Get matched with top brick or stone fireplace repairers in Hemet, CA

"I am reviewing Embers West's installation of a Mendota FV44 sealed combustion gas insert (combustion air comes from outside & fumes vent to the outside). The product has a remote with a thermostat & ability to control the flame height, circulating blower speed & a dimmable halogen light. There is electric ignition (no standing pilot flame) & a battery-pack to light the flame in case of a power outage. If you're in the market for a gas fireplace, look no further. Save your time and come here first. You'll be glad you did. We chose Embers West because they had the highest Yelp rating of the several local fireplace businesses (well-deserved - with over 3 dozen reviews). My wife & I had researched gas fireplace inserts online before calling EW & were partial to the Mendota brand. When we met with Francois Tiab (owner & chief technical person), I provided photos & measurements of our 1955 brick fireplace; he agreed that Mendota was our best choice. Francois impressed us enough that we saw no need to check out any other businesses (so I can't comment on his pricing versus others). He was personable, professional & extremely knowledgeable & we enjoyed working with him. Francois made it clear at the start that our project needed several visits from them but I did not ask for a schedule; the project took 3 months & cost a bit over $8k (actually $500 less than the quote- Serryn (office manager) emailed us to say Mendota was having a sale- we would not have known otherwise). If your project needs to be completed quickly - then you should discuss that with Francois up-front. A few times, I had to call to find out the status - Serryn got us an answer right away each time (also when I had tech questions). The installation encountered a snag & Francois quickly resolved it. This is all normal for custom work. The gas line & electrical connection were installed before EW started. Mario was the installer & he was great (friendly, punctual, took time to do things right, brought tarps to protect the carpet & wore protective booties over his shoes). He used a "sniffer" to check for gas leaks. Payments were easily handled online via their website. Their showroom had sample installations to help select finishes & the artificial logs. The finished job looks great & I'm very happy with the results. I definitely recommend Embers West."

"Excellent contractor! I went with LA Experts Builders on my kitchen and bathroom remodel and it was a great experience to work with them. Nir and his crew were always on time, did everything as they promised and as I requested. There were no issues and project was finished on time. I am completely satisfied with final product, in other words, my new kitchen and bathroom are brilliant!"

"The purchase was fine but I was disappointed that no chimney sweep service was offered since some advertising shows them as providing this service."

"I had a wonderful experience with Avalin. As soon as we bought our 1916 craftsman we began getting quotes for a seismic retrofit. The house was not bolted and during the inspection we were told the concrete foundation wasn't in super shape. The bidding process was confusing. Alpha told us we needed to spend 60k to replace the whole foundation, Golden did a hasty bid and missed an important feature. Fred (owner of Avalin) came down somewhere in the middle in terms of what we needed and distinguished himself by his level of customer care. At the other companies the jobs are basically bid by sales people, so it is a huge plus to have the owner/engineer bid the job in the case of Avalin. We were so confused by the three vastly different bids that we hired our own independent structural engineer to come tell us what we needed. Lo and behold his advice matched Fred's most closely, so we hired Avalin. Our experience from there was as easy as could be. Fred got the job permitted, his workmen were professional, neat and courteous. During bidding it seemed like there was a brick masonry wall on the front side of the house meaning we couldn't retrofit that wall but could opt to replace (which we didn't based on the advice of the structural engineer). During the job it became apparent that the wall was actually in front of the foundation so that there was no brick foundation and we could actually do a total retrofit on all four sides of the foundation. Even though our quote was for 3 sides, Fred did the last quarter of the job without hesitation and without charging us a penny extra. After they were done everything on the outside of the house looked as it had before, ie there was no mess. The inspector passed the work with no issue. Compared to a lot of the bigger retrofit companies, Avalin is a little guy in this business. But that was exactly why we had such a good experience. Friends have had nightmares with the bigger companies that have dozens of crews and thus low quality control. With Fred, he has guys who have been with him for years and he as an owner/engineer oversees the work. I can't recommend him and his team highly enough."

"After Alex the owner read my review and comments he actually called me and came to our home and gave us a check for the overcharge!  He was super nice and explained we were charged twice on an item which I believed was the case too.  He did an inspection and said our fireplace was good.  He did mention a crack in the sealer on roof which first person did not but said because we had a stainless steel liner we were fine. He is resending invoice with comments and pictures and I feel much better about this company then I did before."

"I have a fireplace that I haven't used in an long time. I'm planning on starting to use it again and wanted it inspected first. Even though they're based in Orange County they agreed to come all the way to WLA (Culver City) to do the inspection. Pedro & Diego arrived a little late (though they did call to say they were running a behind.) The inspection, which was accomplished quickly and professionally, found a few mostly minor issues. They explained what they found and what my options were to deal with it without any pressure. I OK'd the inspection report and they went right to work. They paid special attention to keeping my home clean (putting on shoe covers before coming into the house and removing them as they leave the house, for example.) Overall I was very satisfied with my experience and wouldn't hesitate to use them again."

"We hired Fireplace Freddie to inspect and fix our 100-year-old fireplace & chimney, making it safe to burn real wood again. Nick and Scott came out quickly, and used cameras to inspect. During the inspection Nick visually showed me what the issues were. He also verbally suggested the fix. After the inspection, we received pics and a price quote to fix the issues by installing a stainless steel sleeve in the chimney. We sent the pics and info to 3 other businesses to compare prices. After speaking with Nick numerous times, including 2 conversations with my old school contractor buddy who asked Nick just about every ridiculous question he could possibly think of, Nick remained cool and answered all of his questions. Nick also agreed to do the job with a permit from LADBS which they included in the price, so we decided Fireplace Freddie was the right company to do the job. Patrick was our installer. He had a co-worker, but I didn't catch his name. They showed up on time, covered the floor and furniture and did their job. It took a few days as they said it would, but they were on time, clean and friendly. Each day they came, they covered everything. Each night, they cleaned up and uncovered everything before they left. Patrick also dealt with our LADBS inspector who admittedly was not well versed in chimney repair. Patrick was very friendly, gave the inspector the information he needed including printed specs from the manufacturer, and we passed inspection w/o issue. Scott came back 1 week later to test the fireplace. He lit a fire to make sure it was all good, and it is. To sum it all up, everyone was friendly and professional. The job went super smooth, and we are able to use our wood burning fireplace again, safely.  I would highly recommend Fireplace Freddie. A+"

"He was very nice and helpful. He gave us great info on our fireplace and were to look to buy what we needed for us. He never tried to up-sell anything. He was very nice and quick. <br />"

"The service provider showed up on time and cleaned out our fireplace.  He was quick, professional and kept everything very clean.  I was happy with the service and would recommend them to others. <br />"

"Rain gutter repair and refinishing of facia board were well done, in a timely manner, by handyman Joseph. Good communication and timely completion."