Get matched with top fireplace pros in Venice, CA

"Mike Fletcher and his crews were helpful, straightforward and professional. Our rooms were completely protected with heavy plastic sheeting before work began. The work was meticulous, efficiently executed and within the promised time schedule. The fireplaces look great and add a lovely ambience--and warmth--to the rooms. We are very happy with the final results and would welcome Mike back for any other projects."

"They cleaned the fireplace and chimney and didn't leave a mess behind!"

"Great service and repair you would be a fool not to hire Kelley for your fireplace needs."

"We couldn't be happier with our backyard project. Motti and Kimberly were just wonderful to work with. They were professional, knowledgeable, friendly, and attentive all throughout the process. They listened to our thoughts and educated us as to all our possibilities. Motti has a wonderful design eye and is so passionate about his work. We were very happy when we used them for the front of our house 4 years ago, this time around for the back, and we would use them again in the future. We recommend them highly."

"Ed is a extremely talented mason, great work ethic, very punctual with his work, from start to finish, I have used Ed on numerous projects and will continue to do so in the future."

"Mike and his crew did an excellent job with a large cement slab in my backyard. It was done very quickly and it came out beautifully! Thank you!"

"Juan de Jesus and his team did a fantastic job. Although we had detailed plans, Juan's expertise add the need ingrediencies to accommodate the drainage and design changes which created a finish product we will cherish for many years to come."

"They did an excellent job of checking everything from top to bottom to ensure our chimney and fireplace were in tip top shape. Very friendly and professional. Would absolutely recommend them to anyone! Thanks.
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"We had several problems with our fireplace. It had started not drawing well despite the chimney having been cleaned a year before.  A lot of fire smell was entering the entire house even with an apparently clean burning fire.  Also the back wall of the fire box had a number of cracked bricks and an earlier patching job done by a former owner was crumbling.  There was similar deterioration on the firebox floor.































































































































Rich came on time for his estimate and immediately said the lower end of the flue might need to be recontoured because there was a flat spot that could cause the fire gasses to rebound downward.  He said the cracking in the back wall was probably due to moisture seeping down through an old chimney cap.  He told us at least some of the bad bricks should be replaced and any remaining cracks patched with the right kind of heat resistant cement.  He also recommended a new concrete chimney cap to keep moisture from penetrating into the porous chimney bricks.  He further suggested a vent to the outside at the back of the firebox to allow air to be drawn in to the base of the fire to assist in the drawing up of the gasses.































































































































But we were all puzzled by why the fireplace was suddenly not working as well as it had over the years. Rich asked if there had been changes in the house, like new windows or vents.  Yes!  We had moved our furnace into the attic and changed the cold air return from near the floor to the hall ceiling.  Apparently that caused an air flow in front of the fireplace that picked up the fire smell and drew it into the furnace, which propelled it throughout the house.  Problem identified!  Rich thought the air vent would solve this.































































































































Before Rich came to do the job, I tried the gas fire starter with no logs on the grate.  Surprise!  Flames rushed out of the cracks in the fireplace floor!  When Rich removed the brick around the line, he discovered a rotten pipe and no real connection between the gas line and the starter.  Another problem caused by the shoddy work done by (or for) the previous owner.































































































































Long story short, Rich arrived for the job exactly on time and spent the whole day with a helper doing all the work he had recommended.  It was noisy and dusty, but he put a tarp covering the fire box and also placed tarps on the floor.  We added coverings for the furniture.  In the afternoon we asked him to replace some more bricks so there would be less visible patching.  He managed to do this and was done before we had guests in the early evening.  We have since tried the fireplace and it works fine!































































































































We did have a little issue about the final bill, as the extent of his work had changed during the job and the effect was not clearly communicated.  We finally worked it out, but it pointed out to both of us the need to be clear about work changes.  We recommend Rich not only for his timeliness and good work, but his thorough diagnosis of, and solutions for, our fireplace problems.

"Very excited about the work that was done at our church. They built a memorial garden. His guys were good, they're clean and take good direction. I use them pretty much exclusively."