Candler sits in the Hominy Valley bowl, where cool air settles and holds smoke — so how cleanly you burn matters as much as where the wood comes from. Source seasoned hardwood from a Buncombe County cutter, burn it in a clean, sealed appliance, and you protect the valley's air. The fast-growing subdivisions here mostly have basic builder-grade boxes worth upgrading.
In a valley bowl, clean burning wins
Hominy Valley's natural bowl traps cool air and, with it, whatever smoke rises into it — which is exactly why we point Candler homeowners toward clean-burning sealed appliances. Wet, smoky cordwood in an open box doesn't just waste heat; it hangs over the neighborhood. Dry, seasoned hardwood burned in an EPA stove or insert puts out a fraction of the smoke. Source it locally in Buncombe County from storm-fall, land-clearing, and dead-standing wood, and you keep both the forest and the valley air healthier.
Builder-grade boxes want a real upgrade
Candler is one of the area's fastest-growing communities, and most of its new subdivisions came with basic decorative fireboxes — the kind owners want to turn into real heat within a few years. A sealed insert with a proper liner runs 70% efficient or better and burns cleaner than the box it replaces, which is the right move for both your heating bill and the Hominy Valley air. Feed it wood seasoned below 20% moisture and it earns its keep.
Season it right
Buy green in spring, split it, stack it off the ground with the top covered, and give it six to twelve months to dry. A moisture meter confirms it's ready. We're 15 minutes west of the Emma Road showroom — call (828) 545-0525 to talk through a cleaner-burning upgrade.
Fireplace help in Candler
We install and service fireplaces throughout Candler and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes west from our Asheville-area showroom.