Do fireplace stores install what they sell, or do I have to find my own installer?
In Arden, where 1980s and '90s homes in Royal Pines and Skyland carry tired open masonry fireplaces, the install is the whole game — and Steady Flame both sells and installs. A big-box store sells you an insert and stops, leaving the flue liner and gas connection, the licensed North Carolina work, for you to arrange separately.
A drafty open fireplace into a real heater
Those older Arden open fireplaces pull heat out of the room more than they add it. Dropping in a sealed gas insert turns one into a genuine heater — but only with a correctly sized chimney liner, tight clearances, and a gas line connected to code. That's the part a retail sale conveniently skips.
A showroom can hand you the insert. Lining the flue, running the natural gas, and pulling the Buncombe County permit is licensed work no store can legally do.
Who actually makes it burn
The trap is buying a beautiful insert and only then discovering the seller's job ended at the box — now you're calling around for someone licensed to line the chimney and connect the fuel, and many won't touch a unit they didn't sell. One company that owns appliance, liner, gas, permit, and guarantee avoids the whole scramble.
Biltmore Park's retail and office spaces face the same rule for their gas features: licensed connection, permitted and inspected.
Fifteen minutes, one number
We're fifteen minutes south of our Asheville showroom, so the crew that sells your insert installs it and comes back if it needs adjusting.
Before buying anywhere, ask: do you install what you sell and pull the permit? If not, 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.
Related questions
- Should I buy a fireplace from a specialty showroom or a big-box store?
- Will fireplace installers install a unit I bought somewhere else?
- Is it OK to buy a fireplace online and hire someone local to install it?
- How do I know if a fireplace installer is qualified?
- Who should install a gas fireplace — a plumber, an HVAC company, or a fireplace store?