After ordering one of the more expensive fireplaces and opting for their $695 installation service, this is what I received from Farrell's: A *gas leak* leading to the fireplace that required an emergency call to SDGE, a damaged fireplace screen, a fireplace remote that was improperly programmed, and a "fix" to the screen that fell off moments after the installer left. When I called and tried to get Farrell's to fix the gas leak that they caused, I was told that I needed to call a plumber. John, the owner of Farrell's, specially stated that connecting the gas line in the wall to the fireplace was a "favor" -- in other words, I should be grateful that Farrell's did me a "favor" by improperly installing the gas line and causing a nearly-catastrophic incident with natural gas leaking into my house. The person from SDGE who responded to my emergency call over the gas leak put it best -- if a fireplace installer was this careless and sloppy with his work, this is one company that you'll want to completely avoid. I wish I did before spending money on an installation service that I could have done more efficiently and safer than the "professional" installers at Farrell's. Accidents do happen, and mistakes are made, but those accidents and mistakes were compounded by John Farrell's customer service skills, which are better suited for the Flintstones than 2018. Avoid. read more

Not sure why I gave it four instead of five just wanted to be tough I guess. We purchased a pellet stove from Farrells and couldn't be happier. We refered our neighbor to Farrells and she purchased a gas fire place from them and is happy. Would definately do business with them again, in fact I do because i buy pellets from them. Ok I'll admit why I took away one star its because Alan no longer works there and he was definately the coolest always treated us right. The owner treats us right too but Alan just had that indescribable charisma that was fun to be around. read more

The best Fireplace service in San Diego. Also this person named "Gunny" is the most honest, reliable, humble, awesome person this is the guy you need to request to check your fireplace. read more

These guys are the best! Showed up EARLY! Very professional and Dewey is just the best! Customer service skills off the hook! Can't wait till it gets a little chilly to use our new insert. Thanks again for being the real deal... read more

My wife and I were not happy with our whole house gas furnace with varying temperatures and very loud blower . We have a family room fireplace with a gas line for easy starting of hardwood fires. I searched online about gas inserts, and found Farrell's. After seeing their insert at their store, and felt the more than adequate heat coming out of it, I had them come to our house for an estimate. After the estimate, the insert was installed, and it performs better than expected. It is very quiet, yet puts out enough heat to keep my wife warm, at the push of a button. It has a remote control thermostat, which makes it very easy to adjust the temperature. It has electronic ignition, so the pilot light is always off. It is 80% efficient, so almost all of the heat comes back into your house, and not up the chimney. I should have bought this sooner!!! read more

Farrell's is wonderful! I recently had Johnny from Farrell's come and sweep our chimney. He was on time, professional, extremely polite and efficient. Our fireplace had a crack, so he patched it and added a heat reflector, which will make our fireplace much more efficient. I have used Farrell's several times over the past ten years and have always had a great experience! It's a wonderful company with great employees who truly love their work. read more

Prompt, friendly service! Prices are reasonable for cleaning and repairs. I've used their chimney cleaning service a number of times over the years read more

So I bought a house with a large fireplace and insert that was improperly installed and unsafe (according to the inspector). Ferrell's was recommended to me by a fireplace mason as being one of the best in the county. That was my experience as well. The work that was done for me included installation of a new wood burning stove, and reworking of the rock masonry around the hearth and fireplace opening. The installation was absolutely beautiful, and works like a charm. The owner John Ferrell came to my home and worked with me to help the redesign, and was even able to save me $1000 off the original estimate because parts of the chimney that were scheduled to be replaced were fine. John came to my house at least once a day when the work was being performed to make sure that it was being done correctly, and to work with me on modifications as the project progressed. I really appreciated the personal attention and brain storming to make it come out right. And their stone mason Sam was really good as well. read more

I needed a crown re done on my chimney and after all the searching Farrells was the best price around and seemed to have the best reviews. They did an amazing job, very knowledgeable, went above and beyond in the application. Looks great! read more

Love my new gas logs and remodeled fireplace. Great customer service. Dewey was very efficient and detailed. Drew M. read more

We had a new wood burning fire place insert installed just in time for our family Christmas get together. John was very accommodating, professional and made sure we were happy with the finished product! Dewey and Keith did a phenomenal job installing and provided exceptional customer service. Highly recommended! read more

Farrell's Fireside Shop - Wood insert - Chimney Sweeps Near Me - El Cajon, California

Purchased a Medium Flush Wood insert.. very fair pricing! Looking for better efficiency of our fireplace and it had to be custom done because of how the house was built originally in 2001. Boy did Dewey's team with Aden come out with the best work artistry engineering to make this happen for us! Thank you! Wendy & Dick read more

So glad we chose Farrell's. They were friendly, reasonably priced, and knowledgeable. We are so pleased with how our fireplace turned out.

Quality product delivered ahead of schedule and on budget. The installers were professional, friendly and quick. They left our living room spotlesslt cleen. read more

One of the best in the county! We have been doing business over 30 yrs with the Farrell family! They are fair, trustworthy, professional and dependable. Their knowledge of materials and decor is outstanding. We hope they are here for years to come! Let them bid your job; you won't be disappointed! read more

The sign on the door should be changed from "Open" to "Do Not Disturb". I went in to look for a new fireplace, and naturally had some questions. The gentleman who got up to help me was obviously put off by the presence of a customer that day. He was condescending and confrontational most of the time. When he was trying to explain something and I didn't get it (mostly because he was having trouble expressing himself accurately), he would get short and disgruntled. I suspect he was thoroughly hung over, but of course I cannot prove that. Bottom line is, they are the only place in San Diego that had what I was looking for, and they also do the installations, so they were going to receive a large chunk of my money. Until this guy thought I'd actually still spend it there even if he was rude to me. Yeah... right. To be fair, my wife had called ahead and spoke with a woman and said she was very very pleasant. So I guess my message to potential customers is, try and get the woman to help you, or else teach the grumpy guy some manners by walking out. read more

This is a bit long, hang in there. I purchased an Avalon Raineer wood stove insert from Farrells about 2 to 3 years ago. They installed it, as well as the chimney sleeve piping and the chimney cap. I had a wood stove at a previous house so I have used them for many years. To avoid problems, I use either oak, avocado or compressed wood logs. At the beginning I used a lot of their compressed wood logs since that is what Farrells uses in their store demo stove. Then after extensive web searching, I found out about Northern Idaho compressed wood logs which are much larger and so longer burning and I now buy those from Hennings in Vista. A Long drive but a great product. The first major problem occurred after I had only used the stove maybe 20 or so times. It became harder and harder to start and began to back-up sending smoke into our house every time I opened the door to feed it. Then it sent so much smoke into the house down through the bottom of the stove where the fan is located, that my smoke alarms went off and I had to remove their batteries. I got onto my roof and found that the chimney cap was all clogged with gooey drippy black creosote and I phoned Farrells. They said that it did not make sense but that they would "take care of it and make me happy" since I had the stove under a year and had not even used it much. When their sweep called to make the appointment to clean it all out and see what the problem might be, he mentioned that possibly it was clogging up due to my running it dampered too far down and that I should not do this. He (their sweep) said likes to run his really hot every few times to keep it clean. This pissed me off as they had told me I could damper it way down to save money and burn wood more slowly. Okay, so before he actually came over, I cleaned some of the clogged up holes in the cap, so that it would draw enough for me to start a fire, and I ran two really hot fires at about 600 degrees on their temp gauge. When he came over he was surprised to find that although it was still majorly clogged, none of it was wet and drippy anymore as the hot fires I ran had dried it all out making his job a great deal faster and easier and less messy. I specifically asked him if maybe the swivel Rooster type chimney cap had too little venting area and he said that was not the issue and that it really had to be my running it dampered down too far. I was VERY surprised when he handed me a bill for $120.00+ since "we will make you happy" sounded like I was not going to be charged for this cleaning that should not have been needed. Jump forward a year and it is now 2015. After burning my stove for just 10 or 12 days total in the past 2 winter months, and all with the North Idaho compressed logs which leave almost zero ash, it became hard to start for two days and then the third day, yesterday, it backed up and flooded my house with smoke. Ghastly!. I am very glad that I had not gone out for a while and that I happen to own a Halon fire extinguisher, so I was able to barely open the door, spray in some Halon to immediately extinguish the smoldering fire, and close it back up. Turned on my attic exhaust fans and it took hours to get most of the smell out. Had to run an ozone generator to get rid of it all. This time I decided to call Hennings and emailed them photo's I took of the cap all clogged up once again with dry soot. He immediately asked me why Farrells had installed the swivel rooster style chimney cap since these types of caps clog up and cause major problems and should never be used unless there is a major draw issue due to high winds pushing air down a chimney. Nope, no winds in our area and I said Farrells simply installed what they told me was appropriate and that when I specifically asked about the cap a year ago during the first clog, they said it would not have been in any way responsible for my problem. I was given the name of one of the major wholesale chimney suppliers if I wanted to call and verify that they tell their dealers to avoid those caps unless they are absolutely necessary, and I ordered a standard (but California approved) replacement cap which I will put on as soon as it arrives. It has close to 400% more air flow venting holes. Meanwhile, I cleaned the old one with a wire brush so I can still light a fire. Between their not knowing that this type of cap should never be used unless certain windy conditions might require it, and the fee I was charged during the"make me Happy" visit, and the really bad taste I have after a house full of smoke times two, I will never recommend Farrells. Hennings is good for North County residents and I guess for down here I would send people to Warm Hearth, who I would hope is better but I don't know. read more

Dewey and his assistant Aidan installed a fireplace insert in our great room today. They were extremely efficient, knowledgeable, and caring about the installation. They made sure everything worked and meticulously cleaned up afterwards. 10+. Highly recommend! read more

The gas fireplace and stone-faced chimney are absolutely beautiful; and the work was done at a fair price. However, my rating is based on a complete lack of communication and poor project management that left me wondering what was going on for weeks on end. The end product gets an "A" while the communications and management aspect gets a "D." read more

Our experience with Farrell's was excellent from the showroom to completion. In the shop, they patiently answered all of my questions about a gas insert, the available options, and what might work in the space i had. John, the owner, figured out how we might fit a larger unit by making the opening wider. Dewey and Aiden arrived on time and very professionally got the job done. They were clean, courteous, and kept us informed along the way. read more

I too received the worst customer service from them. I have been cursed at, hung up on and jerked around. How they have a "A" ranking with the BBB is beyond me. read more

My wife and I walked into Farrell's Fireside Shop in El Cajon regarding a fireplace repair. I explained our repair issues and Mike told me exactly what we needed and gave us the best quote of the places I looked into. Our total time in the store was about 5 minutes or less - it was awesome! Mike had his employees at our house the next morning and they made the repairs, which looked great, and they cleaned our chimney as well. I don't Yelp that often but I felt it was necessary here. Thanks again, Mike! read more

We purchased our pellet stove from Farrell's Fireside 7years ago and have been extremely happy with it. Last week we needed an urgent maintenance and cleaning. Despite being the busiest time of year, the appointment book full, John Farrell called and made sure we were safe and warm and booked a maintenance appointment. The maintenance that Andy provided was also 5 star. I am very satisfied and grateful for the excellent customer service provided by Farrell's Fireside. We were well taken care of. Donna B read more

We had John Farrell send a couple of his workers over to repair our wood burning stove. Dewey and his partner, Danny were very professional and even showed up 2 hours ahead of schedule ! They went through the whole system and sealed the leaks on the roof, cleaned the fireplace and we can't be happier ! ! I would recommend Farrell's Fireside for any and all fireplace issues. Well Down, indeed! ! ! read more

Called today and spoke with Grady. Super friendly, very professional. Received a detailed quote for a fireplace insert over the phone in about 3 minutes. I told him about a coupon I had downloaded from the manufacturers website for $100 off, and he said he would beat it and give me 10% off. That's $300! I plan to visit the shop this weekend, and make the buy in person. I will update this review after that. So far so good. read more

We had the "works" for the fireplace at our HOA association clubhouse. First, cleaning of the chimney, then a beautiful new replacement fire place set, and that topped off with a new roof cap. Larry, the technician, did a wonderful job and all this was done for a very fair price. read more

Dewey and Keith were very professional and respectful. They answered all my questions and concerns, and surpassed my expectations. There was no mess left behind, and everything looks great. read more

Inspection was Wednesday and by Thursday at 4pm I had a brand new awesome wood burning stove with no evidence of the old stove or chimney or anything! They had to fix everything from ground all the way to the top with new materials as it was so old and broken and it now looks amazing. They were so nice, efficient and the price was great! I know this as shopped around and they were really well priced. If I could give more raves on this place I would! read more

Excellent from start to finish, this is the second insert I have gotten from Farrell's as well as a wood burning stove and they have always done me right. Dewy and crew were excellent very professional from start to finish. Great products as well as selection. Thanks John for coming to verify the measurements. Looks outstanding, works outstanding, happy customers.. read more

My friend needed an obscure stove pipe that had been out of production for years, and since I had had my fireplace cleaned years ago by the owner of this business, I had thought that this was the most likely place to go. I was not expecting much results, as the pipe is considered somewhat outdated and not in use. To my surprise, I found that the salesman at the store not only to be professional and courteous, but also knowledgeable, and, in addition, went the extra mile to find the pipe for me! As it turned out, Farrells had a storehouse full of old fireplace parts just for occasions like these. I felt like the store had been tailored-made for people like me and my friend. The price was great too. Highly recommended. These guys know what they are doing. They have been in business for years. read more

I used Farrell's because I was told by a few contractors that my chimney needed repair not rebuilding (one person tried to tell me it should cost $15k to rebuild and that I had to do it asap! - who has this kind of spare cash I mean really!?) I also had a foundation guy who said he's the only person he would use which was good enough for me. John reassured me that relining the fireplace and filling the gap between the house and the chimney that was pulling away would be fine and he's been doing this for years so he should know. His crew communicated well with me, got me a reasonable quote when they said they would and showed up when promised. The job is beautiful and I'm thrilled at the result. John is a friendly, no nonsense kinda guy who tells it like it is, which I like. I would definitely use them again. read more

Tom from Farrell's fixed my fireplace today. He was very honest, helpful, and knowledgable. He explained why my Heatnglo fireplace wasn't working and, even better, he showed me how to maintain it myself so I wouldn't be faced with the same problem again. Before I was lucky enough to find Farrell's, a service "professional" from another company diagnosed the problem as a special part needing to be replaced. Something about this didn't seem right, so I did a bit online and found out the guy was overcharging me about $100 for the part he said I needed. Tom from Farrell's said I didn't need the part, and he turned out to be right. I was only charged for the service call, during which Tom tuned up my fireplace and showed me some tips how to keep it in good order. I trust Farrell's. They are honest, competent and efficient people. And their prices are fair. I would recommend them to anyone who needs good honest service people. read more

They don't even deserve one star. Worst service EVER. I called over six times for a guy named ANDY to get back to me regarding some work he had done. He never did. I finally got ahold of him this morning. HE was yelling at me on the phone, he refused to come fix a problem that was caused by them and he hung up on me. BIG BIG mistake. I want everyone to know, that this is the worst place ever and to not go there. read more

We bought a gas heater from them a few years ago. The pilot light would not work when we tried to light it. We called for service, cost $125. We asked them to get it working again and check it all out. On a cold morning, we tried to light it and it would not turn on. Called 4 times to have someone come out. Was told someone would get back to us. No one ever called us back. The last time my husband called he was asked, what we can we do to make it right? He lost his temper and said , come out and fix the #$%^& thing. He was hung up on! This is after we tipped the service man too. Forget it, won't use them again. Do not recommend. They want to sell you the product and then forget you. read more

Absolute great service. Bought a Harmon Pellet stove 6 years ago. The color I wanted was not available. Grady painted it to match my decor. Six years of use, still looks great. I buy sundries occasionally and a lot of pellets, excellent service. They service and clean my system every other year. Great service staff, clean, efficient , andon time. I am buying a new BBQ and got a steal of a deal. read more

We purchased a heater from Farrell's that was supposed to heat an area up to 900 square feet. Our room is 600 square feet. It was their "top of the line" heater. John said that it would turn our room "into a sauna". Once it was installed we tested it and it took 3 hours to heat three degrees. We called and they came out to look at it. After being 45 minutes late for the appointment, the tech said part of the blower was not connected and he fixed it. Again when tested, it now heated 2 degrees in an hour. We called again and the next tech that came out said we could get more heat by re-arranging the faux logs, which he did. As any logical person would assume, this did not work either. We have been promised a visit by the manufacturer's representative, but they blew us off. We have made two appointments for them to come back out to the house, but they were no shows. We have taken time off work to stay home, and then they don't show and they don't call. read more

Every time I have had to deal with the store the salespeople are rude, obnoxious and arrogant! This has not been our experience with the technicians but the salespeople... UGH! Enough is enough! I'm going elsewhere! read more

They never told me up front that their minimum charge was $125 for a service call. Their service guy spent less than 15 minutes to realign an ignitor rod with a screw driver and showed me how to replace the batteries in the remote junction box on the wall. $125 per 15 minutes works out to $500 per hour! You'll never see me again... read more

Recently our fireplace started filling our house with smoke so we called Chimneys R Us, the company we always use to come out and inspect. A very nice gentleman took a look at the fireplace and the chimney. Because we were very nervous about people going on the roof and breaking tiles, he suggested Tom, from Farrell's, a much leaner and experinced Chimney guy. (Farrell's and Chimneys R Us are apparently sister companies) Today Tom came and carefully got on the roof, cleaning a very dirty chimney and fireplace. He was polite, professional, and light on our tiles! He even took before and after photoes for me! Thank you so much, and we are enjoying a warm fire in a smokeless house! read more

Wonderful service....have dealt with Farrell's for a very long time. Just purchased a new wood burning stove to replace last one (had 30 years) and I was unhappy with the black color. Mike and John very patient with me and they had the stove painted to match my decor...WOW...just stunning. SO THRILLED...The men that came out to paint the stove had to move this huge thing outside, paint in the awful heat, bring back in adjust the pipe, lift onto the harth...no easy feat....I am so delighted with the service from everyone....Thank you Thank ....In another 30 years I will get my wood burning from Farrell's...They have cleaned and inspected my old stove many times and of course I will continue using their services for my brand new stove. SO PLEASED.......... read more