Famco Flue Liner Replacement Nationwide

Famco Flue Liner Replacement: The Yonkers Owner’s Guide

A Famco flue liner replacement in Yonkers typically runs $2,200 to $4,800 installed, depending on the liner diameter, length, and whether the existing crown or chase cover needs work. We stock Famco-compatible stainless steel liners in the 6-inch and 8-inch diameters that cover most homeowner applications, and we can usually schedule the swap within a week. Most people find out their liner is done when the water heater starts drafting poorly, or an inspector flags it during a heating system replacement, or the old liner crumbles when someone finally pulls the cap off.

Call (551) 212-3526

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already been told your liner needs to go. What you need now is a straight answer about what it costs, what gets installed, and whether the thing is actually urgent. Here it is.

Key Takeaways:

• Famco liners are solid mid-tier stainless, but the connectors and rivets at the joints fail before the liner walls do.
• Installed cost in Yonkers runs $2,200 to $4,800, with a written price before we touch anything.
• We photograph the old liner before removal and the new one after install. You see exactly what you paid for.
• DIY replacement of a flue liner in a two-story Yonkers home usually ends with a bigger bill than calling us first.

Which Famco Models This Applies To

Famco has been making venting and chimney components in the U.S. for decades, and their flue liners show up in a lot of Westchester County homes built or retrofitted between the 1980s and early 2010s. The liner itself is a flexible or rigid stainless steel tube, usually 316L or 430 alloy, that runs from the appliance collar up through the existing clay tile or masonry flue. The common homeowner-facing sizes are 6-inch for single appliance runs and 8-inch for larger fireplaces or paired furnace and water heater vents.

The gotcha with Famco specifically is the connector band at the top of the liner. On older Famco installs, the take-off connector and the rain cap were often sold as separate pieces, and the galvanized band between them is the first thing to rust out. If you have a Famco liner with a round galvanized top plate, check the band before you assume the liner itself is shot. We’ve replaced the top assembly alone for under $400 on more than a few Yonkers jobs.

For the liner itself: Famco’s rigid 316L liner holds up better than their older 430 series, which pinholes faster, especially within 800 feet of the Hudson where damp, salty air works on thin stainless. If the label is still legible at the top or bottom of the liner, the alloy number tells you what you have. No label? We measure wall thickness with a caliper. We do not guess.

Famco vs. Aftermarket

We install genuine Famco when the customer asks for it, and we also stock DuraFlex, HeatShield, and Gelco equivalents in matching gauges. For a straight liner replacement, the aftermarket 316L flexible liner from DuraFlex or Gelco typically saves $300 to $600 with no lifespan penalty. The differences are in the connector kits and how the top plate mates with the crown. We’ll show you the two options side by side, with prices, and you pick.

Signs Your Famco Flue Liner Replacement Is Failing

• Water heater drafts poorly, pilot keeps going out. The liner is pulling less air, often because a section has collapsed or separated at a joint. Backdrafting flue gas is the real concern here. If you smell exhaust in the house, stop burning and call.
• White or brown staining on the ceiling near the chimney chase. Flue condensation is leaking through a pinhole or failed seam. With a furnace, this exhaust is acidic. It eats drywall and framing.
• Rust flakes in the cleanout or at the appliance collar. The liner wall is actively corroding from the inside out. A pea-sized pile of scale at the base means the liner is thinner somewhere above it.
• Visibly cracked or collapsed tile around the liner. Older masonry chimneys were often relined with Famco flex through deteriorating clay tile. When the tile shifts, it crushes the liner.
• The top cap or band is gone after a storm. Yonkers gets Nor’easters and Hudson windshear every winter. When the top assembly fails, rain gets behind the liner and accelerates corrosion everywhere below.

Before

After

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

The range is driven by liner length, roof access (steep Yonkers rooflines add labor), and whether the crown or chase cover gets replaced at the same time. We do not reuse a rusted crown. If the liner is out and the crown is spalling, fixing one without the other means a second trip in two years.

Every quote is written. It lists the liner spec, the exact alloy, the length, the connector kit, the crown work if any, labor, and the warranty. You get that before we start. Clause 1 of the Haven Standard requires it. After install we run a camera down the new liner and hand you the photo record. If it’s not right, the 365-Day Done Right Promise covers us fixing it. We’ve done this on more than 38,000 chimneys since 2009 under the same standard.

DIY or Call Us?

Pulling and replacing a flue liner means working at height, handling jagged stainless edges, and getting a 25 to 35 foot liner down a chase without tearing it. On a two-story Yonkers house, that’s a fall risk you do not want to own. Even on a ranch, a poorly seated liner that separates at the connector pours carbon monoxide back into the house. This is not a parts-swap job. Corrine Halstead will tell you the same thing, and she’s the one who trained most of our crew.

What you can do safely: check for rust flakes at the cleanout, look at the top band for rust, and make sure your CO detector has fresh batteries. Then call us at (551) 212-3526. We’ll get on the roof, camera the liner, and tell you exactly what we found, in plain English, with photos to prove it.

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