We were just starting to reno our newly purchased house when the gas fireplace promptly died (sole heat source at the time…). I could not revive it and resigned myself to replacing it.
I went to Maxwell Fireplace to start my research, as they are a few blocks away from our house.
First of all: Meredith is so friendly, helpful and - most importantly - knowledgeable. On my way out that first day, after picking a couple of replacement gas fireplaces to research, I saw a gorgeous Stûv wood stove and commented that it was too bad that I couldn’t use it in North Van. Meredith explained that indeed you can have and use wood stoves in the Metro Vancouver area, despite what everyone had told me. She gave me the controlling bylaw (1303) to research to confirm that what I really wanted was indeed allowed. It is.
The Stûv was not cheap, but it is efficient, effective and SO beautiful. So I did get another quote before immediately returning to Meredith and signing up!
Noel and his team came soon after to set up the new chimney and confirm the intake vent size and location. Both Meredith and Noel were responsive with all my questions throughout and accommodating when my installation date had to change (multiple times). Noel and the team returned for final stove install when I asked and were super clean, professional, friendly and did a perfect job.
The highlight that demonstrates the level of care that they provide was when Noel came to the house - with wood in hand - a week after install to demonstrate how to start and use the stove properly. He was kind, thoughtful and really enjoyed teaching and making sure we were comfortable using our new Stûv.
I had such an excellent experience start to finish that I can’t recommend Maxwell Fireplace highly enough! I will sing their praises to anyone interested!