Do Asheville-area fireplace companies travel to outlying mountain towns like Waynesville, Brevard, or Black Mountain?

The open-firebox problem, all over Arden

Drive through Royal Pines, Skyland, or Glenn Bridge and you'll find the same thing in house after house: an open masonry fireplace from the 1980s or '90s that looks fine and heats terribly. An open firebox actually pulls warm air out of the room and up the chimney — it can run a net heat loss — which is why yours may make the living room colder, not warmer, when it's burning.

The fix is a sealed insert. Gas or wood, dropped into the existing opening with a correctly sized liner, it commonly runs 70 percent efficient or better and turns a decorative fireplace into one that genuinely heats the space.

Natural gas makes the upgrade easy

Arden sits on the natural-gas mains, so a direct-vent gas insert is usually the cleanest path — sealed combustion, power-optional heat, flame at the flip of a switch, and no propane tank in the yard. For homeowners who'd rather keep a live fire, an EPA wood insert is the honest alternative. We'll tell you which suits your room and how you actually use it, without pushing you toward the priciest option. Bigger isn't automatically better here — an oversized unit in a tight room runs you out, and we size to the space.

Fifteen minutes, permitted in Buncombe

Because Arden is a short drive from the showroom, the assessment, the install, and later service are all easy. Connecting or extending the gas line is licensed work, so we pull the Buncombe County permit and meet the inspector. Big commercial and office spaces around Biltmore Park get the same permitted, single-source treatment. Call (828) 545-0525 for a free in-home estimate.