Can I keep a Victorian or antique fireplace look while adding a modern insert?
Yes — but in Brevard the first step is the chimney, not the front. With 80-plus inches of rain a year cracking crowns, spalling brick, and rusting dampers, a lot of antique fireboxes here have hidden flue damage. A sealed insert with a fresh stainless liner preserves the mantel and hearth while fixing what the wet climate has done behind them.
Transylvania rain is hard on old flues
Downtown Brevard homes and the cabins around Connestee Falls and Sherwood Forest sit in one of the wettest corners of WNC, and moisture is relentless on masonry — a March-to-June wet season that swells joints, rusts steel, and lets water into chimney chases and crawl spaces. Before an insert goes in, we inspect the flue and crown. The insert itself is sealed and liner-vented, so the fire no longer depends on a weathered old chimney, and the original firebox face is untouched.
Propane country, period-correct front
Brevard runs largely on propane out in the cabins and rural properties, so we set the unit with the right LP orifices and pressure — set wrong, propane soots the logs and blackens the glass. A Valor insert, radiant and millivolt, or a Kozy Heat unit built for propane reads classic behind an antique-bronze or matte-black framed front and a cast log set. Nothing about your Victorian or farmhouse mantel changes; the flame simply becomes reliable and efficient.
One crew, one permit
We pull the Transylvania County permit, run and pressure-test the propane line — licensed gas work a mason or showroom can't legally do — size the liner, and meet the inspector. In old, damp homes that single line of accountability protects both the house and your insurance. Call (828) 545-0525; Brevard is 40 minutes southwest of the Asheville showroom.
Fireplace help in Brevard
We install and service fireplaces throughout Brevard and the rest of Transylvania County — just 40 minutes southwest from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
- Will a gas insert ruin the look of my masonry fireplace?
- Do gas fireplace inserts come in different front and faceplate styles?
- How do I get a traditional classic fireplace look with an ornate mantel?
- Do wood-burning inserts come in modern styles?
- How can I update my fireplace without completely replacing it?