Does replacing an open wood fireplace with an insert improve the air in my house?
Yes — and in Brevard, propane country where 80-plus inches of rain a year punishes chimneys, an insert fixes an air problem the weather keeps making worse. Rain rots crowns, spalls brick, and rusts dampers, and a corroded damper that won't seal lets more smoke back into the room. A sealed insert ends that for good.
The rain-and-draft problem
Brevard's wet season from March into June drives moisture deep into masonry crowns and chimney chases, and once a damper rust-seizes or a flue starts deteriorating, the chimney no longer drafts the way it should. When draft weakens, an open fireplace stops pulling smoke up and starts spilling fine particulate into the room instead — you notice it as haze and smell, but you're breathing it either way. Downtown homes and the cabins out toward Connestee Falls and Sherwood Forest see it alike, and the crawl spaces and chimney chases common here are especially prone to the moisture damage that starts the whole cycle.
A sealed system the weather can't reach
Because much of Brevard runs on propane, a direct-vent propane insert is the clean answer: it draws combustion air from outside, seals the fire behind glass, and exhausts back out, so nothing from the burn enters your living space — and a zero-electricity radiant Valor Portrait keeps heating with the grid down, which counts on these storm-prone lines. If you'd rather burn wood, an EPA-certified insert with a fresh stainless liner drafts reliably and burns clean where the old open box couldn't. Connecting propane is licensed work — we permit it with Transylvania County, pressure-test every line, and meet the inspector.
Waterproofing is part of the fix
In a climate this wet, the sealed insert is only half the job — the chimney or vent termination has to shed water too, or the moisture that started the problem just keeps working. We repair crowns, fit stainless caps, and make sure the new system stays dry, so the air-quality gain lasts instead of eroding over a couple of rainy springs. Forty minutes southwest of our Asheville showroom, and the in-home assessment is free. (828) 545-0525.
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
- Do wood-burning fireplaces pollute the air inside your house?
- Will converting my wood fireplace to gas improve my indoor air quality?
- Does a wood-burning insert pollute less than an open fireplace?
- Will a gas insert seal off the drafts and old smoke odors coming from my open fireplace chimney?
- Does closing the glass doors on a wood-burning fireplace keep smoke out of the room?