Fireside Home Solutions

After 6 years of being a loyal customer to this company I can’t express the disappointment of how horrible their customer service has been. I have bought over 20 fireplaces from them and the last few projects I have had with them been nightmares. They not only held my project up for 3 months giving me the run around after I had already purchased 4 fireplaces from them, but also came to my project 2 times with the wrong material. Scorpio was not straight forward with the facts they actually never had the material I was looking for and Barbara was also was not very helpful on helping with giving any answers to my issue. The manager Mike never returned my calls after I left messages. I finally as a last attempt (after being blocked from Scorpio) decided to reach out to another store manager Kathryn who was polite and assured she would get to the bottom of my issue but once again that was a dead end. She never returned my call nor did she answer my calls to her. Needless to say if they will do this to a loyal customer imagine how they will treat you. Don’t spend your money with companies that do not value you as a customer.

The tech arrived today with the incorrect parts - not his fault. Evidently there is both an interior and exterior blower assembly, and I ordered the wrong one. Since the parts were non-refundable and non-returnable, I told him to install the new parts anyway, along with performing a multi-point inspection. Now the fireplace doesn't work. The pilot light won't ignite, and it was operating before the service. Word to the wise: Do your homework carefully and research parts on the manufacturer website, and don't expect their customer service agents to offer knowledgeable insight into the product needing repair.

BUYER BEWARE: Everything on the sale went fine with Fireside, but after putting 75% down for a $5,000 Garage Door, communication ceased and it took 3 months to get installed. This was not much of a problem, but they installed a faulty door where a panel had to be replaced. After they replaced it, it turns out the panel was worse than the one we had before. We set up a service call and were told they would come out and replace, but never heard from them after repeated requests. After 3 more months, we got a email requesting final 25% payment. We explained that we still had a faulty panel, but decided it was not worth the extra pain and said we would accept it as-is, but needed to get confirmation of the balance and reconcile it with our records. They sent us the invoice - two days later, they sent us a note threatening to escalate action if we did not pay our bill in full. We called, paid our bill and I expressed our frustration with their quality, service, communication and let them know that threatening customers is not a policy that will produce repeat customers. I asked to speak to the owner or regional manager, but have not yet received a reply despite asking twice. I have not written many reviews in my time, but I want to ensure that anyone considering Fireside should think twice about doing business with them. Their quality of work was poor, the communication absent, the promises made were broken and rather than accepting responsibility, they decided to try to bully us to get their final payment. We did our part, I wish I could say Fireside did theres. I will never do business with them again and hope that my review saves others from making the same mistake as we did.

Katherine Malone was a pleasure to work with, the estimate arrived the same day that I first spoke with her, scheduling the install was easy. Chris who came to the house to inspect the fireplace and make sure the unit I wanted to purchase would fit was courteous and knowledgable. The installers knew what they were doing and did not damage anything and were easy to speak with and educated us about the use of the fireplace before leaving. There were a few small areas for improvement. We hired gas pipers that were not part of Fireside Home Solutions and it was difficult to get any kind of consensus on whether or not the exact position of the gas stub in the fireplace was critical (it wasn't). However, there was never a time when I felt like my contact, Katherine, was non-responsive or not trying her very best to get me an answer. She totally had my back and we worked it out. Chris told me that we needed to insulate under the flu and that the installers would run the pipes for intake and output through the insulation. The installers not only did not need that, they removed it because it was a fire hazard. Perhaps I misunderstood in these situations, but it feels like the sales and inspection people would benefit from having a better idea of the installation process and what is needed. Or that when it gets to the details there is a more direct conduit to the installation folks. The installers left a small amount of trash - cutting from the intake and output pipes in the driveway and on the side of the house. Also, there was a piece missing for securing the screen to the fireplace (non-critical). There was really good communication around this and I expect to have it installed in the next week. But perhaps a check list before leaving the shop for an install would help.

The sales representative, at the Kent office, showed me different examples of the doors that could be provided.  Based on my desire to have the least expensive doors, the Wayne Dalton model 9100 was recommended and agreed upon.  I did add windows with a grid to each door.

I did not have to replace the garage door openers as the ones I had were sufficiently modern that they will stop closing and open if encountering an obstacle during closure.

The sales representative visited my house and measured my door openings to ensure the ordered doors would fit.

On the agreed day, the installer arrived about 8 am.  He completed the installation about 11 am and loaded the old doors and tracks to take away.  Installation included attaching the existing openers to the new doors and minor adjustments to the closure settings.

The installer noted one window was cracked and stated he would notify the dispatcher.

About one week later the replacement glass was quickly installed.

I also needed a second visit by an installer as I originally did not want the vinyl trim installed, but several days after the door installation I changed my mind.  The company accommodated me by installing the vinyl trim at no charge for the second visit.

I wanted the windows in the doors to improve the street view of the house, but found that I also enjoyed having some light thru the windows inside the garage, a benefit I had not anticipated.\

The other benefit I had not anticipated is that the new doors are much easier to lift open by hand in case the electrical power goes out, which happens every year once or twice.

Arrived on schedule to measure for log set and doors.
Two weeks later arrived on schedule to install the log set.  As the doors had not arrived they returned on schedule to install the doors.
Had one minor problem and they returned to adjust the pilot light.
Would recommend this company.

The service call was scheduled about three weeks out from my request call, which was not unreasonable considering the time of the year. Also, both units were functioning satisfactorily, so there was no urgency.
Logan, the technician, was punctual, professional, and courteous, and did an excellent job. The appearance of the fires in the inserts is definitely improved.
The service call took about 90 minutes, which seemed a bit overpriced, even for a highly skilled technician. (However, I did not compare pricing with other providers, since this was the company that we had purchased the inserts from.) 
The cost breakdown: $289 for servicing one insert, $125 for the second insert, $260 for the remote, plus tax.

They came out and were punctual.  The price was a little bit on a high side.  They were punctual but it just took them time to come here.

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We were experiencing some problems with our gas log, that seemed to be similar to what had happened in the past when there was a recall on the pilot light. Therefore, we thought we were in for a big bill to fix the problems and a long wait. Ultimately, THAT WAS NOT THE CASE AT ALL!
After speaking with the service department and getting an appointment in mid-December, we decided it might be better to go in and speak face to face with a representative. We went to the showroom and spoke to a salesman (Brent Oliphant) who was very pro-active and interested in making sure that we were satisfied. He in turn spoke with the head of the service organization (Steve Tate) who personally arrived at our door to check the unit.
I am happy to say that Steve was able to do a little simple maintenance. He showed us what needed to be done, so that in the future, we can do it ourselves. He also mentioned that they have a newer program of lower cost annual maintenance that can be purchased and used during the off-season to make sure that your gas log is operational when the bad weather sets in. Just call the main number and punch option 2 when prompted. They will set you up.
We enjoy our gas log immensely. Just remember, it needs some maintenance, and whether you do it yourself or whether you contract to have it done annually, it's important to making sure it operates when you need it.
Fireside has been very fair and responsive.

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Best selection of modern gas inserts I've found locally. The install went smoothly-the installer was very timely and clean. Took the time to answer questions and made sure work area was clean when he finished.

In spite of the ratings on Angie's List and the lack of mgt comments from the company regarding negative reviews, a friend had recommended this vendor to me, so I went with them. They were very courteous but I thought it took longer than it should have to complete the project (almost 2 months after initial order in the summer when demand is lower than in fall/winter). The electrician they recommended hadn't taken out a permit so the initial inspection of the work by the city didn't pass, in addition to having the gas lines incorrectly attached to the side of the house. However, the inspector mentioned the work was excellent in the crawl space (extending gas lines). Items that needed correction were done very courteously, and the work was approved by the city. And thus far the fireplace has been used since the end of October and it's been working fine. I think it would have been a nice touch for a follow-up by the company to see how things are working, but no doubt it's an unrealistic expectation on our part.

We visited Rich's (in Tacoma) for their big and quot;After the Fairand quot; sale, and were totally ignored for 25 minutes! Next, we tried Aquaquip. After being told my their sales person that for a certain trim piece, and quot;I could just get a piece of sheet metal and spray paint it black,and quot; we finally found Fireside. We thought we'd found Nirvana! Beautiful showroom in Kent, knowledgeable salesperson, (who we later found out was the president), and the most realistic looking log sets with supposedly and quot;the largest viewing window made in the industry.and quot; We put a $2500 down payment on an insert for our living room and another upgraded insert, with a fan and adjustable flame height, for our family room.
Both inserts remained with the fronts covered in their original cardboard until the tile work surrounds were finished. At that point, I called Fireside to set up an appointment for the and quot;light upand quot; procedure where the logs and and quot;rock wooland quot; (to make glowing and quot;embersand quot;) are put in place and the customer is given instruction on the operation of the insert as well as the remote. This is the point at which I lost all faith and contentment with Fireside! I made many calls to set up this appointment and most weren't even acknowledged for 3 or 4 days usually with some type of excuse: the Holidays, the big storm, etc. I finally was able to schedule someone to come out and get my inserts working and was relieved . . . until he showed up. The service tech. they sent to my home was a nice guy but . . . knew absolutely nothing about either of my inserts! Between the two of us, we had to actually read page by page of the owner's manuals to complete the assemblies! During his visit I noticed the ceramic glass front was broken on the family room insert. The tech. assured me it would be replaced and said it would be fine to switch the front from the other fireplace so we could at least have one working insert.
Numerous calls were made to Fireside to follow up on the glass replacement as well as to assure me that a different, knowledgeable technician would come out next time! When the next tech. came out to replace the glass he found that the glass front that had been swapped was now warped and would have to be replaced!
After both glass fronts were replaced, I noticed an intermittent inability to control the flame height in our family room. After being given a new remote, the problem persisted. More phone calls! A technician replaced the control module and the problem still persisted. At this point, out of sheer frustration, I called and demanded to talk to someone who would actually listen to my problem. I spoke with Steve Tate (management?) who was the first person who actually seemed to care and promised to do whatever it took to get the flame height working as advertised. Steve came out and replaced, I believe, the regulator and after more than four months since installation, I now have two fireplaces working as they're supposed to!
I mentioned that we were required to put a 50% deposit down to order the fireplaces. While we were out of town, my wife was looking at our bank statement and happened to notice that Fireside took the balance owed ($2679.35) out of our account, without notifying us! This resulted in us being charged for insufficient funds!
I remarked to Steve that my wife and I thought we deserved some compensation for all the frustration involved in this and told him we were interested in a magnetic front with doors to make our family room fireplace look even more realistic. I asked him if there was anything he could do for us. He responded a few days later willing to sell the front we were interested for 50% off. The front was $759 meaning we'd pay $379.50! Or, he had another, less appealing, front regularly $349, and we'd pay $174.50! I told Steve I'd discuss this with my wife and he assured me that if I had any more problems with my inserts that I had his number.
I am very grateful I finally spoke with Steve and that he came to our home and fixed our ongoing problem. And my wife and I are once again pleased with our purchase as we believe Fireside sells an outstanding product. However, considering all the time and frustration I've had with after-the-sale service, the thought of handing over any more money to Fireside, despite their and quot;generous discount,and quot; is really unpalatable!
We recently had over $100,000 in home improvements done to our home and every bit of it, from tearing down walls to relocating plumbing went without a single problem. Fireside more than made up for it!

The installation was very good but the post-installation service has been incredibly bad. The fireplace was making a noise so I called for a repair and left 2 separate voice mails after being unable to reach their service department. They never returned my call. The noise eventually went away. Now the fireplace will not light. They have yet to return my call for a repair. I'm tired of waiting and won't deal with them again.

The exterior gas line was installed obliquely across the outside walls and left a gas leak overnight. The workers were smoking in the garage as they installed the gas lines. Was told that the regular gas line installer had called in sick. I called the company owner who was very rude and non-plussed by the situation. I had to have the outside line removed and reinstalled and then repair the holes in the siding. The salesman from the outset was condescending. Eventually everything was installed to satisfaction. They installed a blower that we didn't order but did remove the charge for it and left it in place.

While we are please with the final products we received we had multiple problems with the installation process. Our first contact was with Debbie, a salesperson at the Bellevue showroom. After talking with her we received an initial proposal and were required to put $500 down in order to have a salesperson come out to our home and measure. Damon then came out, measured and wrote up more detailed proposals. After reviewing these and visiting the showroom in Kent, we decided to use Fireside because of the door set they offered and the type of gas insets they carried. But, we did change the proposal slightly. We decided on a smaller log set for one fireplace and to not purchase the remote control system for the gas insert. Debbie was contacted and a rewritten proposal was then submitted. The installers came as scheduled, but while helpful and competent, ran into many problems with the installation. First, the gas line for the new insert could not be run as originally bid. Secondly, they installed the larger gas logs from the initial bid and the glass doors were not as ordered. They also had the remote to install for the gas insert. When communicating with the sales staff to rectify the installation, I feel we had to initiate many of the phone class and follow ups. While we are please with the final products we received we had multiple problems with the installation process. Our first contact was with Debbie, a salesperson at the Bellevue showroom. After talking with her we received an initial proposal and were required to put $500 down in order to have a salesperson come out to our home and measure. Damon then came out, measured and wrote up more detailed proposals. After reviewing these and visiting another showroom, we decided to use Fireside because of the door set they offered and the type of gas insets they carried. But, we did change the proposal slightly. We decided on a smaller log set for one fireplace and to not purchase the remote control system for the gas insert. Debbie was contacted and a rewritten proposal was then submitted. The installers came as scheduled, but while helpful and competent, ran into many problems with the installation. First, the gas line for the new insert could not be run as originally bid. Secondly, they installed the larger gas logs from the initial bid and the glass doors were not as ordered. They also had the remote to install for the gas insert. When communicating with the sales staff to rectify the installation, I feel we had to initiate many of the phone class and follow ups. After waiting an additional 4 weeks, the correct log set and proper doors were installed. After the final installation, we were given a bill for the initial bid which was over $450 higher and had to make additional calls to the billing department to fix the discrepancy.

Okay. The vacuum works great, but the install on the pipe was pretty sloppy, which caused extra plaster work (lathe and plaster walls, not sheetrock.)

It went well, overall. We went to their store and looked at various models they had to offer. They seemed to understand our needs (to upgrade from an ornamental fireplace to a more functional one). They gave us a lot of options. The one thing I didn't like was that they were unwilling to come out to our house and do measurements until after we had purchased the unit. That made me nervous. It worked out okay, though. They don't do the prep work, taking out the old unit and sheet rock work, but recommended a good contractor who did that work for us. The fireplace installers didn't arrive until long after their scheduled arrival time, which inconvenienced my husband. They did a good job, though, were polite and friendly, and didn't get our white carpet dirty. The mantle installers arrived on time, did a good job, were polite and friendly, and kept things clean. The installers gave us good information and instructions on using and maintaining the fireplace and mantle.

The price was pretty competitive. The price includes the purchase of all the equipment plus the installation. They were extremely helpful throughout the whole process. They even helped us find other companies for other work we needed done. If we needed them back we would surely hire them again.

We were very pleased with all our contact with Fireside Hearth and Home. We had learned on the internet that they carried a certain brand-visited the show room. Met with a very knowledgeable and helpful sales rep who gave us a detailed bid. We accepted that and had him come to the house to see the set-up here. After that the product was ordered and the installation scheduled. The men arrived, did the work promptly and the final cost was exactly as the bid stated. We were given very detailed information at all stages. We had been on the verge of accepting another estimate (without getting bids elsewhere) and when that company didn't contact us again, we almost accidentally made this contact. The bid was several hundred dollars less than the estimate by the other company.

THE FIREPLACES THEY PROVIDED AND INSTALLED WORKED PERFECTLY. ONE UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE WAS DURING A WINDSTORM WHEN THE CHIMNEY CAP BLEW OFF. THEY RETURNED TO REINSTALL THE CHIMNEY CAP LATER.

THEY WERE PROFESSIONAL BUT THE GAS LOG THEY SOLD TO US WAS TOO HOT AND IT MELTED THE HANDLE FOR THE VALVE. THEY CAME TO TRY AND FIX IT, BUT FAILED. NOW THEY ARE TRYING TO ORDER A REMOTE TO REPLACE THE MANUAL HANDLE FOR THE VALVE.

THE PURCHASING EXPERIENCE AND PRICE WERE EXCELLENT. HOWEVER, THE INSTALLATION WAS NOT SO. AFTER THREE VISITS INCLUDING INSTALLATION OF THE WRONG FIREPLACE THEY FINALLY SENT OUT THE INSTALLATION MANAGER AND INSTALLED THE CORRECT FIREPLACE. HE MISWIRED THE CONTROL UNIT WHICH I ENDED UP FIXING MY SELF BY FOLLOWING THE INSTALLATION SCHEMATIC. THEY WERE NICE AND RESPONSIVE BUT JUST KEPT GETTNG IT WRONG.