Famco Flue Liner Replacement Nationwide

Famco Flue Liner Replacement: The Towson Owner’s Guide

We stock and install Famco-compatible flue liner replacements for Towson homes, with most jobs running $1,800-$3,400 installed depending on height, diameter, and whether the existing liner pulls out clean or needs extraction. Famco liners in the 316Ti stainless series are what we see most in this area, and we carry common diameters from 5 to 8 inches on our trucks. Call (443) 785-3816 and we can usually confirm your exact model and schedule from a photo of the tag.

Call (443) 785-3816

Most Towson homeowners discover their Famco flue liner has failed during a routine sweep or when they notice performance dropping off. In the older colonials around Stoneleigh and the pre-war homes near Rodgers Forge, we see liners that have been in place twenty-plus years start to show pinhole corrosion where condensation collects at the offset joints. The chimney still drafts, barely, but the liner is no longer protecting the masonry from acidic flue gases.

Which Famco Models This Applies To

Famco manufactured several liner series over the years, and the replacement strategy depends on which one is in your chimney.

• Famco 316Ti Flexible Liners: The most common in Towson installations from the 1990s and 2000s. Identified by the yellow tag at the top termination showing “316Ti” and the diameter stamped in red. These are 0.006-inch wall thickness and typically last 15-25 years in Maryland’s freeze-thaw cycle.
• Famco 304 Stainless Liners: Earlier generation, often found in oil-to-gas conversions. The tag reads “304” and wall thickness is lighter at 0.005 inch. These are more prone to chloride stress corrosion from humid summer shutdowns, something we see frequently in basements near Towson Run.
• Famco Aluminum Liners: Discontinued years ago, only appropriate for certain gas appliances. If you have one, it almost certainly needs upgrading to 316Ti for any solid-fuel use.

The critical compatibility gotcha: Famco used proprietary collar fittings on some 316Ti runs that are not interchangeable with standard Olympia Chimney or DuraFlex termination hardware. We check this on every Towson job because forcing a mismatch creates a gap that leaks condensation into the chase. Our trucks carry both OEM Famco collars and machined adapters that mate to industry-standard caps.

On OEM versus aftermarket: Famco as a brand was absorbed into larger distribution channels, so true OEM liner sections are increasingly special-order. We source 316Ti replacement liner from Famco’s original spec mill runs where available, and when not, we use Gelco or Olympia Chimney 316Ti that matches the alloy and wall thickness exactly. We do not substitute 304 or lighter gauge. You get the certificate of compliance for your file either way.

Signs Your Famco Flue Liner Replacement Is Failing

• White or green powder on the smoke shelf. This is zinc oxide or copper sulfate leaching from the liner surface as the stainless degrades. It means the protective chromium oxide layer has broken down, usually from condensate pooling at a low spot in the run.
• Bits of metal in the cleanout or at the damper. Flakes of 316Ti don’t rust orange like steel; they look like dull silver confetti. Finding these means the liner wall is thinning from the inside out, often where soot acids have concentrated.
• Smoke smell in upstairs rooms during shoulder seasons. A compromised liner allows flue gases to seep through micro-cracks into the chimney cavity, then find paths through framing gaps. Towson’s tight rowhouse construction makes this more noticeable than in open-plan suburban homes.
• The liner has pulled down from the top termination. Famco’s older clamp systems used a single-band compression fitting that can fatigue after two decades of thermal cycling. The liner slips an inch or two, creating a gap where rain and animals enter.
• Your sweep refuses to certify the chimney for use. This is the one that gets homeowners’ attention. When we camera a Famco liner and find circumferential cracking or wall loss exceeding 20 percent, NFPA 211 says replacement, not repair. We show you the footage and explain exactly where the liner has failed.

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

Famco flue liner replacement in Towson typically falls between $1,800 and $3,400. The spread depends on four factors we assess before giving you a fixed number:

Every replacement includes the Level-2 camera inspection before and after, photos you can see, and a plain-English verdict on the rest of your system. The 90-Day Done Right Promise covers the installation in writing with no arguing. If the liner settles, leaks, or doesn’t draft right, we come back. The number on the estimate is the number on the invoice.

DIY or Call Us?

There’s a short list of things a Towson homeowner can safely check before calling. Confirm the damper opens fully. Look up from the firebox with a flashlight for obvious liner displacement or daylight where the liner should be continuous. Check the cleanout door for debris or liner fragments.

Everything else belongs to a trained sweep. Pulling a failed Famco liner requires understanding whether it’s supporting any masonry above, whether the chimney is interior or exterior (affects thermal expansion during extraction), and how to protect the flue tiles or surround from damage. Installing the replacement means getting the fall correct so condensate drains to the thimble, not pooling at offsets. Getting it wrong means carbon monoxide risk, chimney fire risk, or a liner that fails in three years instead of twenty-five.

We’ve replaced Famco liners in Towson homes where the owner tried first and got the old liner stuck halfway down, turning a straightforward job into a masonry repair. Call (443) 785-3816 and we’ll give you a straight answer on whether yours is a candidate for our single-visit replacement.

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