Let's Work Together

The first step is making contact.  Whether it's a friend broaching the subject of me doing a stove for them or meeting at a home show or a phone call, it all starts with a conversation.

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I learn about your goals, your constraints and your values as it relates to your heater project.  This takes place usually over a few conversations and before we've committed to working together on your heater.  

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     Usually I'll send a few quick sketches that are "close to" what the final will be.  Sometimes those are custom designs and sometimes they are set designs or products like a Temp-Cast or Gabriel, or something in between (like a set design tweaked a little bit).   This discussion tends to wrap up in setting a project budget and choosing a design direction from one of the drawings I have produced.   We're talking about scheduling, but you're not on the calendar yet.

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     A threshold is crossed when you buy a design.  Now I'm working with more precise design elements, and we're refining the final product.  Ideally this takes place months before we build, sometimes it's happening just weeks before we build.  Once the design is purchased you're on the calendar.  We all know things can change, start times could delay on either side of the relationship, but we have a window of time that's yours.  

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     Once we have a shape designed, and all firebox and channel layout are set we get serious about surface finishes and final decisions.  Details are agreed on and final pricing is set.  

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     Once we're on site and building, and the stove starts coming together, people have ideas.  By now we know each other pretty well and we talk about these as the ideas come up.  Before any change is approved you'll know if and how it effects your pricing.

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     As the project winds up, our conversation ussually turns toward firing the stove.  There's a "first fire" that's a pretty big deal, and a formal lesson on firing, follow up to make sure it's going well and help if you experience problems.  The most common issue people have is wet wood, but also common, especially with people who have experience with metal wood stoves, is just not building the fires the way the stove requires.  

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     Like I said, every person is unique, and so it's the relationship we have that makes your experience of buying, building, and getting to know your heater what it is.  That's why the company is called "Eric Schroeder Stoves

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     It's not complicated, and I'll talk you through it.  Every heater is a little differentt, because (if nothing else) every house is a little different, so there's nuance to operation that you'll learn over your first year.  As a woman I introduced to Masonry Heaters once  said, "That first winter it's like getting to know a friend."