Poor Quality equals a fireplace that just looks nice, but you can't really use it......

On Sunday the 8th of July 2018, I bought a Corvo Indoor Megamaster fireplace from Builders in Cape Gate. On Tuesday I had it installed by a proffessional. I oversaw the installation and started asking questions about the quality of the Flue. I also managed to strip one of the bolts for the legs without even putting any real effort. We also had to use extra washers just to get the fireplace balanced properly. Needless to say the job was done and all instructions followed. We tested the fireplace on Wednesday evening with a small fire, which went ok except for the lounge eventually filling up with smoke over a period, which I just left as me opening up the door too often to check etc. Thursday it rained and when coming home from work I noticed water trickling down the Flue and there was water inside the fireplace. Again we made a fire that evening, still kept it small as the instructions say, but had to open up windows every 25 to 30 minutes as the lounge again became slightly smokey. Friday I got home and decided to test the water proofing with food colouring mixed with a water. Needless to say the problem is the join where the "inside' pipe connects to the large insulated flue outside the roof. There is a join which faces upwards that has a lip. So water gets caught there and ends up going inside the flue and down the sides. Again I made a small fire and had to open up the windows every 25 to 30 minutes due to the room becoming smokey.

The biggest thing I noticed is that the fireplace doesn't heat up the room, not like my old inferno 6Kw fireplace and this is supposed to be a 14Kw unit, so even with a small fire I'd expected it to perform a bit better. Overall I'm very unhappy about the R14 000 spent, nevermind the installation cost. Nowhere does it say you need to seal the flue joins or what sealant to use. Hoping Megamaster will contact me as I have photos to show poor quality product.