The truck rolls once no matter how many flues a house has. Charge a full base sweep for the first flue and a lower rate for each additional one, and any chimney prices in a single formula.
A $199 base with an $89 add-on prices a single flue at $199 and a two-flue home at $288.
The example
Three homes, each with a flue count, base sweep, and additional-flue rate.
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Property | Flues | Base | Addl flue | Price |
| 2 | Single fireplace | 1 | $199 | $89 | $199.00 |
| 3 | Two flues | 2 | $199 | $89 | $288.00 |
| 4 | Triple stack | 3 | $199 | $89 | $377.00 |
The formula
The first flue pays the base; the rest ride at the add-on rate:
How it works
Split the house into the first flue and the rest:
C2is the base sweep, charged once for the first flue.(B2-1)counts the additional flues — zero for a single-flue home.- Multiply the extras by
D2and add; a single flue collapses to just the base.
Add a cap or a level-2 inspection line separately — camera inspections are their own charge, not part of the per-flue rate.
Try it: interactive demo
Enter the flue count, base sweep, and additional-flue rate.
Variations
Add a cap or damper
Append a materials cell for a new chimney cap.
Level-2 inspection add-on
Add a flat fee when a camera inspection is included.
Pitfalls & errors
Count flues, not fireplaces — a single chimney can carry a fireplace flue and a furnace flue that both need sweeping.
Keep camera inspections and cap installs as their own lines; folding them into the per-flue rate hides what the customer is paying for.
Practice workbook
Frequently asked questions
Does a single-flue home work with this?
Where does a chimney cap go?
Stop fighting formulas. Learn them in a day.
This recipe is one of hundreds of real-world formulas we teach. Our Excel Formulas & Functions class covers lookups, logic, text, and dynamic arrays hands-on — live in Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, Oklahoma City, Denver, or online.
See the Formulas & Functions Class