Can Anyone Refer a Good HVAC for Stove Install

Was wondering if anyone knows of a reputable installer that could install my LL Hearth model? I'm in Bristol and the people I've come across aren't returning my calls, looks like they don't want the business.

thanks in advance,
Andy

I think you will have a very tough time talking an HVAC guy into doing a solid fuel install. Your best bet is a stove shop (they may not go easy on you if you purchased elsewhere) or a chimney sweep may. Maybe a member that is close can help you out. You know how neighborly Connecticutonians are.

Back to Basics on 31 Main Street Terryville, CT 06786 (860)589-8858

They are the only dealer in CT listed on Leisure Lines site. They are on Route 6 just over the line from Bristol on the left.
I don't know anything about their reputation.

EasyRay wrote:Back to Basics on 31 Main Street Terryville, CT 06786 (860)589-8858

They are the only dealer in CT listed on Leisure Lines site. They are on Route 6 just over the line from Bristol on the left.
I don't know anything about their reputation.

I would say if they are involved with LL they have a good one.

EasyRay wrote:Back to Basics on 31 Main Street Terryville, CT 06786 (860)589-8858

They are the only dealer in CT listed on Leisure Lines site. They are on Route 6 just over the line from Bristol on the left.
I don't know anything about their reputation

I bought my coal from them this year. The price was good and the delivery was reasonable. I don't know if they do stove installs but i'm sure they could point you in the right direction if they don't.
mike

EasyRay wrote:Back to Basics on 31 Main Street Terryville, CT 06786 (860)589-8858

They are the only dealer in CT listed on Leisure Lines site. They are on Route 6 just over the line from Bristol on the left.
I don't know anything about their reputation.

That's where I bought my stove. I used a guy named Greg who the owner Dave gave to me for installs... I talked to the guy a couple of times then communication stopped.... I left the guy a message to call me back in regards to my stove installation and no return call...

Heck with it, I'm installing it myself... it's not difficult after doing some research...

As an HVAC contractor myself, I see both sides of the problem. When a customer calls for an install of a stove of any kind, they usually bought the stove somewhere already. Depending on who they bought it from, they may have the wrong stove for their application. If they do have the right one, they will usually have a lot of questions. This will usually take 2-4 phone calls. Then there will be the trip over to look at the project and assess their needs. This will take 1-3 hrs depending on the distance to the job. Then you will give them a price to do the install. Usually there is silence on the end of the phone and then the famous line " I will talk to my (wife or husband) and I will call you back". But now you have already spoke to them about the installation and it sounds like something they can do themselves. You as a contractor already have 2-3 hrs on the job and another 3-4 for the install and the homeowner thinks your price is outrageous. But you have overhead for the truck, ladder, tools, helper, workers comp, phone bill, gas, insurance etc,etc. Out of a standard install there might be 75-100 dollars left after paying everything and everybody and the homeowner says can I catch up with you next week so there are another 3-4 phone calls to get your money. Then they have a problem with a stove that you did not even provide and they hold up your payments because it isn't doing what the salesman said it would.Or the homeowner does not know how to operate it and soots up the whole house and wants you to pay for the cleanup because you installed it. Meanwhile the guy who sold it has already banked his 25-30% profit and is on to the next customer. Do this a couple of times and you will stay away from installing them for anybody.As they say "Been there done that". This is the normal scenario for this type of install. Talk to any stove shop and they will tell you they have a hard time finding a quality installer because of exactly these reasons. This is the truth.

l40knocker wrote:But now you have already spoke to them about the installation and it sounds like something they can do themselves. You as a contractor already have 2-3 hrs on the job and another 3-4 for the install and the homeowner thinks your price is outrageous.

You should always watch the customers eyes when you give a price. If they don't water your price is too low.

Franco B you are right, I had an old timer once talk to me 20 yrs ago when I first started doing side work for myself and he said," If the customer doesn't squeal a little bit when you give them the price then you didn't charge enough". It is true to a point. It is true for an honest business man. I once asked a fellow HVAC contractor how much he charges for a standard furnace change and he smiled, paused for a moment and said "As much as I can". I guess thats why he makes a lot more money than I do but I have much better customers and a great word of mouth advertising system.

l40knocker wrote:I guess thats why he makes a lot more money than I do but I have much better customers and a great word of mouth advertising system.

So many do not understand that good work takes time and planning. The foresight to make servicing easier, raising the boiler or furnace to insure against flooding, running piping or ducts neatly and properly insulated. There is also the fact that everything today is outrageous.

When I did heating work people often asked me to do some of their plumbing work, in the expectation that they could save money over what a plumber would charge. What they did not understand was that the plumber could do it a lot faster than I could because he was a lot more familiar with that work, just as I was faster than a plumber doing heating.