Gas insert vs pellet insert — which is better for my fireplace?
In Swannanoa, a lot of these choices are being made mid-rebuild — and that's the perfect moment to put in a gas insert. As Grovemont-era homes get renovated after the storm, a sealed gas unit gives you efficient, power-optional heat that keeps working when the grid doesn't. A pellet insert heats well but depends entirely on the electricity this valley has watched go out.
Build the heat you wish you'd had
Storm damage put a lot of Swannanoa homes into rebuilds and renovations, and demand for new fireplaces and stoves has climbed right along with them. If you're already opening up walls, it's the ideal time to do a hearth properly — a sealed insert dropped into the firebox on a correctly sized liner, vented and connected right the first time. The Grovemont-area 1940s-60s housing stock came with original masonry fireboxes that were never efficient; a rebuild is your chance to fix that for good.
The outage memory is the deciding vote
Nobody in this valley needs the backup-heat argument explained. A pellet insert stops the instant the power drops — auger, blowers, everything — and battery backup only spans a short interruption, not the kind of multi-day outage this area lived through. A gas insert with millivolt or battery-backup ignition just keeps burning. Natural gas serves Swannanoa, so connecting one is direct; running and permitting that line with Buncombe County and pressure-testing it is the licensed step a showroom or general contractor legally can't finish in North Carolina. River-valley fog and cold-air pooling here also make the case for sealed, efficient heat. Call (828) 545-0525 — we're 15 minutes east and the estimate's free.
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.