Famco Flue Liner Replacement Nationwide

Famco Flue Liner Replacement: The San Antonio Owner’s Guide

A Famco flue liner replacement in San Antonio typically runs $1,800 to $3,400 installed, depending on the liner diameter, length of the run, and whether the existing flue tiles need removal first. We stock the most common Famco-compatible rigid liners on our trucks, so most swaps happen in one visit. Homeowners usually discover the problem the hard way: rust flakes falling into the firebox, a sulfur smell when the furnace kicks on, or a level 2 inspection photo showing a liner that looks like Swiss cheese.

Call (254) 276-4116

Famco built a reputation for solid galvanized and stainless steel liners that went into thousands of Texas homes over the years. But heat, condensation, and the acidic byproducts of combustion eventually eat through any liner, and Famco parts are no exception. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already seen the damage or had a tech point it out. Here’s what actually happens next, what it costs, and how we handle the swap without turning a one-day repair into a three-week saga.

Key Takeaways

• Famco flue liner failures are almost always condensation-related corrosion, not manufacturing defects.
• We match replacement liners by inside diameter and appliance type, not just the Famco label.
• Installed pricing in San Antonio runs $1,800 to $3,400 for most single-appliance runs.
• Every liner replacement includes a written guarantee and before/after photos of the full install.

Which Famco Models This Applies To

Most Famco liner replacements we handle in San Antonio involve their older galvanized steel liners, typically the 4- to 7-inch diameter range used for gas water heaters and furnaces. Famco didn’t use elaborate series names in their early years, which means the liner itself rarely tells you much. What matters is the inside diameter stamped on the upper portion of the liner, the appliance it’s venting, and the total vertical run.

Here’s the gotcha people miss: a Famco liner that vented a 40,000 BTU water heater for 25 years may have corroded at the top where condensation pools against the cap. The rest of the liner might look fine. You don’t need a whole new chimney, but you do need a liner matched to the current appliance’s Btu output and the local code requirements. In San Antonio, that means meeting the city’s adopted mechanical code for Category I gas appliance venting. We spec replacements from DuraFlex and Copperfield when a Famco-branded liner isn’t the best fit, because the goal is a liner that handles San Antonio’s humidity swings and clay tile offsets in older homes like the ones around Monte Vista and Alamo Heights. The Famco name tells you what failed; the measurements tell you what to put back.

Signs Your Famco Flue Liner Replacement Is Failing

• Rust flakes or metallic debris in the firebox or at the appliance base. Corrosion works top-down. Condensation attacks the liner’s interior, flakes off, and gravity delivers the evidence to the bottom. If you see orange-brown flakes, the liner is actively shedding material.
• Sulfur or exhaust odor when the appliance runs. A failed liner lets combustion gases sneak into the chase or wall cavity instead of venting outside. Gas appliances produce enough carbon monoxide to matter, and this is the symptom that gets people to call fastest.
• Visible holes or gaps in an inspection photo. This is the one we can show you on the spot. Our techs photograph the entire liner run with a camera before any recommendation, so you see the exact hole we’re talking about. Cory Mitchell started doing this years ago because he figured people deserved to see their own flue before signing off on a replacement.
• White chalky deposits on the liner exterior or at the joints. That’s condensation residue, and it means the flue temperature is dropping below the dew point before gases exit. Galvanized liners give up fastest under this condition, which is why San Antonio’s hot days and cool nights accelerate the timeline.
• The water heater or furnace keeps tripping the rollout switch. Spilled exhaust means restricted draft, and restricted draft triggers safety shutdowns. If your unit has been cycling strangely and a liner replacement fixes it, the liner was never a “maybe” problem.

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

A Famco flue liner replacement in San Antonio runs $1,800 to $3,400 installed for a typical single-appliance run. The range comes down to four things: liner diameter (6-inch costs more than 4-inch), total length, whether the old liner needs to be extracted from a tight clay tile, and whether an existing chase cover or cap needs replacing at the same time.

Your written quote from us includes the liner itself, all connection hardware, the extraction and install labor, and a camera inspection after the new liner is in place. We don’t price the liner separately from the labor to make the number look fatter, and we don’t start pulling things apart until you’ve approved the written price. Every liner replacement carries our 365-Day Done Right Promise: a written guarantee on the repair, and a free second visit if anything fails within the year. We also work with DuraFlex, HeatShield, and Gelco liners, so if a Famco-branded replacement isn’t the smartest material for your setup, we’ll tell you that upfront with the specific reason why.

DIY or Call Us?

Replacing a flue liner is not a Saturday afternoon job, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise just to sound humble. The liner has to be fed into a clay tile flue that’s often offset mid-run, cut precisely at both ends, and connected to the appliance with approved hardware. Get the connection wrong or leave a gap at the top, and you’ve turned a functioning chimney into a carbon monoxide pathway into the house. That’s not an exaggeration, it’s the reason mechanical codes require listed components and proper connection methods.

What you can safely do before calling: look for rust flakes at the appliance base, note any unusual smells when the unit fires, and grab a flashlight to look up at the liner’s lower section. That’s enough for an informed phone conversation. The actual swap is a trained professional’s job, with the right parts on the truck and a camera to verify the finished install. If you’ve got photos or suspect a liner problem, call us at (254) 276-4116 and we’ll talk through what you’re seeing. See the problem, understand the fix, then decide – that’s how it should work.

FAQs

Call Hadley Chimney San Antonio for a Straight Answer

If your Famco liner is flaking, smelling, or throwing safety shutdowns, don’t wait for it to get worse. Call us at (254) 276-4116 and a live person answers, 24/7. We’ll schedule a tracked arrival window, put a written price in your hands before any work starts, and send you the before-and-after photos proving the new liner is in and venting correctly. That’s the Hadley standard, backed by our 365-Day Done Right Promise and The Relay Visibility Guarantee on every job.

Written by Cory Mitchell, Owner, Hadley Chimney San Antonio at Hadley Chimney San Antonio, serving San Antonio and nearby areas.