Firespaces

After talking to a couple of other companies, I called Firespaces to hear what they had to say about my idea. I knew I wanted to work with Husband and wife team, Norm and Donna with their knowledgable and personable approach. From the home consult to visiting their small but well stocked showroom to choose the fire insert, doors ect., to the installation was a pleasure. Norm is extremely knowledgable and practicable down to being able to adapt the fitting of one of the glass doors on the spot due to an imperfect brick opening! Donna compliments the team by being very helpful with my phone calls and when visiting the showroom for choosing. When the bill arrived I found a small mistake and called Donna. She immediately corrected the bill with a sincere apology. If you are looking for true knowledge, experience and personable service, Firespaces is for you. I love supporting this local family business. To follow up, I had Norm come out again to service and relight the pilot light.

They figured out the flue had spiderwebs in it, which was enough to block the vent. They also discovered that the flue liner had not originally been installed all the way up the chimney, so they lined it and put a new chimney cap on it. The process went very well. They got it done in a timely manner and it works great now.

It pains me to write a negative review but I need to describe our experience with Firespaces Incorporated in Burnsville. We had them out to repair our fireplace insert ? the pilot light would not stay on when we turned the knob from the pilot to on position. He replaced the thermopile ($205) and the fireplace insert worked for one week and then the problem returned. I called Firespaces to have them come out again and I was told that the service person (Norm?) said that the burner on this insert was shot and ?if it was him, he won?t waste any more money on this insert?. If I wanted to replace the burner it would be about $1,000. They indicated a replacement insert of the same brand would be about $4,000 but they also have less expensive brands. I then had another vendor, Minnesota Gas Grills & Fireplaces, come out. Jeff, the service representative, worked on the insert for about 30 minutes and determined that the pilot light flame had been turned up to high. However he did say we might have a valve going bad. He also said there is nothing wrong with the burner ? ?it looks fine?. Since it was such a ?quick fix? he only charged us $50 (their normal service charge is $129). Well sure enough, not more than two hours later the fireplace when out again and the same problem returned (pilot light won?t stay on when knob is turned from Pilot to On). I call Minnesota Gas Grills & Fireplaces and Jeff returned the next business day first thing in the morning. This time he replaced the suspect valve and we have had no issues with the fireplace since the valve was replaced. He returned the $50 check and then charged us the normal service fee and part cost. I still can?t understand why the service representative from Firespaces Incorporated stated that our burner had to be replaced. Is it because they wanted us to buy an new insert???

First meeting: the owner (Norm Patterson) demonstrated different choices that were available. Showed the basic insert that wasn't all that basic (beautiful frame, different fire settings, remote controls, settings based on room temperature) and showed us the rest of the line all the way up to the bells & whistles superior models. There was absolutely NO pressure to sell us the higher end models and he carefully got me into a conversation where he learned what I would ever need and gave me that good advice. We also arranged a date for the installation. Second, and included in the cost total Norm arranged for licensed plumbers to run both gas lines from the basement to the first and second floor fireplaces. Norm also had both fireplaces cleaned out and removed old burnt logs and ashes, etc. and disposed of it all. Really good cleanup job when the job was completed too. Next, Norm himself installed both inserts and screens (highly recommend if you have children or pets getting too close). He worked tirelessly from start to finish and came back a second day (for City Inspection) and all for the same agreed upon price. He also arranged for the City Inspector to sign off that the gas lines were installed according to code and were safely installed. The whole installation went smoothly and as planned from start to finish at a very good price.

I called Firespaces to inquire about repairs for the chain-mesh screen on my fireplace. Before doing so, I researched fireplaces so that I could speak intelligently about the parts that needed repairing. However, Norm at Firespaces was argumentative with me, saying that what I was describing could not be. Despite this, I agreed to have him come over to inspect the screen. After he had inspected the screen, he admitted he had never seen an installation like the kind I had and that he would have to research whether he could find parts for it. Despite his saying he would call me later in the week and a message I left at Firespaces, I never heard back from him.

After many visits by various fireplace companies... I settled on Norm at Firespaces and I'm so glad I did. Norm is great -- he came to my house, assessed the situation and provided an estimate, which didn't grow and grow during the process. Norm is one of those old-school guys who knows good customer service, has real-world skills and just-gets-the-job-done. He provided a great, cozy fireplace, at a reasonable price. Doesn't get any better than that. Oh yeah, he also repaired and painted the old glass panels on the fireplace doors. Couldn't be happier.

Norm charges $65 for the initial appointment, then he will deduct the money from the final bill, if you hire him. That is fair, I think, and he came very promptly. On the other hand, many contractors will happily come for the initial appointment for free. We hired him to remove an older gas fireplace and restore the original wood burning fireplace. He removed the box, removed the gas line, patched the resulting hole from the gas pipe, removed the chimney tube, checked the chimney, installed the chimalator and a handle, with which you can open/close the chimney cap down from the fireplace area. I think he did a nice and clean job, reasonably quickly. I give him almost all A's for the job. We have not used the fireplace yet, though, so if later I find something I do not like, I'll come back here to revisit the review. Until then - great job! I only give him a "C" for the "price" item. First, you won't get the $65 back if you do not hire him. Second, when he was calculating the final price, he did a strange and significant rounding up, which did not match the initial estimate. I still want to stress, that quality is the most important part, and I do not mind paying a little more if it is worth it.

wsVery well, the door between the house and the garage that they brought everything in had come apart and my fixing itwasn't very wasn't holding very weel so when they went out for lunch they stopped and bought so longer screws and rehung the door for me. It took the two of them about tree hours more than they had planned on, but there was no additional charge. Excellent family owned business.

The response was excellent, We called and within 24 hours Norm arrived at the scheduled time, diagnosed and repaired the igniter, and performed the other items listed above. He is very knowledgeable, professional and personable. He is firmly on our call list.

Norm was great. He came to our house on a weekend to show us our options. We decided to go with an insert in the bottom fireplace since we wanted the extra heat for our family room. Upstairs we were more concerned with something that would look nice in our corner fireplace, so we opted for a gas log. The installation took a full day. Norm and his crew showed up on time and worked all day. He also helped get the city inspector out to inspect the installed gas lines. When it was all inspected, he connected everything and showed us how the controls worked. We've gotten a lot of use out of the insert during this extra cold Spring and we've gotten numerous compliments on the Eickler gas log.

Firespaces put in a new wood burning stove insert, A Vermont Castings Montpelier. I had a great experience from the first visit and the installation. I am a person with several question and I want to know all the options. Firespaces sure kept up with me in that respect. The also put in a stainless steel liner in my chimney. The two men that did the job, Norm and I believe it was Steve, were very friendly. I trusted them and even left the house while they finished the job. They were very careful in what they did and they left things clean. I had questions even after the install, which I called Firespaces and Donna helped me through those questions. She is also very knowledgeable about the benefits of different types of fireplace inserts. Anyway, the service was great and the fireplace looks great. They even pushed to get the installation in before Christmas. Firespaces was fulfilling, the process was refreshing especially when I demand really great service in these harder economic times.

Was prompt and courteous! Would use again... told me to keep gas fireplace running all the time... we were turning it off in the summer! Thanks!

We were told there was a$65 service charge which we paid. We were told that the service charge would be deducted from the price if we hired them for the work. A week and a half after the service call, we called to see if they had put together a bid for us to review. A week after our first call we called again asking for the bid. They said they were still looking at the materials that would be needed and that once they determined that, they would send a bid.It has been over a month since the service visit and no bid has appeared. We should at least have gotten a call to let us know, especially since we paid the service fee yet are unable to even have them perform the work since there is no bid or word if they are able to do it.

The man that came out was punctual and competent. He was friendly, knowledgeable and willing to answer questions. Both fireplaces were serviced and are ready for the winter!

It took three trys at making an appointment, the first appointment, the office called and said he was running late, the appointment was for between 1-4PM, at 4:20 he called and said he was still tied up at a previous call, wanted to come at 6PM, we had to leave so made another appointment for the next Tuesday, he forgot it. Made another appoinment for Thursday (first stop in the AM). He showed up a little late, but, went ahead and took the fireplace logs out and replaced a part, the tried to get the logs back and could not remember how they went back. He deducted 20% from the bill for the appointment mistakes, etc. (I will have to take his word for that) I had to take the fireplace apart and try to get the logs back in place.But, anyway, what he replaced does work.

We called Donna and initially Norm came out promptly as everyone described in their postings. He was timely and professional and met with my husband about our situation. He was going to follow-up and see if he could get a certain part he thought might work and we would go from there determining what do next (repair or replace). After that the ball was dropped. We never got a follow-up call at all. I called again a month or more later and again talked to Donna and she explained Norm thought my husband was going to check on something and get back to them. I clarified and said that 'No, we were waiting on Norm to check on a part, etc." and she said she would check with Norm and get back to me. Never heard from anyone again. I just called again last week and left a last message as my carpenter is planning to come early November to do the surround changes and again said I was following up on Norm's visit this past summer and would like to get it figured out as I have a carpenter coming and I have heard nothing and it is almost another week. So, not sure if they just didn't want our business or what but we sure didn't have the great experience everyone else did and I would have at least appreciated some closure from them saying we can't help you or the part isn't available or whatever. But, I will say we were never charged for the initial visit - we assumed Norm was waiting to bill us until he determined the plan was so we aren't out any $ but the whole experience is very strange to me and frustrating when you are counting on a contractor to do work in coordination with another contractor and you get no resolution or service.

Our fireplace in the house we just bought seemed to work ok the first time I used it. The second time it ran for about 10 minute then shut off on its own, and the third time ran for about 10 seconds died. I emailed firespaces and they responded very quickly and we worked out a date to come take look at it for Saturday at 9am. At about 8:55 Norm called me to give me a heads up that he was running a little late which was awesome, most contractors don't bother with details like that. He got here, took his shoes off, laid out a big blanket to work on so nothing got dirty and explained to me exactly what he was doing the whole time. He found a bad thermopile, replaced it and then gave me a lesson on how to clean the inside glass which was really nice of him to do. Norm is a great guy, from what I can tell the price was really fair and I'm very happy with the way the whole thing went. I'll definitely call them again for any kind of fireplace stuff I need in the future. Thanks Norm!

Great. No problems. The parts were found quickly, ordered and I was informed when they arrived.

The entire process encompassed almost a month. Upon deciding to select Firespaces, we requested a digital copy of their insurance policy which we received the following day. Since the insurance policy met our expectations, we mailed the requested down payment. Withinin a week the product was initially installed, however, the installation did not meet the aesthetic expectations for ourselves as well as the installer. Upon courteous and multiple discussions over the following 24 hours, the installer presented a excellent re-arrangement of the fireplace insert to increase the aesthetic appearance. The installer gave a complete description of the use and care of the fireplace insert as well as booklets and a CD about the product. The two installers (one is an owner) were very courteous and clean during installation.

Called in morning and spoke to Donna. Norm called back in a half hour and said he could come out that afternoon. This was not an emergency, but was happy with the quick response. Norm is the owner and possibly the only worker (not sure). He cleaned 2 gas fireplaces and did some minor starter repairs on both. He replaced one part. He was prompt, cleaned up his own mess, I thought his price was reasonable and his work seemed thorough. Was very happy with his service and would call him again.

My gas fireplace failed to start after 18 years of service. Donna answered when I called and after explaining the issue, gave me an idea of what might be wrong and an ballpark estimate. She added that Norm would call the next day and most likely be able to stop by then. Donna called me back the next day to set up a time for Norm to stop by. He was exactly on time. He was respectful of my home by removing his shoes and having a large blanket to cover the work area. Norm took no time at all to assess the issue, show me what was wrong, replace the part (no waiting for a part to come in and another appointment, how refreshing!), and clean up. He was done in less than one hour. He then took a few minutes to entertain my dog (after graciously dealing with my puppy's curiosity while he worked).

The fireplace repair was one of the best if not the best service experience.I can see why this company receives its high ratings.My description of the work would have to include courtesy,skillful and meticulous

Norm was terrific to work with. He came to look at our existing fireplace and gave us various options for inserts, clearly explaining the pros and cons of each. The whole process was painless. After the unit was ordered, he kept us posted about the shipment. While doing the installation, he and his helper worked efficiently and didn't leave a spec of dust in the house. They covered the floors from the door to fireplace to keep from tracking through the house. They gave clear instructions on how to use and maintain our new gas insert. We are thrilled with the final product and highly recommend working with Firespaces. Not only does Norm know his stuff, but also, has a great personality and is very easy to work with. Afterwards, we hired him to put in new fireplace doors and screen for our other fireplace. Once again, the whole process was smooth and another job well done.

Went to Firespaces at their Burnsville location after getting quoted for a Fireplace at another provider. Place was a little tough to find but the persistence paid off. Their quote came in lower and I was able to use the Angie's list discount for another 5%. We also liked the idea that Firespaces could tear out the old wood burning fireplace without going through the side of my house. They were able to pull it out the front without any issues. The owner and his wife were very courteous and explained all our options well. Before they would finalize the quote, he came out to our house for a final look first hand to make sure things were OK and then drew up the Invoice. The installation took 2 visits. One full day to tear out and install everything and hook up the gas line for inspection. The second day was to meet with the inspector along with me and then to do the final installation, trim, painting and startup. No problems with any messes or damage to our house during the process. And the installer (the owner) was very nice and even helped show us how to clean another gas fireplace in the house at no charge. We love our fireplace and would highly recommend this family owned business to anyone.

They are very excellent. I have not had better service from any other company since I have lived in Minneapolis. They were very punctual, professional and responsive. They showed up the same day I called them! The service was absolutely first rate.