Can I replace my traditional fireplace with a modern linear one?
Yes, and Arden's older neighborhoods are built for it. The 1980s and 90s homes around Royal Pines and Skyland tend to have tired, drafty open masonry fireplaces that pull heat out of the room. Replacing one with a sealed, direct-vent linear turns a heat-loser into a real heater on the natural-gas main.
From draft to genuine heat
An open masonry fireplace can run a net heat loss — it sends warm room air up the flue all winter. A sealed linear reverses that completely: combustion air is drawn from outside, the glass keeps your heated air in the room, and you get usable output at the flip of a switch. For the aging fireboxes across Skyland, Royal Pines, and Avery Creek, that's the single biggest comfort upgrade available, and natural gas here feeds it directly.
What the remodel changes
We cap the original masonry flue and set the linear into or ahead of the old opening, since direct-vent runs its own sealed pipe out a sidewall and never needs the chimney again. The fire moves up the wall from the raised hearth, and most owners take the chance to go flush and modern in tile or stone. A unit like the Napoleon Vector 50 anchors the room without the old draft.
Permit and accountability
Extending the gas line is licensed work — a mason can rebuild a hearth but legally can't connect it to fuel; we can, and we pull the Buncombe County permit, meet the inspector, and pressure-test the line. Biltmore Park's nearby retail and office spaces get the same single-source handling. Fifteen minutes south — 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.