Light My Fire

I have a Mendota fireplace that stopped working. I had a Worry Free contract with PSEG, so I called them. They diagnosed the problem to be a defective gas valve ...but was unable to fix it. I then called LNMto take a look at it....which i should have done in the first place. THey installed mu=y fireplace about 15 years ago!. Maintenance call was scheduled and John, who is an owner AND does maintenance/repairs , did the work. He was thoroughly familiar with MENDOTA fireplaces. He did a full check of the fireplace and determined that the problem was the thermocouple. ..the gas valve did not need to be replaced. Since he was here, he suggested to also change the thermopile. He had both parts in his truck. John also rechecked my wireless controller and made sure code was working fine. John was courteous, knowledgeable, and professional, and the pricing was very fair. I would highly recommend them

Awesome experience. Frank at the shop got t know what I was trying to achieve and then offered several models and options in dff price points. Melissa returned my phone calls and coordinated verything. John the owner and installer was great. He was on time, extremely neat, and thorough. It's been an absolute pleasure working with LMF and I'd recommend them to anyone.

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Not truthful about Product or Pricing!!

A friend recommended LMF to us.  Note that the friend was not happy with her undersized gas fireplace but was happy with the customer experience and install.   Our friend blamed herself for choosing an undersized unit.   LMF does not offer consultations so everything is done blind which obviously is not recommended.  Note: competitors like KJB & McNamaras come out for free or for small fee ($150) which is put towards the final order if you go through them, which seems reasonable.   They'll advise if your order is too large, too small, wrong location etc.   We reached out and spoke to Frank the sales manager at LMF & eventually dealt with Melissa, the owner?s wife.  NOTE: For everything written below, I have documented the email correspondence between Melissa and I as well as took photos & video of the product at LMF and the product they tried to sell us on paper, from a competitors showroom.  

First the good points.  Frank was knowledgeable & friendly which was a huge relief after dealing with some other local fireplace shops.  We met several times to plan out our fireplace and asked Frank dozens of questions which he was happy to answer.   He never hassled us for a sale.  We signed a contract for roughly $7,000 initial install & selected an additional $2,000-$4,000 worth of finishing options  plus the possibility of  buying $800 to $1,500 glass doors.  Unfortunately, that?s where the trouble began which I describe below.  They simply lied about everything including product & price.    My fiance doesn't like to be confrontational or give bad reviews, but even she was furious when we saw the actual unit  & options (at a competitors location) which LMF tried to sell us.  My fiance said she would have cried if that unit was actually installed, it was that different.  

Issue #1- New Fireplace Installs are TAX EXEMPT CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS.  That means the homeowner does NOT pay sales tax on the labor or materials (gas logs may be considered retail items requiring tax).   Homeowner fills out an ST-8 form to waive taxes on labor, installer pays sales tax at time of material purchase or pays use tax at time of installation.  This is all explained clearly in the S&U-3 Bulletin issued by the NJ Dept. of Taxation which is found online.  See pages 2, 7 & 8.  LMF initially confirmed there would be no taxes then tried to add 7% tax for labor AND material to my bill at the end.  Because the installer MUST PAY TAX, the bulletin recommends installer pays sales tax on materials when purchased (7% of few hundred dollars worth of materials rather than "use tax" which is 7% of new value of completed fireplace sold which for example might be  $4,000 to $7,000).  Since this only affects the installer, NJ recommends pay the lower tax on materials immediately when purchased.   When I protested the tax, they offered to remove the labor taxes only.   Melissa argued that she is registered as a fabricator/contractor & she doesn?t pay "sales tax" but instead must pass the ?use tax" on to the customer.  This is untrue & specifically contradicted in the bulletin. 

Issue #2- We decided to build an exterior chase wall to house the fireplace.  After this debacle with LMF, we found a GC on Angies List (I'll post that review when completed).  Before entering that contract, I saw a photo in LMF?s fireplace book of a similar project for a chase wall.  It looked great & was exactly what I was looking for so requested the contractor?s info.  Frank said he remembered the project well & provided the contact information.  I called that contractor & he came to my house but clearly did not perform the work in the photo as he didn't know the location, any details or how much he charged.  When I called Frank back, he admitted to giving me a different contractor's number because he does similar work & was easier to deal with.   NOTE: I listed the tax issue as #1 because it's very important although it occurred last.  This issue about the contractor occurred on my 3rd visit to LMF and was my first inkling that things may not be as they seem.   I was on the lookout for other potential lies at this point forward. 

Issue #3- We were purchasing a 36? Astria Georgian wood burning fireplace with gas conversion & Eiklor gas logs.   I asked to see the unit we were purchasing installed somewhere as I don't like buying blind.  LMF advised their showroom unit was the exact 36? model we were purchasing? only it wasn?t.   My last trip, thank goodness I borrowed a tape measure to check some measurements & saw that this fireplace was larger.   LMF then admitted it was in fact a 42? unit with upgraded refractory panels.   Frank said he didn't feel the need to tell me it was a different unit because it was so close in size and all other dimensions were the same? also disgustingly untrue.   The depth is off by 2"+ and the rear width is 4"+ shorter as noted in the brochure.   UPDATE: When we finally saw the 36" model at KJB's showroom, my fiance & parents were shocked.  It was a totally different, smaller, cramped fireplace compared to the unit LMF "said" was the 36".      (See my 4/11/15 update below)

Issue #4- There are several options for refractory panels at significant price points.   Frank told me he priced out the matching one to the showroom model which was a medium priced cappuccino herringbone.  I questioned Frank numerous times as the cappuccino coloring/texture on the manufacturer's brochure didn't match the showroom model.   He said, don't go by the brochure because the coloring was off, he was positive.   Fast forward to when Melissa advised on my final visit that the showroom fireplace was actually 42" with upgraded refractory panels, I realized I was lied to again.   I took a photo (at competitor KJB who had the 36", 42" & 50" version installed back to back) of the real cappuccino BASIC liner.  The colors & style are not even close.  FYI - the upgrade to the showroom quality is well over $1,000 and may even be more than $2,000, I can't remember. 
 
Issue #5- LMF?s standard contract requires a 20% down payment, 75% at start of work & 5% after final inspection. NJ Consumer Affairs recommends 33% down, 33% midway & 33% at permit sign off/completion.   LMF wants 95% payment prior to starting work which is insane.   The homeowner wouldn't have much bargaining power (5%) if the final inspection fails or if LMF drags their feet on completion or if the fireplace cannot be used).   

Issue #6- LMF is located in Paramus.  I?m located in Paramus.  Melissa's husband, John is probably very hard working as I've never met him and he does all of the installs.   He holds all the licensing as well a gas license.   As a good note, I've heard/read that all of the installs are very professional - they may just not be what you thought you were ordering!!!  The permit information provided to me was a mess and rejected by the town numerous times.   For the gas, the town wanted a piping diagram & gas license which wasn't initially provided.    

In Conclusion, I tried to salvage the deal.   I exchanged written correspondence via email with Melissa asking her to 1)

WOW, WOW, WOW.  I could not be happier with the way this job turned out.  The work was meticulous and performed on time.  It was a pleasure dealing with John, Frankie, and Melissa.  Just wish I had another fireplace to remodel.

Everything from the initial sales visit to the final inspection went very well.  John, the owner and installer was very fast, efficient and competent.  Final gas and fire inspections were no problem.

John, Melissa, and the rest of the staff were amazing.  From sale to install their attention to customer's needs cannot be beat. 
When my boyfriend and I first went into the store the salesman (has been there 10+years) was perfect ? he took the time to ask us what our desires were and why we chose gas vs. a wood burning and was very honest about the positives and negatives of each, and then the positives and negatives of each unit they sold.  He even let us back in after closing time, with our workweek hours making it there by 6 was not possible, to look at the unit we liked one more time prior to purchasing.
 Once we decided on a unit, the same salesman asked our location (Bergen County), and immediately advised us that our inspector was especially strict and exactly what we need to do in order to have the install ready for hosting Christmas Eve. 
John and team met every promise they made to us, even from letting us know they would be there to install at 8am and actually showing up at 8am unlike almost any other contractor I have ever encountered.  There was a minor issue with the inspection
and not to our surprise John called the inspector and made another (very timely) visit to our house to ensure we were able to enjoy our fireplace for the holidays.
 The unit is fabulous and, although it is not sold by Light My Fire as a heating element, it certainly does give off a lot of heat.  We could not be happier with the whole process.
Thank you Light My Fire!

It went very well.

I called to see if company could install gas insert bought at Home Depot. Person who answered office number laughed at me and said and quot;no one is going to install that. want to either.and quot; As a mother of three, I expect common decency. Im sorry the person was not personable or even nice, although I was absolutely polite to him. Makes me angry he would speak that way to me. Based on that interaction, I will never call this place again for any reason.

My wife and I bought a new home and wanted to convert our wood burning fireplace to gas burning. I saw the recommendations from past customers on Angie's list and decided to go with the company. I first went to visit the Paramus showroom and met Frank (the Sales Manager). He was very professional and friendly, giving me options in purchasing the proper unit and glass door covering. Within three days, John (the owner who does all the work) came over and fitted the gas fireplace within 45 minutes, and took measurements for the glass door cover. We are using the fireplace already (first day was chilly and rainy). The glass door will be installed in 5 weeks (it was custom ordered). We highly recommend the company and we are very happy with the work and product!

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It went exceedingly well. They are very knowledgeable, proffessional, neat, efficient, punctual, and clean.

We decided we wanted a gas fireplace to warm up our living room and offset the high cost of our oil heat. I looked on Angie’s List and found a local dealer right in Paramus.

A quick drive and we were at the showroom. A very knowledgeable and polite sales person helped us and directed us to the proper size unit for our living space. The purchase and installation procedure was explained in detail and they even filed for the proper permits our town required.

2 weeks later the Owner arrived to install the unit, the owner John does all the installation, no sub-contractors, no crew. We were told he would arrive between 1:00 and 3:00 pm and he arrived exactly at 2:00 pm. He told us the install would take 4 hours and it took 4 hours.

After the inspections and approval he would be back to fire up the unit and show us all the features. The inspection went well and everything passed. The following week John showed up and in about an hour had the fireplace fired up and explained everything to us. Payment was conveniently made in 3 installments. A down payment at the store, the bulk of the payment at time of installation, and the final payment when all the work was complete and we were happy with the operation.

Everything went perfectly and our living room is now warmer and more cozy than ever.

We will be calling them again when we install heat on our pouch.

We went to their showroom and the salesman was very helpful and pleasant. The owner, who does all of the work, came to the house to take measurements and he was punctual and quick, put together the plan and submitted the building permits for us. When it was time for installation, he was again right on time and got the job done in ~4 hours which was what was expected. After the inspectors approved the work (which they did immediately) he came right out and turned on the fireplace. It's been working perfectly the last two weeks and we couldn't be happier with both the product and the installation. Everything went smoothly and there were no surprises in cost, time, etc.

They were here on time and did the work very professionally. They answered our question (sometime before we asked) in a pleasent professional way.

They had to demolish my old brick fireplace and reframe for new. Put in new gas fireplace box , new oak mantle, venting pieces. Installed shut-off valve and pressure tested gas line.