HOW TO HIRE · PLUMBING & HEATING

How to hire a fireplace installer in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

A gas fire must be fitted by a Gas Safe engineer; a solid fuel fireplace is building work with hearth and flue rules. The checks for both.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a fireplace installer in five steps

  1. Decide the fuel firstGas fire, or wood and coal. It decides who can fit it and which rules apply.
  2. For gas, check Gas SafeLicence by text to 85080, and the back of the card must list gas fires.
  3. Have the chimney checkedSurvey, sweep and a draw test before anything is fitted.
  4. Check smoke control rulesAsk your council whether you live in a smoke control area before choosing a solid fuel fire.
  5. Keep the paperworkGas work record or building control sign-off, and the fire's manual.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

Gas Safe Register

A gas fire is a gas appliance. The 1998 Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations, and the 2004 Northern Ireland Regulations, restrict installing or connecting one for pay to engineers on the Gas Safe Register.

Check the licence number by text to 85080 or on 0800 408 5500. gassaferegister.co.uk →

Gas fires on the card

Engineers register by appliance type, and the back of the ID card shows which. One registered only for boilers is not qualified to fit a gas fire.

Turn the card over and look for gas fires before the job is booked. hse.gov.uk →

Hearths and flues under the Building Regulations

For a wood or coal fireplace in England, Approved Document J sets the rules on hearths, fireplaces, flues and chimneys. gov.uk lists competent person schemes that can self-certify solid fuel appliances; without one, building control signs the work off.

Ask which scheme the installer self-certifies through, or who applies to building control. gov.uk →

Smoke control areas

Your council decides where smoke control areas are. In one you cannot let smoke out of a chimney, and wood can only be burned on an exempt appliance approved by Defra. An open fireplace there is limited to authorised smokeless fuels.

Ask your council whether you are in a smoke control area before choosing the fireplace. gov.uk →

VAT

Installing a fireplace is standard-rated at 20%; 5% applies only to listed heating appliances fitted under a qualifying grant for someone aged 60 or over, or on certain benefits. Once a business's taxable turnover goes over £90,000 it must be registered, and the VAT then goes on the quote as its own line.

Ask the fireplace installer for the VAT number and whether any grant changes the rate on the fire. gov.uk →

“Are you Gas Safe registered for gas fires?”

A good answer: A licence number you can check and 'gas fires' on the back of the card.

“Will you check and test the chimney before the fireplace goes in?”

A good answer: Yes: a survey, a sweep where needed and a smoke or draw test.

“Does the chimney need a liner for this fire?”

A good answer: An answer based on the survey, with the liner priced if it is needed.

“Who signs off a solid fuel fireplace?”

A good answer: A named competent person scheme, or building control, with the paperwork you will receive.

“Is the hearth big enough for this fire?”

A good answer: They check it against the rules for the appliance and say if it needs extending.

“Can I burn wood in it where I live?”

A good answer: They tell you to check smoke control status with the council, and whether the appliance is exempt.

Getting the quote right

  • The fire named, and the fuel it burns
  • Chimney survey, sweep, liner and draw test as separate lines
  • Hearth and surround work, and making good the opening
  • Who certifies the work — Gas Safe for gas, a scheme or building control for solid fuel
  • Who actually attends — the Gas Safe or solid-fuel engineer who signs off the fire, employed or subcontracted
  • The VAT number, and VAT at 20% on the fire and fitting as a separate line

Walk away if

  • A gas fire fitted by someone with no Gas Safe card
  • No chimney check before fitting
  • 'No paperwork needed' for a new solid fuel fireplace
  • Sells a wood-burning fire without asking about smoke control
LOW
£500
TYPICAL
£850
HIGH
£3,500

What a fireplace installer costs: £500–£3,500 per install

Fireplace installations are quoted per job after a chimney survey; opening up, lining the flue and the surround set the price. Fireplace Installation price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Fireplace installers near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. Survey the chimneyThe opening, flue and hearth are checked and the chimney swept if needed.
  2. Prepare the openingThe opening is cleaned, repaired or formed to suit the new fire.
  3. Fit the fireThe fire, hearth and surround go in; a gas fire is connected by the Gas Safe engineer.
  4. TestFlue draw and spillage tests; for gas, a tightness test and appliance check.
  5. Sign off and hand overThe record or certificate is issued and you are shown how to use the fire.

Flue liner
A metal or clay liner inside the chimney that carries the fumes.
Hearth
The non-combustible floor area in front of and under the fire.
Draw test
A check that smoke is pulled up the chimney.
Smoke control area
An area where smoke from chimneys is banned unless you use exempt appliances or authorised fuel.
Exempt appliance
A stove or fire approved by Defra to burn wood in a smoke control area.
Balanced flue
A gas fire flue that draws air from outside and vents through the wall.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the sign-offThe gas work record, or the building control or scheme certificate for a solid fuel fire.
Run the fire and watch itSteady flame, smoke going up the chimney, no smell in the room.
Book the chimney sweepA swept chimney before each heating season is part of using a fire safely.
Say how it wentYour rating of the fireplace installation sits on the fireplace installer's Locufy profile for others to read. Something wrong? Use make-it-right first and we follow it through.

STEP 1Go back to the fireplace installerGive the fireplace installer a clear written account and a fair deadline. The law treats the fireplace installation as a service that had to be done with reasonable care and skill, and where it was not, the trader must redo it at their expense or refund part of what you paid.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right stepA score under four stars opens the make-it-right step: you choose whether the fireplace installer gets the chance to put the fireplace installation right first, and we chase it to an end before you publish.
STEP 3Unsafe gas work or unsigned fireplaceReport illegal gas work to Gas Safe Register. Solid fuel work that was never signed off is a matter for your council's building control.
STEP 4Small claims, if money is owedTo get money back for the fireplace installation, the small claims limits are £10,000 in England and Wales, £5,000 in Scotland (simple procedure) and £5,000 in Northern Ireland; court fees start at £35 in England and Wales and £23 in Scotland.

Hiring a fireplace installer: questions people ask

Yes. Fitting or connecting a gas fire is gas work, restricted by law to the Gas Safe Register in all four UK nations.

For gas, a record of the gas work from the registered engineer. For a solid fuel fireplace in England, a scheme certificate or building control sign-off under the Building Regulations.

Not in a smoke control area, unless the appliance is Defra-exempt. Ask your council whether the rules apply where you live.

£500–£3,500 per install, about £850 typical for fitting a gas fire. There is more in the fireplace installation price guide; enter a town above to see installers who work there.

It depends on the fire and the chimney's condition. A survey and draw test before fitting will tell you.

Two to three hours to swap a gas fire, one to three days to open up or build a fireplace.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in plumbing & heating

How to hire: Wood Burning Stove InstallationHow to hire: Gas EngineerHow to hire: Gas Safety CertificateHow to hire: Boiler Service & RepairHow to hire: Central Heating InstallationHow to hire: Boiler InstallationHow to hire: Radiator InstallationHow to hire: Underfloor HeatingAll 701 hiring guides →

Fireplace installers near you

Fireplace installers in LondonFireplace installers in ManchesterFireplace installers in BirminghamFireplace installers in GlasgowFireplace installers in BelfastAll fireplace installers on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 3
  2. Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004, regulation 3
  3. HSE — Gas Safe Register: the scheme, its coverage and the ID card
  4. Gas Safe Register
  5. gov.uk — competent person schemes: current schemes and how they are authorised
  6. gov.uk — Approved Document J: combustion appliances and fuel storage systems (England)
  7. gov.uk — smoke control areas: the rules
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  9. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue (England)
  10. Energy-saving materials and heating equipment (VAT Notice 708/6) — 2.23 Other energy-efficient products (standard-rated); 3 Grant-funded heating (5%)
  11. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  12. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register