Steward Construction/ Red Hot Chimney Sweeps

Very prompt service.  The cleaning crew was polite and thorough

I wanted to get a quote to replace the walls in my firebox.  As requested, I went to their retail shop and spent some time explaining what I needed and provided pictures of my existing firebox.  They said they will call me in two days as it's a pretty simple job.  They just needed to get the pricing for the materials.  Four days passed and nothing - no phone call, no quote via email.  I called and left numerous messages with the receptionist over the next week, but no return phone call.  Come on guys, at least return the call and say u are too busy or u are not interested.  Obviously, the owners of Red Hot Chimney Sweeps are not aware need to take a class on customer service.  It's called courtesy and professionalism.

This a review of my experience with the owners of Red Hot Chimney Sweeps.

Frank, the owner of this company told us this will be a three (3) day job with one (1) day between installing tile and installing firebox insert. That sounded great, being we really wanted a working fireplace, we decided to do this job even at the expensive price. Turned out to be over two (2) months between tile install and firebox. The many excuses we were given by Frank were just unprofessional and unbelievable. The tile installation was so sloppy we had to complain, but nothing was done to correct it. Frank said the faceplate would cover any unevenness in the tile. When they finally installed the firebox the install was not level, but they said it didn't matter. It didn't matter to them, but does to us. Again, Franks worker said the faceplate would correct and level the firebox as the faceplate attaches to the firebox. The finishing touch was to be the faceplate, that took over three (3) weeks to be delivered and installed. Note: They said the faceplate would correct the uneven tile and the unlevel firebox, IT DID NOT. If they would have leveled the firebox with the faceplate there would have been a gap or open space between the faceplate and the hearth.
(Job dates: 1/20/14 thru 3/20/14)
Writing this is making me upset, so I will end this evaluation with - DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY (Red Hot Enterprises/Stewart Construction @269 N.Tustin, Orange). Save yourself and your money, look for another company.
NOTE: WARNING ABOUT VALOR INSERTS - you must burn-off any unwanted smell from the fireplace insert. This burn-off takes five (5) to nine (9) hours and the smell made us sick. Animals could get sick and birds may die. We had to vent our house with fans and stay in a closed room away from the smell. We were not told about this problem until we signed the contract. This is a manufacturing problem and should be noted.

The technicial came in and was polite and professional. He wore booties to make sure he kept our home clean and went right to work. He cleaned up the chimney and vacuumed out all the debris and did a good inspection and told us we were good to go for the season. He even politely answered a number of my questions about our fireplace since I am new to owning one. All in all, a good service at a good price. I DO recommend them!

Prompt. Very courteous. Cleaned up all the lint that blew out of the exterior vent.

The project has taken about 9 weeks and it went very smoothly from start to finish. There were a few different tradesmen that Frank Steward used on the project. As the project progressed each team was scheduled as needed and they showed up on time or even a little early. They were all very professional, and efficient. They took pride in their work and answered any questions/concerns that we had in each step of the way. I didn't realize there would be so much to re-do a fireplace.
Frank had us meet Tony and I showed him several pictures of the mantles that I liked and I looked at his portfolio. He came over to the house to get the dimensions and about a week later he showed us a detailed drawing of his design-which I loved. He is very talented and excellent at his craft.
The first step was to remove the old brick hearth and haul away the debris. Then a block wall was built in front of the old brick facade to increase the depth of the fireplace. The gas line was moved to another wall. Next was the tile. We purchased our marble tile from Walker Zanger. The tile workers helped me arrange them on the floor so I could look at them one more time before installation and they helped organize them. After the tile was installed Tony did the final measurements for the custom alder wood mantel with legs and Frank did the final measurement for the glass doors. While we were waiting for the mantle to be built and painted; the firebox was cleaned out and it was painted black. The burner and gas log sets were installed.
Tony just installed the mantle on Friday and the finished product is gorgeous! He is very detailed oriented and very particular about his work. Now we just need a little winter weather so we can use the remote control to lite the logs.
We were very impressed with Frank and his team; Pablo, Tony, Ray and Carol. Carol is the rep in the office and she was always able to give me an answer to any question that we had along the way. Our experience was nothing but positive and I highly recommend Frank and his team.

We were in escrow on a new home and the general home inspector noted some issues with the fireplaces and chimneys. We contacted Red Hot Hearth and Home and scheduled an estimate. We were a little taken aback by the cost of the estimate, but as this is a specialty service, we decided to go ahead with the estimate. Jason arrived on time, conducted a very thorough estimate and pointed out things missed/misstated by the home inspector (after all, the general inspector is not an expert). Jason also inspected the grill and fire pit, pointing out additional issues. After close of escrow, we scheduled the work and Jason and his helper arrived on time and were completely prepared to make the repairs, sweep out chimney in need of sweeping, and make the repairs to the top of the chimneys. After cleaning out the on fireplace and sweeping the chimney that needed sweeping, Jason pointed out that the back wall of that fireplace was cracked (a SERIOUS safety issue), likely caused by the previous owner burning wood in a gas fireplace (the gas line was capped off and there were no gas logs in this particular fireplace). We were happy with the repairs and didn't have any problems until we noticed a water leak about a month later. After closer inspection, it was determined that the leak was likely coming from the top of the fireplace that Jason repaired. I contacted the shop and eventually spoke with Francios, who told me that they would take care of the problem. The next available business day, Jason came back with his helper and spent several hours taking the chimney in question apart, inspecting the seals and structure, and making changes to the flashing to prevent future problems. This additional work was done at no charge. Jason also took time to look into the firepit issue and made suggestions that saved us a lot of money we would have spent otherwise. Overall we are very satisfied with the service of the company, both on site and in the office, and will continue to use them.

He came, he swept, and then charged me more than the estimate that I had received on the phone. When I questioned it, he reduced the price that he was going to charge, but it was still more than the original estimate. He then noted a creosole problem that I never could get any more information about how to deal with it. I placed numerous calls to the company, but never received any response.
I do not recommend this company at all; they are nothing more than a red hot mess.

David called about 1/2 hour past the appointment time to say he was running late. He estimated he would be about another 45 mins.
He actually arrived a little more than an hour later, or a little less than 2 hours late for the appointment. David was very apologetic abbout the delay. Once he arrived, David was very professional and efficient. He promptly examined the job and proceeded to clean the hearth and the chimney. He advised a chimney cap would be a good addition. He packed up and left a clean fireplace and chimney.

They arrived on time and were very pleasant. They performed the required services and left the place spotless (although they said the chimney was pretty clean to start with). There was no up selling and they were very professional.

I purchased a coupon for chimney cleaning and inspection through Angie's list. The young man was prompt, professional. He did a good job cleaning the old gas log area and tighten the gas connection. He explained potential problems with the chimney flue and suggested a chimney cap. I am planning to have a chimney cap installed when I get HOA approval.

They were great, scheduled quickly, showed up on time, cleaned 2 fireplaces. Would use again.

great touch.

Frank arrived on time and did an excellent job of cleaning the dryer vent. Also
inspected our fireplace.

Highly recommended.

Everything went smoothly from ordering to installing.

Called to state that he would be 1/2 late as there had been a mix up in scheduling and he would be there at 8:30 rather than 8:00.
If that was not satisfactory he would reschedule.
Employee was polite, neatly dressed and presented a good image for the company.
Asked if I had any questions.

Francois was awesome. Really nice, very funny, and a talented designer. He showed us designs before installation and helped walk us through the whole process. They do very good work, and although they are not cheap, they are total professionals and worth the peace of mind that its being done perfectly. And its full service, meaning, you don't have to do anything other than talk through the design and sign the check. We are very very happy with our fireplace and built in surrounding bookcase and definitely recommend Francois and the team at Red Hot.

I originally called for the smell that lingers after burning a fire. When they arrived they pointed out other thingsa that needed done. When I called for the appt. he knew exactly what I was talking about and said it was aeasy fix. He quoted around 80 to 90 dollars. After he did the other work I asked about the smell and what was it I could do. He said I already had what I needed. I think he forgot what I had called for in the first place. He also said I needed a new grate, the one he sold me is so big that when the wood burns it falls through the slats and smokes. Im not sure what was wrong with the one that I had. Unfortunatly I got rid of my other one. Now I will go and by one that has smaller slats. Over all I spent much more than I had planned. If I had it to do over again, I think I would just pass.

Went very well. Have used the fireplace once since thhey were out, so far no smoke or smell issues. Very happy to be able to use my fireplace again. Had contacted other places, but no one seemed to know how to fix the problem. Frank knew right away, and fixed it.

We decided to call someone else because this is a very busy time for them and we only have a few days a week when we could be here to have them clean the chimney. We tried rescheduling several times and couldn't really make any day/time work for both of us. Several times it took a week or so for them to call back or respond by email; thus the B rating.

It went great. Everyone at the company that I worked with was so nice and responsive. They did an excellent job with the fireplace and it is working perfectly. I would highly recommend this company.

Frank and his assistant did a great job and both were very personable. They put down drop cloths to make sure the surrounding area stayed clean. Found the one problem of a gap around the gas pipe and took care of that for me. Am looking into having them do a remodel of my fireplace as well.

Frank arrived on time and finished on time. I recomment Red Hot to anyone needing chimney services.

They were very professional and courteous.

They were punctual. They came in and did the job, but there was nothing extraordinary. They did a good job. They were quick, clean and very professional. I would use them again in the future.