Rusty's Fire Place and Chimney

I wanted to upgrade my wood burning fireplace with a direct vent fireplace insert. I visited a couple of showrooms and decided on Rusty’s mainly because they had the insert that I wanted and I like to support small local businesses when possible. The installation was flawless and my insert is just as good as I thought it would be. The work crew was tidy and completed the installation quickly. I would highly recommend Rusty’s for fireplace insets.

Rusty really knows what he's doing. His business operation is well-run and organized, they communicate well and do exactly what they say on time, they are careful in your home, helpful with questions, and energetic in their cleaning. I highly recommend them.

When I first used the stove two days after servicing I discovered that the chimney was completely clogged and the house filled with smoke. I immediately called Rusty's. They could not check on the problem immediately because their schedule was full but added me in two days later on a Saturday afternoon. During their follow up visit they found that the damper between the stove and chimney was indeed clogged. They removed the problem with their vacuum cleaner. During the both visits the crew identified the need to replace the fiberglass gasket on the door of the insert stove but on both occasions they said they did not have the material on their truck, although they said that they usually carried that product and would usually be able to do that repair during servicing. They suggested that I purchase the gasket material from the store and make the repair myself. All things considered, I did not think Rusty's service was as professional as I expected because 1) the original job was botched, 2) they did not immediately respond to the problem, and 3) they did not complete a repair that they identified but left it to me to do myself.

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Quadrafire stove is excellent; installation took longer than expected but resulted in satisfactory install job.  If you don't expect much from them as far as "service after the sale" is concerned, you'll be ok. 

The pellet stove requires specialized annual maintenance and high quality pellets which can be hard to find.   Since this purchase, customer service has dramatically decreased.  Specifically,

1) it's harder to get a service technician to come to our area to perform service.  Last year we had to schedule almost 2 months in advance for service and cleaning.

2) Our quadrafire digital thermostat failed and had to be replaced.  The technician sent to repair it initially suspected/ recommended a control board replacement.  While searching Google I found others experiencing same issue so ordered the quadrafire thermostat from amazon then called Rusty's to come install it; the problem was fixed.  Potential mis-diagnosis of the problem could have cost me a new stove as the control board was nearly as expensive as new unit..

3) They offer only minimal service providing pellets for the season.  When I bought the stove you could pre-pay for your pellets and come get them within a week or two, or when they arrived.  I have a long drive to their store so it's frustrating to go through effort to get help to haul the pellets only to arrive and find they're out of stock.  While attempting to order this season's supply of pellets, I was told (via phone)  they will not hold, reserve, or allow you to pre-pay for your pellets.  They also will not special order particular brands of pellets for you that may be recommended for your stove.  Basically, they handle all pellet sales as first come first served. 

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One of my tenants had a chimney fire in February.  I asked Rusty to inspect the chimney to make sure there was no damage.  He had installed the chimney (for a woodstove) two years earlier, replacing an old pipe that wasn't installed to code.  The job was very good - the guys were fast, professional, cleaned up as they went along, and gave me a lot of confidence in terms of the safety of what they recommended (double liner etc).   The store in Hamilton has a nice selection of woodstoves and supplies.  They recommended using a gel starter for the woodstove, which they stock.  The office staff has been very helpful and knowledgeable too!

They showed up in the time frame that they said they would. They were professional, polite and knowledgeable. They explained everything they were doing while they did it. I was very pleased with the service I got from them.

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They were excellent. Will call them again.

They also spent a good amount of time making sure we felt comfortable with and knew how to safely use and operate the wood stove. He went to great lengths to make sure the work area was clean, he put drop cloths down and tented the area, he took care of the surroundings. I plan on using him again.

Garrett Cox and another service tech arrived right on time. Garrett's father, Rusty (the owner of the business), had actually installed two fireplace stove inserts for us several years ago. I explained that one of the stove inserts had not actually been used, so Garrett indicated there was no need to waste any money on sweeping that chimney. Garrett and the other tech were very careful to cover the area around the fireplace of the chimney that did need to be swept. In less than an hour, they had checked and cleaned the stove insert and swept the three story chimney. They were very polite and explained exactly what they were doing each step of the way. When they were gone, you couldn't even tell they had been in the house. I could not be happier with the service I received , I and would not hesitate to recommend them to any of my friends.

Rusty's came out and removed our old unsafe stove and chimney and replaced it with a new, properly installed stove and chimney. Very professional and attention to detail.

See above. The stove is a working great!

He did a nice job and was very thorough. He showed a before and after picture of my flue, which is nice, because it gives you an idea of the condition. The price was very fair.

They are awesome. Their products and customer service are top notch. The servicemen who came out were awesome. They showed up when I called them. The owner came out with the servicemen and worked with them. He showed me everything on the roof to show me that he was telling me the truth.

We started at the showroom and found the sales rep to be very knowledgable on the products they sold. We already knew that we wanted the Hearthstone based on great reviews on the web, and since it's made in the U.S. We just wanted to see it in person. They were offering a $300 discount at the time and we purchased it. We paid for the cost of the fireplace insert up front with the cost of the installation to be paid after it was installed. American Chimney sent out a team to do a pre-evaluation to verify the unit would fit and to identify what parts were necessary (i.e. standard or oval flue vent, length, etc). They were very professional and took about 5 minutes. The same team came back a few weeks later to perform the installation. There was a small delay in getting the fireplace insert from Hearthstone and some rescheduling, but everything worked out. The installation team arrived earlier than I thought, which was great. They performed the installation of the 550 lb stove in a very professional style. They cleaned up everything and even asked where I wanted the old fireplace doors, grate and damper to go.

SIDE NOTE: My wife's only comment is that the insert almost works too good. I build a fire with a few sticks and 3 pieces of medium sized firewood and the room temp goes up to around 80 degrees from 66. I actually like it that way.

The guys showed up on time and were prepared for the install. The company was having trouble with their gas subcontractor and we waited quite a while for one to show up. They did as much as they could before the gas guy got there and then got right to the install once the gas line was capped and out of the way. They did a great job! They completely encapsulated the back of the stove with a foil covered insulation which helps considerably with drafts. They finished the job in the time they allotted and WOW does it look great. I was very impressed with them and their professionalism. The stove does a great job heating my house and I look forward to paying the propane man less this year!

I think I have answered most above. They gave us a weeks notice before delivery and installation. They came when scheduled, two men. It took some minor modifications to my masonary fireplace. All was completed within six or seven hours. The foreman took time to go very operations and suggestions for getting the most out of the Jotul C350. He called me back in a few days to see how everything was working and if I was pleased with it.

My overall experience was very good with them. They were on time. They did a good job. They were very friendly. In case if I had any issues or questions I could call and they would turn back. They were very knowledgeable. I would use them in the future.

Still trying to work it out with them - we'll see how it ends...... I called American Chimney since I had heard they were "experts" in design, and my fireplace wasn't drafting properly (even after all the tricks - heat up flue, crack an opposite window). The guy who came for the inspection said the chimney was simply too short to ever draft properly, but there were a few fixes.....convert to gas, add a fan at the top exterior of the chimney, or add a woodburning fireplace insert. The insert was the most feasible option, so I did that, for ~$5,000. It still doesn't draft properly, house fills with smoke, and even when it isn't on, the living room is so cold I can barely use it. I believe I'm worse off now than had I done nothing. After a couple calls with their service staff, they noted I needed to talk to the owner "Rusty", who didn't return 4 calls over a period of months. I finally wrote a letter, he came out an inspected the thing, and agreed it was an inappropriate solution to a poorly designed house, but they shouldn't have sold me something that wouldn't work. I have to constantly chase them to have them; Rusty is quite unresponsive. I'm still working on it, but it looks like we'll end up in small claims court.... I do not think this will end well. I'll write an update once it goes one way or the other, but buyer beware with this vendor.

Excellent work and very professional. They inspected all four flues and were honest enough to tell me only one needed cleaning. They covered the floors with drop cloths and cleaned up everything before leaving. Very professional in every way.