The Stove Guy

Great. He fixed it.

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Overall, I was content with the service provided at the time he left.  He was very punctual, arriving very close to if not early based on the agreed upon time.  The biggest problem I had is not uncommon among contractors - namely, needing to be present to ensure it was done appropriately.  I had to prompt to ensure the agreed upon size of gas piping was used and had to prompt two separate holes be sealed to prevent weather and insects going inside the chimney.  In addition, some of the "finish work" needed prompting to ensure done properly.  When a warranty repair (unrelated to original installation) was performed, a damper was found still in place that should have been removed per factory guidelines.  He was a nice guy and seemed competent and left the house clean when he left.

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He came to my home in October of 2011 to install my stove but did not obtain the necessary permits of the town I live in or Spokane County Washington Building and Planning Department. I had to purchase a permit 2 1/2 months later when I became aware of how dangerous the stove was. I payed 100 for the permit and the building and planning department wrote the following violations: 1. need 16 inches to combustibles to front of stove (had 11 inches) 2. need double wall pipe of the inside (had single walled pipe) 3. Seal hole through wall to stop the whistling wind from coming through 4. Exterior pipe needs 2 inches to combustibles (outside pipe rested against the wood shingles of my house) 5. Electrical cord and outlet to close to stove (couldn't pull the plug out of the wall) 6. Back corners to close to combustibles (3/4 of an inch to the wall, needed 13 inches) 7. there was no support to exterior pipe (no support pipe) 8. when the stove was pulled out, the violations became visible.

Overall, I would say it went absolutely horribly. The stove could not get any air, so the wood would not burn, it smoldered, causing the glass to be perpetually brown. Every time I opened the door of the stove, a hot blast of air and ash hit me in the face. The creosote buildup that you see accumulated in just two and a half months that I used the stove, from October 7, 2011 until December 27, 2011, which was the date I was told by the Inspector at Spokane County to stop using the stove immediately. Note in that same photo where the electrical cord rested against the hot single-wall pipe.

At the suggestion of both the BBB and the Attorney General's Office, I pursued legal action against James Galiano, DBA The Stove Guy (I have never been involved in a law suit before in my life), I had to go through a seemingly unending deposition over 8 hours long and worry for a year and a half about the outcome of this litigation. I also endured 2 winters with a dinner plate size hole in the front of my house stuffed with towels to keep the wind, rain and snow out of my livingroom. At least settling out of court for $18,500 made me whole again so that I can finally repair my home before this next winter settles in..

Everything was fine. My only complaint was being charged $25.00 for a light switch--that was just for the switch--labor was on top of that.

Serviceman arrived in the agreed hour, spread out a white sheet, took off his shoes
and simply went to work. Job completed in 45 minutes. Good cleanup. Ryan (serviceman)
was courteous and efficient. Office receptionist explained carefully what the charges would
be and under what conditions. We agreed and the agreement was fulfilled as agreed.

They showed up on time. They were careful to not leave a mess. They did a thorough job.