Asbestos flue removal
A cement flue from an old back boiler, warm air unit or solid fuel or gas fire often only turns up when a heating engineer is already on site quoting a replacement, and the new boiler cannot go in until it is out of the way. We treat that as the priority it is, and take it away so the rest of your job can carry on.
- Over 12 years in asbestos removal
- Qualified & insured
- HSE Compliant
- Most jobs completed within a day
What to do while the flue is holding up the job
-
01
Say it is urgent, and why
If a heating engineer is waiting on this, tell us that when you get in touch. It changes how we schedule the visit.
-
02
Send a photo of the flue
Where it comes through the wall or ceiling, and roughly where it runs, is usually enough for us to say what is involved.
-
03
Leave it alone until then
Do not let the flue be knocked, cut or disturbed while the old boiler is being taken out around it.
-
04
We come and take it down
Once we have looked, the cement section comes down the same way as any other cement sheet job.
-
05
Paperwork follows
The waste goes to a facility licensed to take it, and your consignment note follows by email.
Cement flues and ducts from old heating
- Cement flue pipes running from old back boilers, often behind a fireplace or through an airing cupboard.
- Ducting from old warm air heating systems.
- Flues from older solid fuel or gas fires of the cement-flued kind, sometimes called Parkray-type units.
- Sections that run up through a loft space, which get the same treatment as a loft anywhere else on this site.
- Already disconnected and taken down, which is a collection rather than a removal.
We look before pricing that part
Worth knowing
A flue in a loft is treated the way any loft material is
The section of flue you can see in a room is often straightforward asbestos cement, which HSE's own guidance treats as normally simple to take down carefully when it is whole. A length running up through a loft space is harder to be sure of from a photo alone.
We price the visible part in the usual way and arrange a proper look at the loft section before saying anything about that part of the job.
Note
If the flue is wrapped in old lagging
Some older back boiler flues were wrapped in fibrous lagging rather than left as bare cement pipe. That is different, more delicate material, covered in full on pipe and boiler lagging.
If that is what we find, we tell you plainly what it is. If it needs somebody with a licence for that part, we tell you that too and what to look for when you are choosing them, while getting on with the cement flue itself.
Source: HSE, asbestos: locations and identifying the correct action, checked 13 Sep 2026.
We work around the boiler job, not against it
Your engineer is already booked
Tell us the date. We aim to fit around it rather than making you rebook the boiler work twice.
You have not booked one yet
That is fine. The flue can come out first, and you book the boiler replacement once it is clear.
The old boiler is still connected
Your heating engineer isolates the gas and heating system before we touch the flue. We do not disconnect boilers or appliances ourselves.
You are not sure what the flue is made of
A reasonable place to start. Send a photo of it in place and we will tell you what we think you are looking at.
What actually changes the price
A short straight flue and one that bends through more than one room are different jobs, and these are the things that decide where yours sits.
- Length and route. A straight run behind one fireplace is a different job from one that bends through an airing cupboard and a bedroom.
- Whether it passes through a loft, which changes what we can price up front.
- Access. A ground-floor chimney breast is a different job from a flue reached through a cupboard.
- Whether it is already disconnected and down.
What people ask us
Is it normal to find asbestos when replacing a boiler?
Yes, particularly with an older back boiler, warm air system, or a solid fuel or gas fire that used a cement flue. Heating engineers come across it often enough that most will recognise it and know to stop rather than cut through it.
Do I need to remove the flue before a new boiler goes in?
Usually, yes, if the old flue is in the way of the new installation. Your heating engineer can normally tell you whether it needs to come out completely or can be left in place and capped, which is a question for them rather than us.
What are old asbestos flues made of?
Asbestos cement, the same material used in roof sheets and guttering, formed into a pipe. Handled carefully and kept whole, it is normally a straightforward job to remove.
Can I remove an old asbestos flue myself?
There is no law stopping a householder doing their own work, but breaking or cutting the pipe is what releases fibres, and a flue often runs somewhere awkward to reach without doing exactly that. We would rather you had it looked at first.
Flues across the south east
We are based in Grays and most of our work is within an hour of it.
Further out than that? Ask anyway.
Tell us the boiler job is waiting on this
A photo of the flue, a postcode and a phone number is enough to get things moving, and we will treat it as the priority it is. If you would rather talk it through, call and you will get someone who has done this before.