashby Chimney Miami have replaced Famco liners in homes from Coral Gables to Kendall, and we’ll show you the camera footage that confirms the failure before we quote a dollar figure.

Which Famco Models This Applies To

Famco makes a few distinct product lines, and getting the replacement right depends on knowing which one you have. The ones we see most often in Miami are the Famco stainless steel rigid liners (round, in 4″, 5″, and 6″ diameters for wood stoves and inserts) and Famco flexible liners (typically 5.5″ to 8″ in diameter, used to reline masonry chimneys for furnaces, water heaters, and gas fireplaces). Famco rigid liners are sold in two-foot sections that lock together; flex liners come in continuous coils cut to length.

Here’s the compatibility gotcha that matters: Famco flex liner sections mate into Famco connectors, and they don’t always seat properly with competitors’ couplings. We see this regularly – someone buys a cheaper coupling from a different brand, and the joint leaks exhaust at the seam. When we replace a Famco liner, we use Famco or a genuine OEM-equivalent connector so the whole run matches. If you’re unsure what you have, the metal tag on the liner at the firebox top usually carries a size and series stamp. Can’t find it? We identify it during a normal inspection.

For most Miami replacements, we stock Famco 316L stainless flex liners in 5.5″, 6″, and 7″ on the truck, which covers the vast majority of existing runs. If your chimney needs a rigid section through a damper or a custom oblique angle, we get that piece ordered and cut to spec before we come back to install. One honest note: we are an independent chimney company, not a Famco dealer or affiliate. We install Famco because their wall thickness and alloy quality hold up in Miami’s salt-humid air as well as anything we’ve tried, and we’ve been using their liners in this climate for years. We also carry parts from DuraFlex, HeatShield, and Gelco when the job calls for it.

Signs Your Famco Flue Liner Replacement Is Failing

• Rust flakes or scale falling into the firebox. Stainless steel in a humid Miami chimney sweats more than you’d think. Once the protective chromium oxide layer breaks down, usually around a pinhole or a scratch, the steel underneath starts shedding surface material. If you see orange powder or flaky bits at the bottom, the liner is weakening.
• Water staining on the ceiling or wall near the chimney chase. Miami’s rainy season turns a small liner crack into a slow drip that soaks through chase framing. By the time the stain shows on drywall, the liner has been leaking for months.
• A sudden draft change or smoke backing into the room. A liner that’s warped or separated at a joint changes the pressure profile in the flue. What used to draw cleanly now pushes smoke back into the house on humid days.
• Burning smell or unusual odor when the appliance runs. Exhaust gases that should vent through the liner are finding a way into the chase or attic. In a worst case, you’re smelling what should be going outside.
• Visible cracking or flaking on a rigid Famco section during an inspection. This is the one most people miss because they don’t get inspected until something else fails. Once a rigid section shows stress fractures at a seam or lock point, the load path is shot and the section needs to come out.

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

For a standard Famco flex liner swap in Miami, plan on $1,800 to $2,600 for a single-story chase and $2,400 to $3,400 for a two-story or steep-pitch roof. That’s installed, with the old liner removed, the new Famco liner cut and fitted, connections sealed, and the firebox cleaned after the job. What actually moves the price, in order of weight:

• Length of the run and number of offsets or bends
• Rooftop access difficulty and whether scaffolding or a lift is needed
• Chase condition – if we find water damage behind the old liner, that changes the scope and we show you before we quote it
• Type of termination cap and whether it needs replacing

Every replacement we quote in Miami gets a written price before work starts, and a written guarantee on the labor and the liner fit when we’re done. If the repair fails during the guarantee period, Ashby Chimney Miami returns and corrects it at no charge. That’s the 365-Day Done Right Promise under the Kingswell Guarantee, and it’s included on every job – not sold as an extra.

DIY or Call Us?

Some of this work you can safely do yourself. You can inspect the visible portion of your liner from the firebox with a flashlight, check for rust or water staining, and confirm which size the tag says. You can watch for the symptoms above between professional inspections. What you should not do is attempt a liner removal or install on your own. A Famco liner run lives inside a chase that is often carrying water damage you can’t see from the roof, and working at chimney height off a ladder while handling a 20-foot steel section is genuinely dangerous. High-tension spring clamps, rooftop work, and mistaken liner sizing cause the majority of injuries we hear about in this trade. We handle this work with a second technician on the roof, proper tie-off, and a written price you’ll already have in hand.

If you want us to take a look at your Famco liner and tell you honestly whether it needs replacing now or can ride another year, call (850) 787-8597. We’ll send a background-checked, uniformed technician, show you the camera footage of anything we find, and put our recommendation in writing before any work is done.

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