Famco Flue Liner Replacement Nationwide

Famco Flue Liner Replacement: The Torrington Owner’s Guide

We stock and install Famco-compatible flue liner replacement parts right here in Torrington, and a typical liner swap runs between $1,800 and $3,400 depending on the liner size, the height of your chimney, and how much of the old liner has to come out. Most jobs are finished in a single day once the parts are in hand, and we carry the most common Famco sizes on the truck. If your gas furnace or water heater flue has started showing rust flakes near the base, a sagging liner, or you’ve spotted condensation stains on the ceiling near the chimney, that’s the usual way people find out the liner gave up. The liner is the only thing standing between acidic flue gas and the masonry around it. When it fails, it fails quietly.

Call (860) 744-2656

Which Famco Models This Applies To

Famco has made stainless steel chimney liners for decades, and the model number on yours tells us most of what we need to know before we even climb the ladder. The most common ones we see in Litchfield County are the FL series for gas appliances and the heavier-gauge versions built for oil burners, which run hotter and eat liners faster. Look for a metal tag or stamped number near the cleanout at the bottom of the flue. If the tag’s gone, we measure the inside diameter and match it. Famco’s sizing runs in standard increments: 3-inch, 4-inch, 5-inch, 6-inch, and up. The 4-inch and 5-inch sizes cover the vast majority of gas furnaces and water heaters in Torrington homes built before the 1990s. One thing worth knowing: Famco no longer sells directly to homeowners, so if you buy a liner online, you’re often getting a knockoff or a part that’s been sitting on a shelf for a decade. We source genuine Famco liners directly from the factory’s authorized distribution network, and Top Hat Chimney is an independent service provider, not a Famco dealer or affiliate. That means our recommendation is based on what fits your chimney best, not on moving a particular brand. We also carry DuraFlex, HeatShield, and Gelco products when a different brand is genuinely the better call.

Signs Your Famco Flue Liner Replacement Is Failing

A liner usually gives you warning signs before it becomes a real hazard. These are the ones we see most in Torrington homes:

• Rust flakes or scale at the cleanout door. This is the liner shedding its surface. It means the stainless has been exposed to years of acidic condensation and is now losing metal. Once flaking starts, holes follow within a season or two.
• Water staining on the ceiling near the chimney pipe. Flue gas condenses inside the chimney when the liner fails, and that moisture soaks through the masonry. A stain near the chimney chase isn’t a roof leak. It’s liner failure.
• A sulfur or rotten-egg smell in the basement. That’s flue gas backing into the house instead of venting out. It’s the most serious symptom on this list, and it should be treated the same day.
• Visible warping or separation at the liner seams. Famco liners are built in sections that lock together. Heat cycling and CT freeze-thaw swings eventually loosen those connections. If you can see gaps through the inspection port, the seal is gone.
• Soot buildup around the draft hood on a gas appliance. The appliance is no longer pulling combustion air properly, which usually traces back to a compromised liner. You may also notice pilot light issues or the burner shutting off unexpectedly.

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

Let’s talk real numbers for Torrington. A single-story gas furnace liner replacement in a straightforward flue typically lands between $1,800 and $2,400. Two-story homes, oil burner conversions, or liners that require significant removal of the old one push closer to $2,800 to $3,400. The part itself is only part of the picture: a Famco 5-inch liner kit runs roughly $600 to $900 depending on length. The rest is labor, scaffolding or roof access, removing the failed liner without damaging your chimney, sealing and re-capping the top, and verifying the draft with a pressure test after installation. We price the job before any work starts and give it to you in writing. The number you hear on the phone is the number on the invoice, and every replacement carries our 90-Day Done Right Promise. If the install isn’t correct, one call brings Wendell and his crew back at no additional cost. We also offer $40 off any repair over $200, and a 10% discount for seniors and veterans applies on top of that.

DIY or Call Us?

Some things around the house are fine to take on. Liner replacement isn’t one of them. The liner runs through a confined flue, often three or four stories up, and the work involves removing and re-installing a cap at height, pulling a stainless steel tube through a brick chase without snagging it, and sealing every connection so flue gas can’t leak into the house. If a seam isn’t locked right or the liner gets crimped halfway down, you won’t know until you’re breathing sulfur. And a failed liner can absolutely put carbon monoxide into your living space. This is the one part of the chimney system where “close enough” isn’t. What you can safely do is check and make sure your carbon monoxide detectors are working, and take a look at the cleanout area for rust flakes. Beyond that, call us at (860) 744-2656. We’ll come out, run a camera down the flue, and show you exactly what’s there. If it doesn’t need doing, Wendell will tell you that too.

FAQs