Firelite Gas Fireplace Service — Local services in Town of Shandaken

Let me first say that I am not a review writer but absolutely felt the need to write a review for FireLite because they were SO GREAT! About 2 years ago, when our 20-year-old Heat and Glo gas FP began giving us issues my wife called a local service/install FP company to have the FP serviced. I was not present for the service visit. The person came in, turned the gas off, took the glass off, took the logs out, looked at the FP, bent the pilot hood to "get better flame direction", put the logs back all haphazardly and not at all the way they were supposed to be, didn't bother cleaning the unit even though it was a service call, charged us a boat-load, and told my wife the following - "it's 20-years-old and it needs to be replaced...I can give you an estimate." My wife said she would speak with me and he left. So after 2 seasons of the FP giving us on and off issues it finally stopped working just at the end of this winter. Something needed to be done as literally this is the most used appliance in our house - my wife LOVES it! Because that company was dismissive of my wife and quite frankly took advantage of her, we went to a different FP store to start getting estimates to replace the unit. The estimates we were getting just to have a unit "dropped in" (as I can do all the other work myself - I installed the present unit 2 decades ago) were CRAZY, I mean CRAZY! So I asked a few people at work and one said that their friend used a service only company and that they were great. We decided that before having the unit replaced it was worth calling a company that only does service and no installations to take a look and give us their opinion. The company I was recommended to was Firelite Gas Fireplace Service. I called them and from the first contact with the owner/operator's wife Susan they were great. She said her husband, Steve, would be timely and we made an appointment for 9am. At exactly 9am he was at my front door. He was nice, personable, professional, neat and clean. He entered the house and took his shoes off! He put down a full drop cloth to protect the area he was working in. He completely took the unit apart, meticulously cleaned the entire unit, and diagnosed the problem. He explained that overall the unit was in fine condition even if it was 22-years-old and that once the parts, that were readily available for Heat and Glo units, were replaced the unit would work about as good as new. Initially the pilot/thermocouple/thermopile assembly was replaced, however, then the gas valve decided to freeze. He was surprised as that didn't often happen, however, it sometimes does. This required getting a new gas valve and another appointment. His wife contacted me with the estimate for the new part and the whole time she was very apologetic that her husband had to come back and that the gas valve froze. This was completely unnecessary as it was not anybody's fault except Father Time. The new part arrived and was installed without issue. Steve was again right on time for our appointment. He took his time, was not at all rushed and again meticulously cleaned, vacuumed and wiped the entire unit inside and out. He placed all the fiber ember "things" where they were supposed to go for the best real fire effect and placed the logs back how they were supposed to go. His level of detail was amazing and he adjusted everything a few times until he was happy with how it looked. Now not only is the unit working perfectly but it is spotlessly clean inside and out and the flames have never looked more visually appealing! Please, whatever you do - USE THIS COMPANY! You won't regret it - do not call a company that does service AND installations as I bet they will just tell you that you should replace the unit. And as an added bonus, the total bill was more than reasonable - especially given the amount of time spent and the level of detail. I could not recommend FireLite enough and have already passed them on to other...

I usually don't leave detailed reviews, but what I experienced with Firelite was truly extraordinary. We had recently purchased our house last summer and discovered shortly after inspections, both fire places didn't work consistently and then finally failed. Our landscapers recommended a fireplace repairman who must have come out to our property 7-8 times and he could not figure out how to repair our fireplaces. This past summer I decided to find another company. Thank God, we stumbled upon Firelite. Steven and Susan were absolutely fantastic. Susan runs the office and what a pleasure to deal with. She says what she does and does what she says, which in this day and age is a rarity. She was also so good at keeping me updated on the whole process and progress. She assured me that if anyone could figure out the problem and repair it it would be her husband, Steven. He sure as hell did figure it out, which was no easy task. He never gave up and was that "mad scientist" so passionate about his trade/profession, determined to figure it out when most would just give up and try to sell me on an entirely new system. These two are exactly the kind of people we all look for in every industry but are tough to find! Well done and thanks again,...

I've owned a home on Long Island for 12+ years and have worked with dozens of electricians, plumbers, carpenters, etc. I can confidently say FireLite is among the very best. The owners (Susan and Steven) treated us with the highest level of courtesy and professionalism. Our Napoleon gas fireplace (which one of their competitors installed) had constant problems. The original installers gave up on fixing their own mistakes and others wanted big money just to come look at the unit. FireLite was able to work us into their schedule within a very reasonable timeframe for a fair rate. Steven is an extremely friendly, patient individual who takes the time to explain his diagnosis. Our unit was particularly challenging (poor quality) and initial fixes were short lived/required return trips. But FireLite stood behind their work (unlike competitors) and made it their mission to get our fireplace working correctly. They came back several times as new issues occured (never making us wait long) and even voluntarily reversed some previous charges. Susan was very accommodating and always made us feel like we were a priority rather than a burden. I highly recommend these...