Oj Insulation & Fireplaces

This review is for the OJ Insulation and Fireplace business in Escondido. 10 years ago they installed a large new fireplace in my living room. I asked them for the largest one they offered and they picked the brand to install –FMI GM50H. I had no problems with the initial installation. Then, several years later, the grout started to fail in the firebox. Chunks of the grout had fallen out and you could see holes. They came out and repaired it, but gave no reason at that time for the failure. Now, in 2014, we see the same grout failure, which is obviously a fire hazard. So, they come out and take a look again at the grout failure. They don’t call me back for weeks after the visit. The new diagnosis is that my husband is building wood fires that are too hot. So, you sell me the largest fireplace you offer and then tell me 10 years later «don’t build a large fire». I was willing to pay for the repair since the original fireplace had been installed 10 years ago, but here is why they get one star: I was told they can’t repair the fireplace they chose and they installed. I was told that the manufacturer (FMI Fireplace) was bought out by Lennox and they can no longer get the grout to repair the fireplace. So, they don’t stand behind the products they represent. They didn’t offer any other solution other than for me to hunt for a «masonry» person who might be able to do the repair. George, the contact I spoke to, was unsympathetic and unhelpful. It’s unimagineable to me to be told «we can’t fix the fireplace we sold to you».
Update on ¹²⁄₁₅ – After contacting my General Contractor (OJ was the subcontractor), George politely called me back to tell me that «yes, they can fix my fireplace». His attitude was noticeably what I would expect in the first place, helpful. I also learned from my own research that the original information he told me was not quite accurate – yes FMI was bought by Lennox but they aren’t at all out of business and the CEO of FMI is now the CEO of Lennox – so that was all just a bunch of excuses without merit. Furthermore, when I did go to the FMI website and looked at the customer manual for the GM50H, there is just a single warning about fires that can get too hot, and that was associated with glass doors. My husband is an eagle scout, and builds the type of wood fires (using peach or almond wood) that you would expect to build in a 50 inch fireplace! The grout shouldn’t fail.