This review is seventeen months in the making...
In the two years after buying a house, I?ve done extensive projects, from plumbing and
electrical to replacing the entire house foundation. I?ve worked with various
companies but I?ve never experienced such an astonishing lack of skill,
management, quality, efficiency, and communication as I have with FIREPLACE
FREDDIE; so much so, I almost think that it must be a ?front? for some
clandestine illegal business.
The job, which began in July 2013, was to install a new gas insert fireplace and venting.
They underbid other companies because they used the wrong (cheaper, incorrect) firebox.
I?d found the one I wanted, a see-through front to back unit, but the salesman sold me
something that looked very similar (but less expensive). After installation, the
Fireplace Freddie peeps failed to show up for the inspection, but the city
inspector left a huge list of things that were done incorrectly.
The most egregious issue was the fact the company installed
an indoor/indoor fireplace. The rear portion was never meant to be exposed to
outside, which was clearly indicated in the manual. Their response was to convince
me to let them jerry rig it. Even if I hadn?t refused, the city would have never
allowed it.
The second one they installed was indoor/outdoor, but was significantly
smaller than the unit I wanted. There was so much space around it, the cat
could easily stroll through the gaps around the firebox to the outside of the
house. Finally, I insisted that they install the box that I had brought to them initially.
I paid some more money, and signed a new contract.
At this point Fireplace Freddie (mysterious owner who has
never returned a call to this day) sent his lackeys to have me re-sign yet a third contract
because he was now getting involved and he said the contract I?d signed (the one his people put
together) would mean he?d lose money from all these bonehead mistakes.
Why would anyone in their right mind sign another contract so that they could pay more
money to the people who are screwing him over? Well that didn?t stop them from trying.
The smarmy sales guy lied to my face, I called him out,
pointed to the binding second contract and asked them to finish. Again, they
didn?t show up for the inspection appointment that revealed further failures.
This happened a lot, and the city inspector was as annoyed as I.
When it was all said and done, the fireplace worked
intermittently. They did come by to ?fix? it but there was no change. This
actually turned out to be a good thing, and maybe even saved my life, my
roommates, and my pets.
I hired the best ? Boston Brick and Stone - to reface the
fireplace, install the hearth and re-brick the ventilated chimney. Fireplace
Freddie?s work was so poorly done, Boston Brick were worried about moving
forward. I delayed their start and hired a third party inspector to come and
compile a list of everything still wrong with the firebox install and venting.
That?s when I found out the whole place could?ve burned. I also found at that
the inspector I hired was coincidentally one that had inspected their work on
my fireplace last year. He told me he had informed them of the incorrect firebox
install, and they chose to keep it quiet.
I gave Fireplace Freddie the option to fix everything on the
list, or pay to have a reputable company do it. After another (out of pocket
inspection), everything finally seems to be working, but man I really had to
work for it. Do not use Fireplace Freddie. Pay more and go directly to Boston Brick and Stone.