Fire pit vs outdoor fireplace — which is better for my patio?
In Swannanoa, with so many homes being rebuilt and renovated after the storm, you're often designing the patio from scratch — which is the best possible time to decide. Plan a gas stub now and either a fire pit or an outdoor fireplace becomes a clean install off the natural-gas main. For a social patio, lean pit; for a wind-blocked outdoor room, lean fireplace.
Rebuilding is the moment to plan
Recovery from storm damage has a lot of Swannanoa homeowners rebuilding and renovating, and that's a rare advantage: you can stub a gas line into the patio while the ground is open, instead of trenching under finished hardscape later. Swannanoa sits on the natural-gas mains, so that stub feeds a permanent line for whichever feature you land on. It's also the moment to decide the shape of the space — a low pit for a 360-degree gathering circle, or a fireplace wall that turns the patio into an actual outdoor room. The gas work is licensed: we pull the Buncombe County permit, meet the inspector, and pressure-test.
Valley fog is hard on masonry
River-valley fog, cold-air pooling, and damp air here are hard on masonry chimneys, and an outdoor fireplace lives in the same conditions — so we cap it in stainless and detail it to shed moisture. A fire pit carries less masonry to worry about. Either way, the appliance, venting, gas line, permit, and workmanship come from one accountable company, not a stitched-together crew. Swannanoa is only 15 minutes east of the Emma Road showroom, which keeps line runs and any follow-up quick.
Fireplace help in Swannanoa
We install and service fireplaces throughout Swannanoa and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes east from our Asheville-area showroom.
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