Terms of Service

Last updated: September 7, 2026

These terms apply to all oven builds carried out by Firefly Wood Ovens. By paying your deposit you agree to them.

1. Quotations

Estimates generated on this website are indicative. A binding quotation is issued only after a site visit, and is valid for 30 days.

Your quotation is based on the site conditions observed at that visit.

2. Booking and deposit

Your start date is secured when we receive your deposit, not when you accept a quotation.

A deposit of 25% of the contract value is due at signing.

The deposit is non-refundable in all circumstances, except where we cancel under section 6. It secures your place in our build schedule and covers design work, site assessment, and any permit application we make on your behalf.

3. Payment schedule

• 25% deposit — due at signing
• 40% — due at the start of construction
• 25% — due on completion of the oven dome
• 10% — due on completion of the build

Payment is by invoice. Work will not continue while payment is outstanding.

4. Cancellation by you

All cancellations must be in writing to info@fireflywoodovens.com and take effect on the date we receive them.

More than 14 days before your scheduled start date You forfeit your 25% deposit. Any further payments made are refunded, less the cost of any non-returnable materials already ordered for your build (see section 5).

14 days or fewer before your scheduled start date You forfeit your 25% deposit and remain responsible for the full cost of all materials ordered for your build. Any balance is refunded.

Once construction has begun No amount already paid is refundable. You remain responsible for the value of work completed and materials supplied to the date of cancellation. If that exceeds the amount paid, the difference is payable.

Construction is deemed to have begun when we break ground on your property.

5. Materials

Much of what goes into your oven is ordered specifically for it and cannot be returned or reused. This includes firebrick cut to your dome geometry, custom doors, and any tile, stone or cladding selected by you.

Once we have placed those orders, you are responsible for their cost regardless of when you cancel. We will tell you before we place them.

6. Cancellation by us

If we cancel your build for any reason within our control, you receive a full refund including your deposit.

If your build cannot proceed because of circumstances outside either party's control, we will reschedule at the earliest available date. Where rescheduling is not possible, we refund all payments less the cost of work completed and non-returnable materials supplied.

7. Site conditions and access

You are responsible for:

• Confirming the location of your property boundaries and required setbacks
• Identifying and marking the location of all buried services — water, sewer, septic, gas, electrical, irrigation and any private lines
• Providing access to the build location for vehicles, materials and equipment
• Providing access to water and power where the build requires it

We will arrange a public utility locate where required. We are not responsible for damage to unmarked private services.

If conditions are found that could not reasonably have been seen at the site visit — including rock, fill, high water table, unstable ground or buried debris — the additional cost of dealing with them is payable by you. We will tell you before proceeding.

8. Permits and approvals

Where a municipal building permit is required, we will tell you and, if agreed, apply on your behalf. Permit fees are payable by you.

You remain responsible for compliance with any restrictive covenant, condominium rule, conservation authority requirement or other restriction affecting your property.

9. Design changes

Your design is locked at the point the foundation is poured. Changes requested after that point may not be possible, and where they are, the cost of additional work and materials is payable by you.

10. Weather and scheduling

We work outdoors with concrete, mortar and render, all of which have temperature and moisture limits. Cold, heat or sustained wet weather may delay your build.

We will give you as much notice as we can. Weather delays are not grounds for cancellation under section 4 and do not entitle you to a refund or compensation.

11. Curing and first firing

A newly built oven contains a great deal of moisture and must be brought up to temperature gradually over approximately one week following the schedule we provide at handover.

Firing a new oven hard before it has cured will convert that moisture to steam faster than it can escape, which can crack or spall the dome.

Damage caused by failure to follow the curing schedule is not covered by any warranty.

12. Maker's plaque

Every oven we build carries a maker's plaque set into the structure. It identifies the builder and the year of construction and is a permanent part of the oven. It is to remain visible and unobscured.

13. Warranty

Structural warranty — 10 years

We warrant the structural integrity of the oven for ten (10) years from the date of completion. This covers failure of the firebrick dome, the entry arch, the hearth slab, the block stand or the foundation that renders the oven unsafe or unusable, where that failure results from our workmanship or from a defect in the materials we supplied.

Workmanship warranty — 2 years

We warrant the finish work — render, stucco, tile, cladding, flue installation and door fitting — for two (2) years from the date of completion.

14. What the warranty does not cover

Normal characteristics of hand-built masonry

The following are inherent to masonry exposed to high heat and to the Ontario climate. They are not defects and are not covered:

• Hairline cracking of render, stucco or mortar joints. Masonry expands and contracts through every firing cycle and every season. Fine cracking is expected and does not affect the performance or lifespan of the oven.
• Efflorescence — the white powdery deposit that can appear on new masonry as moisture carries salts to the surface. It is harmless and generally weathers off.
• Colour variation, texture variation, chipping, spalling, discolouration or any other change in appearance of firebrick, tile, stone or render, whether present at completion or developing over time. Natural and fired materials vary, and the inside of a wood-fired oven is a harsh environment.
• Soot, smoke staining and heat discolouration.
• Wear of the oven floor. Floor bricks are a wear item and will need replacement over the life of the oven.

Water ingress and freeze-thaw

This is the single greatest threat to a masonry oven in this climate, and it is the one thing that will destroy one.

Water that enters the structure and then freezes expands. Repeated through a winter, and repeated over winters, that expansion will break apart any masonry, however well built. No construction method prevents this. Only keeping water out does.

We build in a waterproof membrane and a water barrier at the perimeter, and we fit a door. Keeping the structure dry after handover is your responsibility (see section 15).

Damage arising from water ingress and freeze-thaw action is not covered by any warranty.

Also excluded

• Damage from failure to follow the curing and first-firing schedule
• Damage from improper use, including overfiring, unsuitable fuel, introducing water or snow into a hot oven, or using the oven for anything other than cooking
• Damage from any alteration, repair, addition or relocation carried out by anyone other than us
• Damage from ground movement, settlement, frost heave, flooding, seismic activity, falling objects, fire, vehicle impact, or any event outside our control
• Damage arising from site conditions you directed us to build on after we advised against it in writing
• Damage caused by failure to carry out the maintenance in section 15

15. Your maintenance obligations

The warranty in section 13 is conditional on the following. They exist because of the freeze-thaw risk described above.

• Keep the door fitted whenever the oven is not in use, year-round.
• Repair cracks promptly. Hairline cracking is normal and harmless while it stays sealed. A crack that opens enough to admit water must be sealed before winter. We will show you how at handover, or we will do it.
• Cover the oven or protect the opening through winter, particularly where the oven is not under a roof.
• Keep the flue capped when the oven is not in use so rain and snow cannot enter from above.
• Do not wash the oven down or direct a hose, pressure washer or sprinkler at it.
• Do not fire an oven that has taken on water until it has been dried out slowly. Ask us first.

We will provide written care instructions at handover.

16. Safety and use

A wood-fired oven reaches temperatures above 400°C. Once handed over, it is your responsibility to operate it safely, to keep combustible material clear of it, to supervise children and animals around it, and to comply with any local fire restriction or open-air burning by-law.

We are not liable for injury, property damage or loss arising from your use of the oven after handover.

17. Insurance

We carry commercial general liability insurance. Proof of coverage is available on request.

You should notify your property insurer that a permanent masonry structure has been added to your property.

18. Liability

Our liability for any claim relating to your build is limited to the contract value of that build. We are not liable for consequential loss.

19. Warranty claims

Claims must be made in writing to info@fireflywoodovens.com within 30 days of the issue appearing. We will inspect the oven, and where the claim is valid we will repair the affected work at no cost.

This warranty is provided to the original purchaser and is not transferable on sale of the property.

20. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario.

21. Contact

Firefly Wood Ovens Email: info@fireflywoodovens.com Phone: 613-295-7398