Can a fireplace make radon levels in my house worse?

A drafty firebox is a radon pump

The open masonry fireplaces in these Skyland and Royal Pines homes are decades past their prime — they pull warm air out, let cold air drop down the flue when idle, and demand a steady stream of make-up air whenever they burn. That make-up air comes up through the slab and foundation joints, carrying soil gas with it. The draftiness homeowners already complain about and the radon pull are the same problem wearing two hats.

An open masonry box can actually run a net heat loss, so you're paying to pull radon in.

Converting to an insert stops both

Sliding a sealed gas insert into that open opening is one of the most satisfying upgrades we do here. It seals combustion off from the room, pulls its air from outside, and turns a heat-losing hole in the wall into a real heater — while ending the radon pull in the same afternoon. On Arden's gas mains it lights at the flip of a switch, and battery-backup ignition keeps it working through an outage. Biltmore Park's commercial spaces get the same benefit from sealed units.

Test, then let us take the hearth

Radon sub-slab systems are a separate mitigation trade we don't install. The fireplace's contribution is ours, permitted with Buncombe County and pressure-tested. We're 15 minutes south of the Asheville showroom. Put a test kit on the lowest floor you live on, and if it reads high, run the mitigation and the [insert conversion](/services/wood-to-gas-conversion) together. Call (828) 545-0525.