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Vonderhaar Fireplace Stove & Masonry
Chimney or Fireplace - Clean and Inspect, Brick or Stone Fireplace - Install, Brick or Stone Fireplace Repair,
About us
10 employees, no subs. Cost is determined by the job. No travel charges, Installation for entire area.
Business highlights
40 years of experience
Services we offer
Chimney cleaning & repair to include masonry, air duct cleaning and dryer vent cleaning. Retail includes wood, corn, furnaces and fireplaces. Fireplace accessories and pats. Gas fireplace repair., grain & gas stoves, pellet
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
Reviews
4.499 Reviews
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 74% | ||
| 5% | ||
| 12% | ||
| 2% | ||
| 7% |
Filter reviews by service
Showing 1-25 of 99 reviews
Linda C.
Jul 2025
Brick or Stone Fireplace Repair
I hired Vonderhaar to replace the fireplace flashing on my roof. Once the down payment check cleared my bank on 7/16/25 and I did not receive a phone call from Vonderhaar to schedule the work, I contacted the company on 7/18 to schedule. The office staff would not schedule a work date and was unable to provide an estimated date for the work. I was told my place on their list of jobs, which was into the teens. Based on what I was told I could only assume the work would be at least 2 weeks out. On the afternoon of 7/23, I arrive at my home to find a work crew on my roof. I had no advance notice or even same-day notification that work would be performed on that day. The workers did not speak English so another person had to arrive in order to communicate with me. I also did speak with the office staff, who was very dismissive and frankly, did not seem to care. The crew used shingles that did not match the existing shingles on my roof. NEVER AGAIN VONDERHAAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
J F.
Aug 2021
Before converting a wood-burning fireplace to a gas log, we called Vonderhaar to inspect and sweep the chimney. We wanted to ensure the chimney was clean and nothing was living in it before converting to gas log. I called Vonderhaar and scheduled an appointment the same week we called. We had called other companies and they were scheduling further out, at higher estimates. Chris was the employee who came for the job. He inspected the chimney (from the roof and looking up into it from the fireplace), found nothing living in it, and confirmed it was clean. He told us he could sweep the chimney though doing so was unnecessary since it was clean. He gave us some asked-for advice about the new gas log insert and the chimney cap. The cost was lower than the original estimate because our chimney didn't require cleaning.
Response from Vonderhaar Fireplace Stove & Masonry
"Thank you so much for your review. Chris is one of our top technicians."
Lauren S.
Jan 2019
I would not recommend Vonderhaar to anyone. We had them out for a chimney rebuild due to a cracked crown. We picked Vonderhaar because their quote was lower than the others we had received. However, in the end we were out much more money, time, stress, and frustration than I would want anyone else to have to go through. They caused damage to our roof that led to multiple leaks in our house. They did flashing incorrectly and rather than simply re-doing it, they did a poor repair job that had to be re-done by another company. They dropped debris into our flu vent, which caused it to be clogged. This led to damage of our furnace and hot water heater plus carbon monoxide was backing up into our house. They took zero responsibility for anything and tried to place the blame elsewhere multiple times. Greg was very unprofessional and even used profanity towards my husband. I understand that not every job goes exactly as planned, but the lack of acceptance of responsibility shown by the company as a whole was appalling. In the end we had to have multiple other companies out to fix the issues Vonderhaar caused. I will say that Randall was very nice and tried to help smooth things over, but we had already had too many issues by the time he was employed by Vonderhaar. Look elsewhere for chimney work and definitely don’t use them for any roofing work!
Response from Vonderhaar Fireplace Stove & Masonry
"We are sorry to hear that you had problems with your new home and I would like to take the time to comment again as I did when we were going through them at your home. We did a rebuild of the chimney from the roofline up. We replaced the flashing but we told you that the roof was in bad shape and was time to be replaced. We couldn't even stand on the roof due to the granules of the shingles were loose and was like walking on ball bearings. In response to the CO, you know that the basement was remodeled and the furnace and water heater was moved 2 rooms over. The piping was not on a typical 1" rise but was completely horizontal to be hidden under the drop ceiling. Being an older furnace, it required along with the water heater a natural drafting chimney. It was definitely out of code and could not be drafting properly. Not only that, but the remodelers drilled a hole in the back of the chimney and it was apparent that the concrete rebar was on the foundation not mortar from the rebuild and we have pictures to prove it. You even said you were going to take it up with the inspector that you had, but I guess that went nowhere and you set the blame back on us. It is unfortunate and we are sorry for your issues but these were beyond our control. This would also be a cause of your chimney needing a rebuild to begin with before it's time. Let me explain this. When you burn natural gas, it produces a water vapor and if it doesn't draft properly, it will erode the chimney from the inside out. That why you needed a rebuild to begin with so the problem with CO was the fault of not getting the proper city inspection when the basement was remodeled. I know this is hard to swallow when buying a home, but you should have had a chimney inspection to go along with the home inspection. Thank you. Greg Vonderhaar"
Robert B.
Jun 2018
Kurt and his team did a good job of replacing the stone work and installing the door and mantle. It looks quite nice now that it is done. But if you are doing any work in an existing site, be prepared to hire another contractor to finish the job behind them. They don't do drywall work, or carpentry, or electrical. This would have been OK if they had stated it up front. But they did not. The bid for $6300 stated that we would have a complete job. Only after the job was half done, did they start telling me all the things they "don't do." In fact they didn't even want to clean up the mortar that was splattered on the new stone and walls until I insisted.
SCOTT C.
May 2018
We've used Vonderhaar in the past and been satisfied. In this instance, we scheduled to have them check out the gas fireplace at our rental property. We had to wait 6 weeks for the appointment. The girl they sent out didn't seem to have a clue how to fix it and finally told my tenant that the gas valve needed to be replaced on a fireplace that was 18 months old. We never got a quote for what it would take to replace the gas valve but we we kept getting invoiced for the service call. I got Doug from DBA Gas Fireplace out to the house and he fixed the pilot light with a can of compressed air and some know-how.
Mike P.
Dec 2017
the workers that came to my house were fine. the people in this office have no idea what they are doing. first, a guy comes out, tells me part needs to be ordered, will take couple weeks & they will call when part is in. after 3 weeks, i called office to see if part was in, was told they don't order part unless i call office & order it myself...repair guy doesn't order it. also, that it had to be paid for before they would come back out. i gave them a credit card 12/4 and then they said part was stocked, didn't need to be ordered. a guy came out and installed the part 12/7. today, 12/11, they send me an invoice for the amount they charged to my card on 12/4!!!!
Richard M.
Nov 2017
Very thorough and professional service.
Kathy T.
Oct 2017
I put down 25% and was put on a schedule. When they came out two people worked on putting the coating and a new flue. The older flue had a handle on the outside of the fireplace and they asked me if I wanted it on or off. As I was deciding what to do the one worker pulled on it and it pulled the mortar out and left a hole. I was then told I would have to get someone to repair it. I asked them if they could do it and they said they needed fire mortar. So I went out to see if I could find some. I called the office and the lady told me they would take care of it. Several weeks later someone came out and patched it and it looked terrible. It was a white patch on dark brick. So I had to call the office again and she asked for a picture. She agreed that it was not good and she would have to have a mason repair it. Meanwhile I had a second project that needed to be completed on the outside. I needed about 25-30 bricks replaced. Again I sent in 25% down payment. I was told I would have to wait nearly 21/2 months because they were really busy. They wanted to come the end of August. I was going to be out of town so I scheduled the first week of September. I mentioned that I still needed the inside brick fixed and I was told I would have to wait until September because the mason was busy. When the first week of September came I didn't hear anything so I called and asked if I was still on the schedule. I had talked to someone who was less than friendly and in a very condescending tone was told that was what I requested and they would be there Wednesday. They did come to the house and the mason was unaware of the problem in the house. He worked on the outside and left because he had to go and look for bricks to match my house. Again a day passed and scaffleing was left on the house and I had no idea what was happening. I called and told the office I was not happy with the lack of communication. I don't know if I should be home since he was to fix the inside as well. After a discussion which I feel I had to coax an apology the mason returned and finished the job and came in and put mortar on the brick to try to match the color. He said if I didn't like it he would come back and replace it. I looked at the outside and noticed part of it was not completed and he said he had to order the limestone and it should be about a week. That was the first week of September. I didn't hear anything and again we had to go out of town the first week of October. When I returned there was scaffleing up with boards. I called the office to find out what was going on. I told her the inside was not right. The mason came back Oct. 13 and finished the outside and had to replace the brick inside the house. My complaint is this: Very poor communication to the customer. Lack of concern shown by the office when I called. I will say Jennifer did help move things along after I told her I was upset. I don't think a job should take this long. I don't have a lot of experience with masonry work and I am not sure if this was normal. I picked this company because I thought I would receive good and honest service and feel very let down. On the positive side the mason and his helper were very nice and the work was well done in the end. Just a long drawn out process and I felt little consideration was given to the customer.
Trudy M.
Sep 2017
The repair person was very polite, on time and clean. Showed me a bad wire for ignition . Stated blower was disconnected . Fixed blower. Fireplace was working. Repairman showed me rusted burner pan causing minor flame distortion. Suggested replacement of pan. Then blower started to blow out pilot light. ( maybe why someone disconnected it?) Repairman suggested I replace whole unit. Left brochure. Called back with bids over $10,000.00!!!!Told me minimum to fix!
Gabrielle S.
Aug 2017
I was very happy with the service, the tech arrived within 3 minutes of the beginning of the scheduled window. As it turned out, the fireplace was just dusty and needed a good cleaning, it now works beautifully. The tech even showed me how to keep it clean so that I won't need maintenance as often.
Charles J.
Aug 2017
I chose Vonderhaar Fireplace, Stove & Masonry for my recent chimney rebuild because they have an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, many favorable online reviews from past customers, and are even recommended by other contractors. So I was surprised when I was told that a masonry crew would be working on my chimney and nobody ever showed up or called. This may have been excusable once but it happened on 4 separate dates! I was eventually forced to postpone a scheduled roof replacement until the work was complete. My 2-day project dragged on for more than 3 weeks and the office seemed to be unaware of this. I would not use this company again or recommend them to anyone who needs similar work.
Betsy W.
Mar 2017
Inspection showed a crack in the chimney crown (pictures furnished identifying issue). Received an estimate for repair or rebuild. Scheduled an appointment and the work was completed and picture furnished of resealed crown.
Kathy K.
Nov 2016
Went well.
Fred M.
Nov 2016
The technician was quick, neat and efficient.
Jane R.
Oct 2016
Very well.
Jim F.
Aug 2016
unknown
Thomas M.
Jul 2016
unknown
Darlene P.
May 2016
unknown
Baker M.
Apr 2016
unknown
Response from Vonderhaar Fireplace Stove & Masonry
"Thanks [Member Name Removed] for your kind words. We hope we can continue to be your gas fireplace tune-up company in the future."
RON H.
Mar 2016
It went very well. They charge an upfront fee to come out, diagnose, as well as begin the repair process, including the price of ordering parts. They fixed everything, and even accounted for unanticipated issues as the repairs continued. For instance, after finishing the downstairs fireplace it then began having some issues clicking on, and then some additional spots that appeared on the glass.. However, they were able to repair that quickly, as well. To top it off, a few days later I got a rebate to cover the difference between the estimated and actual costs. They were responsible, responsive, and fair.
Response from Vonderhaar Fireplace Stove & Masonry
"Thanks [Member Name Removed] for your kind words. We hope we can continue to be your chimney sweep company in the future."
Nelson L.
Mar 2016
The technician was punctual and cleaned the soot out of the unit. He then reassembled the unit and briefly tested it before he left. However, as he was leaving I noticed that the flame was burning way to high and orange in color. I called the tech back in and he confirmed that the unit would probably soot again quickly and that the air fuel mixture was the problem. He indicated that he couldn't adjust the air/fuel mixture and that he needed to change the valve to fix the problem, he estimated the fix at $700. A week later Vonderhaar called and told me that they were not able to find the replacement valve to fix the unit and since it was no longer manufactured and recommended that I consider replacing the fireplace. It is only 6 years old. I made a few calls and was able to find a replacement valve, which I ordered and recieved several days later. I called Vonderhaar to see if they would come out and replace the valve and they quoted me $400 to do the valve replacement. That seemed excessive to me so I decided to check with some other gas fireplace servicers to see if I could find somebody to install the new valve. 2 of the companies I called referred me to DBA and I schedule the repair with them. They were able to schedule me in 2 days. When I told the story to the DBA repairman, he told me that there was a 95% chance that the valve had nothing to do with the problem. DBA came out in 2 days and within 15 minutes found the problem which had nothing to do with the valve. The airflow was being restricted in the unit because the rock in the bed had fallen into the gas dispensing bar and was blocking the airflow. This should have been taken care of during the first cleaning but the Vonderhaar repairman didn't bother to check the gas dispenser for airflow blockages. The DBA repairman told me that given the problem, this should have been one of the first things that they checked and cleaned. The total cost for the DBA service was $150 and totally worth it. I am returning the gas valve which cost $192 and I am so glad that I had DBA come out and service my gas unit. Two important points for consumers to know. 1. Vonderhaar would have replaced my valve for $700 and not fixed the problem. The unit would have sooted up again as soon as I started using it with the new valve. 2. The DBA Repairman told me that the valve in my unit was the most commonly used gas valve and that he could get 100 of them almost overnight. I totally believe him because I was able to order my own replacement valve and I am not in the industry. I would not recommend Vonderhaar for gas fireplace servicing.
Response from Vonderhaar Fireplace Stove & Masonry
"Based on the information our technician brought back, we inquired on the valve with our distributor. They mentioned to us that the valve was not manufactured any longer, which is the information we passed along to the customer. Normally we do push out any debris or blockage during a gas log tune up. We also noted that the gasket around the glass was not sealed which would have contributed to the sooting as well. We will talk to technician who did this work."
Barb P.
Jan 2016
unknown
Response from Vonderhaar Fireplace Stove & Masonry
"Thanks [Member Name Removed] for your kind words. We hope we can continue to be your chimney sweep company in the future."
Michael P.
Dec 2015
We are very happy with our experience. The service person Ryan was very professional and called when he was about 15 minutes from our home. We have a no shoe policy in our home and Ryan was more than happy to comply. He was very friendly and explained the steps as he was inspecting our fireplace. Our fireplace is now running efficiently and we are confident in the work that Ryan performed. Everyone that we dealt with at Vonderhaar have been helpful and professional and we will definitely be using them in the future.
Response from Vonderhaar Fireplace Stove & Masonry
"Thank you for your business and your kind words. Happy New Year!"
Dana R.
Dec 2015
The actual installation went well and the stove looked great (I did not notice the cook plate issue until later). My issues began when I started trying to use the stove in November. The house filled with thick smoke and even though I opened all windows, the smell would not dissipate. I called Vonderhaar (talked to Jennifer and Colleen) and was advised that the issue was because the stove needed to be "cured". That is a process where you burn tiny fires and then progressively larger fires until the stove is broken in. Well, I built 4-5 progressively bigger fires and the smell continued. So I had a disgustingly overwhelmingly smokey creosote smell in my home for about a month. Anytime I was in the house I had to have the windows open just to breathe. I had people over familiar with wood stove operation who told me that was not normal. Also, a black sooty fluid began to appear at the back of the stove where the stove pipe met the stove. Also the cook plate was not installed plumb. Not a functional issue but it is an aesthetic one.
I have called Vonderhaar probably 20 + times in the last month requesting help and to no avail. There are 3 people in the office who work there - Jennifer, Colleen and Katie. I've talked to all 3 about this problem on multiple occasions and basically I get told that either they need to talk to the owner/installer, or they will get back with me, or they hand me off to someone else in the office. Also, if they say they will call me back, they don't. I have to continuously call them back. I am spending a lot of time calling their office and waiting on hold in their phone system. Note: the stinky smell has dissipated some what so that I can now breathe in the house without opening all windows but I know there are still draft issues since it takes an hour to build a fire.
I am writing this review here in the hopes that it will persuade the owner - who I cannot talk to directly- to contact me and make this right. At $8000 I would expect the company to stand behind their product and work with me to fix any issues. I will keep Angie's list updated on their responses to me.
Updated 2/6/2016: I met with the owner twice and both times it was a positive experience. He was very nice and quite knowledgeable, and responsive after looking at the stove. He added more pipe which I think helped. The bad smell has completely gone away. I built 2 fires since his last visit and both times there was no smell and everything went smoothly. So I am changing my grade from F to B based on the owner's responsiveness.
Response from Vonderhaar Fireplace Stove & Masonry
"Owner went to customers house on 12/31 and already met with customer. This complaint just showed up on 1/17/16 so not sure why it popped up now. Customer is a new wood burner and has some unseasoned wood. It was so wet that the creosote was dripping from stove. In addition, it is evident that the customer did not read the owners manual because she had mentioned that she may have left the ash drawer open when starting the stove. This is mentioned multiple times in the manual. Every house is different and it was decided that we would add another section of pipe this month to elevate the pipe even more than the required 2-10 rule. Kirk Vonderhaar actually went out to the house of customer and discussed what her options were as well as reviewed proper wood curing rules. A test draft was performed and stove worked fine."
John K.
Dec 2015
unknown
Response from Vonderhaar Fireplace Stove & Masonry
"Sorry for the delay as we were experiencing some manufacturing delays as we had changed suppliers for our chase covers. We understand your experience was not what you expected nor what we expect to provide our customers."
Licensing
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FAQ
Vonderhaar Fireplace Stove & Masonry is currently rated 4.4 overall out of 5.
Vonderhaar Fireplace Stove & Masonry accepts the following forms of payment: CreditCard
No, Vonderhaar Fireplace Stove & Masonry does not offer free project estimates.
No, Vonderhaar Fireplace Stove & Masonry does not offer eco-friendly accreditations.
No, Vonderhaar Fireplace Stove & Masonry does not offer a senior discount.
No, Vonderhaar Fireplace Stove & Masonry does not offer emergency services.
No, Vonderhaar Fireplace Stove & Masonry does not offer warranties.