Can I convert my gas fireplace back to wood-burning, and is it worth it versus keeping gas?
Mars Hill splits two ways. Near the university, the rental homes run on easy-use gas for a reason, and going back to wood asks tenants to tend a fire they mostly won't — so gas usually stays. Out in the Spring Creek and Gabriels Creek valleys, homes already run on propane or wood, and there a return to wood from a masonry firebox can make real sense.
Two different Mars Hills, two different answers
The town around Mars Hill University leans on rentals, and rentals lean on gas — flip-a-switch heat that doesn't depend on a tenant knowing how to build a fire or remembering to bank the coals. Converting those back to wood typically trades a low-maintenance amenity for a management problem, so we usually steer landlords to keep gas. The rural valleys are the opposite world: Spring Creek and Gabriels Creek homes already run on propane or wood, often with their own woodlots, and for an owner-occupant there, returning a masonry fireplace to wood is a natural, grid-independent upgrade.
Propane, wood, and the cold
This is one of the colder spots we serve, so wood's heat genuinely pays for the effort when someone's home to feed it. For the rural homes already buying propane by the tank, going back to wood trades refills for hauling — a fair swap if you've got the land. An EPA wood insert heats the room where an open firebox loses warmth up the chimney, and wood needs no power at all when a storm takes the lines down. The trade is the hauling, splitting, ash, and annual sweep — real work, honestly named.
What's behind the flame, then the permit
None of it matters until we confirm the type: gas logs in masonry convert, a gas insert in masonry is workable once the flue's sound, and a direct-vent unit in a framed chase can't convert at all. Every gas-line cap is licensed, permitted, and pressure-tested. Mars Hill is about 30 minutes north of the showroom. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Mars Hill
We install and service fireplaces throughout Mars Hill and the rest of Madison County — just 30 minutes north from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
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