The Fireplace Center & Patio Shop

We have had years of experience with these folks - from fireplaces, patio shelters, fire pits, and now 2 very large awnings covering a significant part of our back yard. We have always had very good service - absolutely no complaints for both before and after service. However, we feel compelled to add that in the case of our awnings the installation and post installation is nothing but EXCEPTIONAL. We have dealt with a number of the staff and everyone has been helpful. We have had a number of challenging post installation issues (none of which are the fault of the installation team) and in each case the service team have persisted and eventually solved all of our problems. They are friendly and professional, and respond quickly to our needs.
Frank and Monika

The Fireplace shop installed 2 fireplaces in my elderly fathers home. 14 years ago.After my father passed on I moved into the home. I decided to have the fireplaces cleaned and serviced. I called the fireplace shop to come and do the work as has been done by my father over the years.
The technician ( Dal) arrived to do the work a month later. Dal was great.He cleaned out the insert and got it working properly. As he moved on to the stand alone unit in the back. He advised me that there was a problem and would not do any maintenance on the unit. He told me " the unit was put in incorrectly by a technician who was firedby the Fireplace shop for putting units in improperly" He showed me that the 90 degree pipe in the back was not even attached to the unit properly, leaving several open gaps that were not sealed into the unit. He went down in the basement to verify the gas tag was in fact the Fireplace shop tag on the gas line. He took all the notes and told me the Fireplace shop will come and fix it for free. He told me if they did not contact me in two days to give them a call. Three days later no word so I called. Left a message no return call. I went down to the Shop the following day to speak to a manager (Dave). He was already aware of the situation and told me they were working on parts and not to worry. Before I left he gave me a date for roughly two weeks later that they would come and fix it. The following week I got a call from the owner on my cell phone asking for Dave my deceased father. (He had all the paperwork in front of him from when my father was alive obviously).He told me they would fix the issue for two thousand dollars !!! WE would split the cost. So essentially Andy the owner wanted me to pay for their improper installation. Of course I told him to forget it. He also mentioned that they might not have been the installers and that my elderly father who occupied the house alone could have changed the piping. Both the manager Dave and the Tech Dal told me the same story about the fired technician. Andy said he was a great technician. Bottom line Andy did not care, just wanted to try and get me to pay for the parts and tech to come out and fix it. Told him where to go.
You decide if they are right for you !!!

We had a 65" linear Valor fireplace installed in our basement. From start to finish we were impressed with everything this company did. Our sales representative from the Carling Avenue store spent time explaining all of our options. He followed up with emails and phone calls to keep us in the loop. Our two installers were dedicated hard workers, courteous, knowledgeable and take pride in the company. We have no doubt in our mind that we chose the best company to do this job and the employees have proven this. P.S. I'm nice and toasty in our basement now!

March 20, 2020

I bought my furnace from the Fire Place Center in 2013. I live about 45 minutes from the store so they kindly suggested that I use someone local to service my furnace as then I wouldn't be paying 1 1/2 hours travel. This was incredible in itself. A company taking care of their customers to a point where they give up their income for the sake of their customer. How great is that. This brings me to my last experience with them. My local furnace company was coming in for a routine maintenance check up. They told me that my heat exchanger had to be replaced. So they had to shut down my system because of the CO (carbon monoxide) would be leaking out. I phoned the Fire Place Center. The Fire Place Center uses a company for their installation and maintenance. I talked with the owner, Mike and he said that he would get on it right away. This was Thurs, Mar 19 at about 5:00 pm. On Friday, I got a call from Mike at 7:30 am. He told me that a crew was on their with a completely new furnace. A whole furnace! I was just flabbergasted. I asked Mike what time they would arrive. He said in a couple of hours, around 9:30 am. They were there at 8:40. Just unbelievable. I have never, and I mean never had such customer service and turnaround like this in my entire life. Nor have I heard of such service. I can't say enough about these 2 companies that work so hard to take care of their customers. Especially during this time of COVID 19 outbreak. The Fireplace and Patio store have shut their show room down. This was all handled by one of their managers Jack from home. Just an amazing story of 2 companies working together for the satisfaction of their customer. Thank you very much Jack, Jeff and Mike and the crew from that installed the new furnace. Words can not express enough how much over the top you have gone for this customer.
Roger

I needed a new fan for my gas fireplace and when they came to service it (which took 2 weeks) they said my main burner and valve also needed replacement. Had to wait 2 weeks for the parts, and when they came to replace they then said my pilot assembly was also broke and needed replacement. Now I am waiting again for parts...won't tell me how long it will take and I have to keep calling to get updates and service calls. I use my gas fireplace to heat my main floor and, in the middle of winter now, my house is freezing. This doesn't seem to matter to them in terms of giving me priority service or consideration.

We had a new fireplace installed and Raymond at the Ottawa West location was very helpful in ensuring that we had a quality product with beautiful finishing. He worked with us to make this happen in consideration of our budget for the project. He and Kaitlin ensured that the work unfolded in a timely manner. Wade did a fine job on the surround work. All the people with whom we dealt were friendly and professional. We would return to the Ottawa West Fireplace Centre for another project.
Barbara

We bought the fireplace last fall and wanted it installed in January 2017. The installer discovered that we were sold a wrong part and we couldn't complete the installation. It took an entire month to get the new part, only to find out that part was also wrong. The company "rushed" the part and it took over 3 more weeks to receive. The company did not keep us apprised of the situation, we had to continuously call to get updates.
We asked to speak to the manager to discuss the considerable inconvenience we went through not being able to use the fireplace during the coldest part of the winter after we had already paid for it. Eventually we were offered compensation for just the price of the wrong part they had sold us.
Again, we asked to speak to the manager. The company ignored us and took the remainder of the installation costs without asking our permission. They didn't even tell us, we just found out when we opened our credit card statement.
I have never experienced such terrible customer service. We never received any apology and our requests to speak to the manager were ignored. We will never recommend this company to anyone.

I have a gas fireplace, approx. 10 yrs. old that stopped working. The pilot light was on but it just would not start. Top Hat came in to have a look, told me that they didn't know what the problem was, and would have to take it all apart at a min. cost of $900. I had a contractor come and replace the starter but also said that he didn't know what the problem was. A technician from the Fireplace center came in and fixed the very minor and seemingly quite obvious issue within 5 min. He serviced and cleaned the fireplace for a small fee. I had to wait a few weeks for an appointment but it's worth the wait when you receive honest and qualified service.

We had an old gas fireplace insert that hadn't been used in decades. The Fireplace Center team put in a new side vent, hooked up new gas lines, and put in a new Valor insert. It looks great and works well so far. The installation team was timely and considerate and the salesman was knowledgeable and helpful. It was expensive but worth it.

It's fireplace season!

And if you're thinking about getting a new one, think twice about The Fireplace Center and Patio Shop on Carling.

I bought mine in Sept 2015. After repeat visits to "fix" the issues, (at least 5 since installation in Nov 2015...maybe 6), this is what I'm left with: visible seams in the mantel......but then no mantel, since the discoloured one was removed (it turned yellow after less than 5 days of installation), white spray paint on the unit itself, the bottom coming out of the unit due to a gap created when shimming, and my favourite - the graffiti-like black spray paint on the front of the fireplace, which was the "fix" to cover the white spray paint. Who wouldn't want this piece of art in their living room? (Couldn't he have at least done a fancy design?)

The photos speak for themselves, in terms of the "quality" work provided by The Fireplace Centre. Not to mention the "quality" customer service they've provided, since they have all my money and I have an exposed, damaged fireplace. Awesome!

I think what amazes me the most is that they're controlling how this story ends. I could leave disappointed with the quality of service, but pleased about how it was handled, which would dramatically change what I tell people. But they don't seem to understand that. Or care.