HOW TO HIRE · PLUMBING & HEATING

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

A wood burner is building work: a scheme installer self-certifies it or building control signs it off. Smoke control areas need an exempt stove.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a stove installer in five steps

  1. Check smoke control statusAsk your council; in a smoke control area wood needs a Defra-exempt stove.
  2. Use a scheme installerOne registered with a competent person scheme for solid fuel can self-certify.
  3. Survey the chimneySwept, checked and lined if needed before the stove goes in.
  4. Hearth and clearancesA compliant hearth and distances to anything combustible.
  5. Keep the certificateThe compliance certificate — buyers and insurers ask.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence is needed to trade as a stove installer, but the installation must meet the Building Regulations: in England, Approved Document J covers hearths, flues and chimneys for solid fuel appliances.

Ask how the stove installation will be signed off before you book. gov.uk →

Competent person scheme for solid fuel

gov.uk's list of competent person schemes includes schemes authorised for solid fuel appliances, including biomass. An installer on one self-certifies; otherwise you apply to building control and pay for inspection.

Ask which scheme the installer belongs to and search it before booking. gov.uk →

Smoke control areas

Your council sets smoke control areas, where you may not release smoke from a chimney and wood can only be burned in a Defra-exempt appliance, using the fuels the maker allows.

Ask your council whether you live in one, and choose an exempt stove if so. gov.uk →

Work at height on the chimney

Lining a chimney or fitting a cowl is work at height; the Work at Height Regulations 2005 require it to be planned and done with the right equipment.

Ask whether scaffolding is in the stove installation quote. hse.gov.uk →

VAT

Fitting a wood-burning or multi-fuel stove is standard-rated at 20%; only a boiler that burns wood alone, installed in a home, is zero-rated until 31 March 2027. A trader whose taxable turnover passes £90,000 must register, charge it and show it as a separate line; one below that threshold adds none.

Ask the stove installer for the VAT number and which rate applies to the appliance you chose. gov.uk →

“Are you on a competent person scheme for solid fuel stoves?”

A good answer: Yes, named, so the stove installation can be self-certified.

“Is my home in a smoke control area, and is this stove exempt?”

A good answer: They tell you to check with the council and confirm the stove's exemption.

“Does the chimney need a liner for the stove?”

A good answer: A survey-based answer; most wood burners need one.

“Is the hearth big enough?”

A good answer: A check against the rules for the stove.

“Is scaffolding included?”

A good answer: Priced if the chimney work needs it.

“What certificate will I get?”

A good answer: A compliance certificate through their scheme, or building control sign-off.

Getting the quote right

  • Stove model, output and whether it is smoke-exempt
  • Liner or twin-wall flue, cowl and register plate
  • Hearth work
  • Scaffolding
  • Certification — scheme or building control fees
  • Who actually attends to fit the stove and line the flue — the installer on a solid-fuel competent person scheme, employed or subcontracted
  • The VAT number, with VAT at 20% on the stove and fitting shown on its own line

Walk away if

  • No scheme membership and no plan for building control
  • No chimney survey
  • Sells a non-exempt stove for wood in a smoke control area
  • No certificate mentioned
LOW
£1,400
TYPICAL
£2,800
HIGH
£6,500

What a stove installer costs: £1,400–£6,500 per install

Stove installations are quoted per install after a chimney survey; the flue, hearth and scaffolding set the price. Wood Burning Stove 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

Stove 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. SurveyChimney, hearth and room checked.
  2. Line the flueLiner fitted or twin-wall flue installed.
  3. Place the stoveOn a compliant hearth, connected to the flue.
  4. TestSmoke and draw tests.
  5. CertifySelf-certified through the scheme, or building control sign-off.

Flue liner
A metal liner inside the chimney.
Twin-wall flue
An insulated flue pipe used where there is no chimney.
Register plate
The plate sealing the chimney above the stove.
Exempt appliance
A Defra-approved stove that may burn wood in a smoke control area.
Hearth
The non-combustible base for the stove.
Compliance certificate
Confirms the installation met the Building Regulations.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the compliance certificateWith the house papers — buyers and insurers ask for it.
Read the manualFuels allowed, especially in a smoke control area.
Book the sweepBefore each heating season.
Rate the jobTell the next person how the stove installation went — time kept, mess left, price held. Under four stars, the stove installer is offered the chance to fix it first through make-it-right.

STEP 1Tell the stove installer, in writingRaise it with the stove installer in writing while it is fresh. The stove installation came with a legal promise of reasonable care and skill under the 2015 Act; ask for the shortfall to be fixed at no cost, and if it cannot be, for an appropriate refund.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right stepA score under four stars opens the make-it-right step: you choose whether the stove installer gets the chance to put the stove installation right first, and we chase it to an end before you publish.
STEP 3Building controlStove installations never signed off are a matter for your council's building control. For a dispute, Citizens Advice (0808 223 1133), Advice Direct Scotland (0808 800 9060) or Consumerline (0300 123 6262).
STEP 4Small claims, if money is owedIf money is still in dispute over the stove installation, the small claims routes need no solicitor: up to £10,000 in England and Wales on the small claims track, £5,000 in Scotland under simple procedure, and £5,000 in Northern Ireland's small claims court.

Hiring a stove installer: questions people ask

No licence is needed, but in England the stove must be self-certified through a competent person scheme or signed off by building control.

A compliance certificate through the installer's scheme, or a building control completion certificate.

Only in a Defra-exempt appliance, using the fuels the maker allows.

£1,400–£6,500 per install, around £2,800 typical. The detail sits in the wood burning stove installation price guide, and the search above lists installers working near your town.

Most wood burners do; the survey will say.

One to two days for most stoves.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in plumbing & heating

How to hire: Fireplace InstallationHow to hire: Central Heating InstallationHow to hire: Boiler InstallationHow to hire: Heat Pump InstallationHow to hire: Air Source Heat PumpHow to hire: Radiator InstallationHow to hire: Underfloor HeatingHow to hire: Gas EngineerAll 701 hiring guides →

Stove installers near you

Stove installers in LondonStove installers in ManchesterStove installers in BirminghamStove installers in GlasgowStove installers in BelfastAll stove installers on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk — Approved Document J: combustion appliances and fuel storage systems (England)
  2. gov.uk — competent person schemes: current schemes and how they are authorised
  3. gov.uk — smoke control areas: the rules
  4. HSE — work at height: the law
  5. gov.uk — building regulations approval (England)
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  7. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue (England)
  8. Energy-saving materials and heating equipment (VAT Notice 708/6) — 2.17 Wood-fuelled boilers: stand-alone wood-burning stoves are standard-rated
  9. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  10. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register