Custom Fireside

I have used CF for two separate purchases, an freestanding woodstove and a new construction master fireplace addition. On both occasions they were on time, did the job quickly, and didn’t leave a mess for me to clean up. Their showroom staff are always extremely helpful in helping make decisions on what is best for your space. They printed specs/​directions for me both times.

I am extremely disappointed with the customer service I received. I have been making phone calls and sending emails to Custom Fireside for the past three weeks looking for a gas fireplace part and received absolutely no contact back. When I called today to speak to a manager, there was absolutely no remorse for their lack of customer service. I was even informed that the manager had «taken my phone number down incorrectly» so he was unable to call me back after we spoke last week. The real kicker is I waited 3 weeks without receiving assistance to find out that my part is no longer available. Thanks for making me wait on that answer!

Installing a gas insert was the best home improvement we’ve made by a long shot. However since they are expensive, the service and customer support we’ve received from Custom Fireside over the last seven years has made the investment very worthwhile. Recently, as the warranty ended, a serious defect was discovered requiring Custom Fireside to work with the manufacturer to provide us with a new upgraded unit at virtually no cost. The associates we worked with (Mike, Marcus and Aaron) provided an exceptional level of service during the diagnosis, scheduling and installation.

Custom firesides offered a fantastic level of swift service, options, and professional approach to fulfilling my search for a wood burning fireplace insert.
After dealing with a competitor and being frustrated by delays, lack of response, and finally rather high priced quotes, I searched and found Custom Fireside in Sac. Mitch from the store showed me a number of options, discussed details and proper sizing, and gave me a quote right on the spot.
He offered professional installation or the option for self-​installation, and then came by the very next day to measure and confirm options for my home. Upon selecting a Lennox unit to install, Custom Fireside came by in less than a week to install the unit, doing a fantastic, fast, and professional job.
In contrast, competitors I contacted took over a week to get me a quote, with an additional two weeks for delivery and installation. Given that it’s winter and cold, these delays were just not acceptable. Mitch at Custom Fireside pulled through perfectly.
Beyond the personal service for my installation, Custom Fireside’a storefront appears industrial and a little bland on the outside, but when you walk in the front door you are met with a fantastic array of stoves and inserts, arranged in a professional showroom, and staffed by a number of knowledgable and friendly folks. They let me just browse, and offered me well-​needed insight to the perfect stove for my house.
I am thoroughly happy and satisfied with this company. If I had a second fireplace I’d definitely go back to these folks. I highly recommend them to anyone, especially if you’re in swift need of a unit to be installed.

Overall, my experience at Custom Fireside has been warm/​cold/​cold. Our sales experience was mixed. The showroom is very nice. The salesmen who showed us the products were helpful and seemed knowledgable. The product line was less expensive than the other place in town, and we are very happy with our gas insert. We made a down payment to secure a sale price. When we went to pay in full and schedule an installation date, the guy ringing up our sale reviewed the sales receipt and said it had been done all wrong. That some of the parts that were ordered were wrong. He rewrote the estimate and of course it was more money. Then we had to wait for the new parts to come in.
When the installation company showed up, the contractor was in a nasty mood. He was rude and surly to both myself and another contractor who was there at the time. There was a problem with the installation; they had set up the unit for propane, instead of natural gas. We had to insist that Custom Fireside send a different company out to fix it. They sent a very nice employee from the store. He had to order another part. Can;t remember, but I think he had to come back twice. After he was done, there was another issue. I could see that he had failed to reattach a ground wire. I just did it, an easy fix. Love the fireplace. However, this year, we have a problem with the fan. I tried the troubleshooting on the manufacturer’s website. Problem not resolved. Its a little irritating that when you call the store for tech help, you have to leave a message on voicemail and wait for them to call you back. If you talk to sales, they will transfer you to the voicemail.
Last time we had to call again the next day because they didn’t call us back. I called today and we’ll see what happens.
The unit, I give 4 stars – it would be 5 if it fired up this year without any issues.
The store, I give 2 stars – the original order was wrong and the rewritten order cost more and delayed the installation. The company they hired for the install was terrible. The service guy from the store was really nice, but he didn’t complete the job correctly. The reason I’m not giving one star is that everyone at the company has been really nice. I might buy from them again, but I would proceed cautiously, and make sure I paid careful attention.

Update: Repair guy showed up today, nice guy, took care of the problem quickly and properly. In hindsight I feel most of the troubles I ran into with this gas insert was due to the installers, not Skip or the company per se. Still, Custom Fireside is the company that is in control of the installers. These installers represent their company. They need to make sure they have quality installers doing their work and their price quotes need to be clear. Not mentioning in a quote that you need to pay $ 800 for a gas line install separate from their work was frustrating.
I have waited nearly 3 weeks to write this review because I was hoping they would eventually come through. We dealt with Skip on an initial visit to the showroom and immediately liked him. He had a clear, no-​nonsense sales pitch or a unit that was simple, did not try and upsell us and seemed to really know the ins and outs of everything. We felt comfortable with his knowledge and experience so agreed to buy one right there. It took a few phone calls but finally got the person to come out, estimate the job and get a bid. We were initially quoted $ 2980 for an install of a Kozy Heat insert which sounded expensive but not unreasonable. Then, right before the install we were informed that this bid did not include getting the gas line run to the fireplace. This seemed odd to me since an estimator came to my house to estimate the *installation*. Why was this not figured into the cost? Oh well, another $ 800 for a plumber (who did a great job) to come to the house to run a gas line which delayed the install a few days. At this point I was a little unhappy about the money but as long as the job was done right the first time I was okay with it. The day for installation came and no one showed up at the scheduled time so I called them and evidently they had to have a different installer come do the job due to schedule problems. They did show up about an hour later, seemed nice but rushed through the job with a sense of urgency that concerned me. It was not unfounded concern as they stated the estimator did not know what was actually needed and after they accidentally drilled a hole through the wall in the adjoining room they decided to install a whole new way. In the end it was done and in and seemed to work and they left and I figured I could repair the damage myself. Later that night the unit started rattling… I opened up the bottom and determined it was wiring caught in the fan (which could have shorted out or caused a fire) and I fixed it. I called Skip about the damage to the house and he offered to send someone out to fix it but I offered to do it myself as it was not that big a deal. I thought we were done at this point… Then, 2 days later the whole unit started rattling so bad we did not want to run it. I tried to call them, got messages and different folks and everyone agreed to get it fixed. No one called back. I finally had to partially pull the unit out myself to see what was wrong, diagnosed the problem and called them back. Today I again spoke with Skip and he states he will have the service department «get right on it». At this point though, nearly $ 4000 later I have a gas insert that does heat the house, but rattles so loud we don’t like running it. Two holes in my house. Lots of time on the phone and overall very low confidence in this company to do what I had expected initially. Do the job right — the first time. I will update this if the repair goes any better. Reading reviews below it seems real hit or miss, and the misses look like they could be dangerous!

I bought a fireplace insert from Custom Fireside and had it installed before Thanksgiving 2012. It lasted a month before it had major problems. While the unit manufacturer is obviously partly to blame, the installation and service were also well below my expectations. Lately they’ve been trying to rectify the problems which is why I give them two stars and not one.
The guys who initially installed it clearly hadn’t done it before and were asking each other questions during the process. Not surprisingly they managed to scratch the back porcelain which had to be refitted. The fire stopped working after about a week. It took about 10 days before anyone could come and take a look at it. Really? A brand new insert stops working and you can’t take a look at it within a couple of days?
After an initial repair, the fire worked for another week and then died again. After another visit they decided there were major faults and replaced the whole unit. It worked well for about a month and then stopped working again. I’ve been told there are manufacturer faults. I think I’ve taken about 5 days off work just having to deal with this process and my fire still isn’t working.

I had a Cozy Heat gas insert installed into my fireplace during Christmas week. Custom Fireside provided great customer service to help get the insert permitted by the City. They worked me into their busy schedules twice to get the permit approved and reassemble the insert. Great job, Mitch and staff. I love my gas insert!

called and made an appt. with them to buy and install doors for our brick fireplace. on the day they were suppose to come at about 11am when i still had not heard from anyone i called and they had no idea what was going on… so i found another company if they cannot even handle a simple appt we don’t want them doing work for us… my god how incompetent she was on the phone… MAYBE SHE SHOULD GET A SCHEDULING BOOK .JEEZ

The staff here at Custom Fireside in Sacramento is very knowledgable and friendly! My wife and I were doing a remodel and stumbled upon them by accident and we are glad we did. They conduct their business the way a small business should by providing the right knowledge and price-​point and actually listening to what the customers needs are without trying to up-​sell or talk down on a competitors model. Mitch was very helpful when it came to initial setup help and adjustments. I will be returning here when we start our outdoor fire-​pit project in the spring. I would highly recommend you shop here for all your fireplace and fire-​pit needs.

Went to Custom Fireside to check out fireplace inserts. Great Decision — they spent 2 hours with us helping us select the right model and pointing out all the features.
We had it installed yesterday — by TS Construction (subcontractor to Custom Fireside). It’s great — excellent service, product selection and installation. We are very satisfied customers. Thanks Custom Fireside.

Great products, gorgeous showroom and impeccable service.
Almost a dozen years ago I purchased a Lopi «Answer» fireplace insert from Custom Fireside. It was a great deal and the installers did a terrific job, the insert has heated our home ever since.
After all these years the gasket that seals the door finally wore out. I called Custom Fireside to ask about a replacement and received great phone service and information — The clerk recommended I bring my old gasket with me for sizing… Heck, I brought the whole door. :-)
The salesman not only found the right part but took the time to explain to me *exactly* how to prep the door and install the gasket — TOP NOTCH SERVICE! In just a few hours I had a nice fire heating my home, thanks Custom Fireside!

I was recently in the market for a fireplace insert and Custom Fireside was recommended to me by a coworker. I went to their showroom in Sacramento and I was amazed at the variety of products that they offer and how knowledgeable their sales staff was about their products. If you are looking for a great experience and want the comfort of knowing that you are buying from a family-​owned business that has been around since 1968, then I recommend Custom Fireside!

Don’t waste your time with Custom Fireside, we had them come out and inspect our fireplace for a pellet stove, and they said it would be «no problem» having one put in. After paying them almost $ 4000 the stove wasn’t even put in correctly, we had black soot all over the house after a night of use, walls, furniture, curtains, everything, and After I spent a night in the hospital, we find out that the stove was put in incorrectly. So they paid to clean my house and put a different stove in. And then that stove was not working more than it was. So we had them take it out all together, if you spend that much money for something you should be able to use it once in a while. We had service techs here so much I thought I was going to charge them rent. Let alone the fact that they almost killed me and my family. And then the owner had the nerve to challenge me asking for a refund. Over $ 15,000 for my night in the hospital. Because of there poor installation. Anyway they did give me almost a full refund, but even as much as my wife would like to have one we will never deal with this company again, my family’s lives are to important.