Yes — and in Arden it's often the better place for the fireplace than the one you already have. The 1980s-90s homes in Royal Pines and Skyland tend to have a drafty open masonry firebox upstairs that loses heat; a sealed direct-vent gas unit in the basement does the opposite, warming the lower level efficiently off the natural-gas main with no chimney.
The basement out-heats the old open hearth
An open masonry fireplace, the kind standard in Arden's Skyland and Glenn Bridge homes, actually pulls warm room air up the chimney — over a night it can run a net heat loss. A direct-vent unit is the reverse: sealed combustion, most of the heat staying in the room, safe in a tight enclosed space. Putting one in the basement gives you a genuinely warm lower level and, frankly, a better heater than the fireplace upstairs. It also holds heat when the grid doesn't — Arden lost power with the rest of Buncombe County during Helene, and a unit with battery-backup or millivolt ignition keeps the lowest, coldest level of the house warm through an outage.
Simple where the gas already runs
Arden sits on natural-gas mains, so most basement installs are a line extension from your meter rather than a propane setup — we run and pressure-test that line as the licensed gas contractor. The vent path follows the basement: out an above-grade wall on a walkout, up through the floors on a buried room, or power-vented on a long run. Some homeowners in Royal Pines add a sealed insert upstairs too, but below grade is where the comfort gain is biggest. We pull the Buncombe County permit and meet the inspector, and at just 15 minutes south of the Emma Road showroom, the free in-home assessment is a quick trip. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Arden
We install and service fireplaces throughout Arden and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes south from our Asheville-area showroom.