We hired Penguin Fireplace for a family room renovation centered around upgrading our old…read morefireplace, and we couldn't be happier with the result. We didn't just want a new insert; we needed a complete facelift for the room, and the team absolutely delivered. The project was finished on time, and the new fireplace has completely changed the vibe of our home. If you are looking for a team that is professional, communicative, and truly skilled at what they do, I highly recommend Penguin Fireplace. Thank you to the whole team for a job well done!

Detail oriented, utterly perfect in execution, and on time. Not the cheapest job I've had done but…read morereasonably priced all in. Would absolutely choose them again. Like many customers I wanted to put a TV over a fireplace without it being too high off the ground as this makes for an unpleasant viewing experience. One way to do this is to use the "cool wall" type of installation, which lets you locate a TV right above the fireplace, but this requires building a chase into the room - and the particular room we have is too small for this to be a good idea. I also did not want to use one of the mantle mount options for our TV because that would also bring the TV into the room when lowering it for use which would thereby also reduce the size of the room in front of the TV. So we had a bit of a conundrum. But penguin showed us some options, which allowed us to get our TV low enough without using a mantel mount or a chase at all. Specifically, they showed us an insert that you could put directly on a concrete floor and a noncombustible mantle which you could locate just a few inches over the fireplace opening without risking fire safety. (As a point of comparison, locating a typical combustible mantle above a fireplace requires strictly specified minimum distance, which in effect leads to a much much higher minimum TV installation height..) We also went with a custom surround, which makes the gas insert that we went with look a lot bigger, and also a good proportion for the space that we have... And the design of the insert itself makes it look a whole lot deeper and wider than it actually is by using reflective glass. I'm really pleased with how this turned out. For the wall tile, I'd always had a dream of doing board form concrete and penguin did a fantastic job installing it. This is a fiberglass reinforced concrete veneer product I got from Wall Theory in the color "natural gray." It's worth mentioning that I visited another store that did not think of the options we went with, which left me scratching my head as I stared at a pile of catalogs that they shared instead. Go with Penguin.

I'm very happy with the customer service and product from Kidd. I ordered both a gas insert…read more(Jotul) and a gas log set from Kidd in late February 2021. Randy was clear that there is a supply chain delay in receiving both inserts and log sets, and that the delay is particularly long and unpredictable for the gas log sets. Our insert arrived within the time frame that Randy had stated (early May 2021), and was installed by the technicians to whom Kidd had referred us. We were unhappy with the size and fit of the surround plate for the insert, and Randy took it to a metal shop to adjust it for us. The first attempt resulted in a broken plate, so Randy had another plate made for us there. He painted it the custom color that we had specified and returned to install it himself. It looks great and we are very happy with how Randy would not stop until we were satisfied. We still don't have the log set, but Randy has managed our expectations by communicating clearly and consistently with us about this timing.

We had Randy come out to service our SPARK 88NE that was installed new by a contractor in 2015 and…read morehad never been thoroughly cleaned. We also felt the flame was too low and more blue than yellow. We bought this place in 2017 so we felt it was time we had someone check it out. Randy was on time and he spent a total of about three hours taking the fireplace apart, cleaning it, making a few adjustments and putting it back together. Total cost was just under $1,000!!! We just gulped and paid, figuring we'd gone 7 years without really touching the thing. Unfortunately, after Randy left we noticed an odd flame rising above the area where the pilot light sits. We contacted Randy and he said he'd have to call SPARK to get their feedback on the odd flame. I waited a few days and hearing nothing from Randy, I contacted SPARK myself and sent them a picture of the odd flame. SPARK replied saying everything was fine, but that Randy had improperly adjusted something and just needed to readjust it. I sent SPARK's reply to Randy and he responded saying he'd be out "on Friday" to make things right. Friday came and no Randy. I contacted him and he said there must have been a misunderstanding - there wasn't, as I had his email. He said he had another customer nearby and he was waiting on a part for that customer, so he'd contact me as soon as he had the part and was coming this way again. That was early Nivember. I heard nothing for weeks so I reached out a week ago to find out when Randy could return. I was then contacted by his partner/assistant, who informed me Randy was unfortunately in a bad accident and would probably be out of commission for several weeks. Obviously it is beyond Randy's control that he's injured and needs time to recover, but we're still shocked that after paying nearly $1,000 for three hours of service (no parts) back on October 31, 2024, there has been no real effort on the part of Kidd Fireplace to make things right for us. We've had to do all the contacting, research with the manufacturer, etc. We've been very patient as well. Sadly there seem to be very few NFI Certified technicians here in Northern California so Randy Kidd is literally the only game, an unreliable game at that, in town.

Five stars for the following reasons: Punctual,…read moreprofessional, efficient, pleasant, and fairly priced. They gave me a window from 10 AM to 1 PM and their office communicated with me the day of via text to let me know my technician would arrive in 20 minutes. He arrived right on time! Communicated expertly. When I called for a quote, Janice was extremely knowledgeable and pleasant, never pushy. The price was fair and reasonable, Amador, the technician was very efficient and took lots of pictures for my summary. Checked all the boxes so I will use them again.

My family and I would like to thank DNA Clean Sweep Chimney, especially Adam!…read more They were extremely professional and did an amazing job from start to finish. The work was very thorough, never felt rushed, and they truly went above and beyond. Adam was a man of his word -- showed up on time, communicated clearly, and delivered excellent work. He also made sure we knew we could always call with any questions or follow-ups, which we really appreciated. We normally don't leave reviews, but this experience was absolutely worth it. We've had bad experiences with other chimney companies in the past where workers rushed through the job and the quality of work reflected that. This experience was completely different. The quality of work was outstanding, and everything was handled with care and professionalism. We will definitely be recommending them to family and friends with chimneys! Highly recommend! -The Henry Family

Ryan and the team (Big John, and Junior) are amazing! After meeting with several other fireplace…read morecompanies Walnut Creek Fireplace had the most reasonable cost with one important caveat. All or maybe 95%+ of the work (we had some quartzite added in hearth and needed some hardwood floor repair) was completed entirely by The WCFP team. They were on budget, on time, and did great work. Our fireplace went from an eyesore to a beautiful focal point in our family room area. Highly recommend WCFP. Cheers!

Shout out to WC Fireplace. Complete project from making a…read moreboring wall to our favorite room. One stop shop. Complete project including AV.

I am disappointed with their policy. I needed a remote replacement. I was advised I would have to…read morepay over $400.00 for a full inspection then the price of the remote. I am a repeat customer and was told there was nothing else that could be offered to me. I Paid for a full inspection 2023 or 2024 and the year before had an inspection as well. I was told it's not needed every year unless there are problems. But their policy now is of such if they touch my insert, even removing the glass to hit a reset button for the remote they would have to do a full inspection. So total Cost would be close to $600.00 when all that is needed is a remote. I did find a company to Come and handle the remote only but I would have rather stayed with Fireplace Tech. Disappointed

Wow amazing service Wilson the technician-detail oriented, got our old fireplace working safe and…read moreclean. Can't say enough how pleased I am!

Jerry did an amazing job installing our new gas insert, his wife Kim was also very helpful helping…read moreus choose the right insert for our space, couldn't be happier

We purchased a pellet fireplace insert from Jerry's Fireplace at the beginning of the summer, which…read moremeans we haven't used until now. I pushed the on button and it works like a charm! Thank you Jerry for the wonderful installation and for great customer service.

After calling, and being ignored by two Valor fireplace dealers I called Top Notch…read more John came to my home in Walnut Creek the next morning and resolved my problem. My 15 year old Valor is running like new. Professional and extremely competent!

John came out and checked my three fireplaces. On one of them he did an install of a remote unit,…read moreit stopped working within 2 weeks and he never came back to fix it. I called, texted and sent emails that were never answered. STAY AWAY

Fernando did a great job installing the Regency Fireplace I bought from Berkeley Heat (aka Berkeley…read moreTubmakers). His price was fair and the craftsmanship was utterly perfect - see photos I am adding. Gives you an idea of the level of detail work he can do. I did have to do some phone and email follow-ups myself but Fernando showed up on time on install day and did the job perfectly. Fernando offered to run the gas line plumbing for me but was not familiar with permitting in SF - so I had my own plumber install a gas line, with SF permit, to the exact location Fernando specified. (And boy was it exact - had we been off by a few inches the new insert would not have fit.) Then Fernando installed the insert itself. There was a slight miscommunication about what was included in the bid. I thought a custom metal shield to protect the wood mantel was included but it wasn't - turns out this was referring to other protection inside the old firebox - but Fernando agreed to do a change order on the spot for what I considered a very fair price literally less than 5% of the original bid. Situations like this are a game of chicken - it's highly unlikely I wanted to hire another metalworker before I could use the new fireplace. So it speaks to Fernando's character that he charged such a small fee for the extra work. So I tipped him heavily on the change order and considered it a win. Would definitely hire him again for a similar job. FYI these inserts WILL likely change how your existing wood burning fireplace chimney looks. I didn't love the new look at first but it has grown on me. Slightly steampunk.

I am very pleased with Fernando's work and by his team. I selected his services because he appears…read moreto be specialized in fireplaces and he demonstrated his skills and experiences refacing mine. The team had experiences with masonry, drywall, paint, electricity, etc. They adjusted the bricks on the fireplace, did the new framing for the drywall, patched and painted to hid any evidence of the remodel. The communication with Fernando was very clear and he was very responsive. The team came everyday for the whole day from 9 to 5pm. They were very respectful of the property and protected the working area daily. I think they worked together for sometimes and Fernando himself was there 70-80% of the time and he also helped me to find decorative solutions for the fireplace.