How do I get my fireplace ready for fall and winter?
In Asheville the prep splits by the kind of home you own — the original masonry fireboxes in Montford and North Asheville want a chimney sweep and flue inspection before the first fire, while the clean-face gas units common in newer South Asheville homes just need a service, fresh batteries, and a test burn. Book the annual visit first; we're right here on Emma Road.
Which Asheville hearth do you have?
The prep depends on the house. Montford, North Asheville, and Biltmore Village hold some of the city's oldest homes, built around open masonry fireboxes — those need a chimney sweep and a look up the flue before the first fire. We check for cracked clay tile, creosote, a rusted damper, and animal nests, since creosote is the leading cause of chimney fires. On an original hearth, treat this as a safety inspection rather than a cosmetic once-over.
The gas homes ask less, not nothing
West Asheville remodels and the newer South Asheville builds mostly run clean-face direct-vent gas, and those are the low-effort ones. Over the off-season, spiders and fine dust drift into the pilot assembly and burner ports, so a service clears that out before it turns into a no-light in December. Wipe the glass, dust the logs, and put fresh batteries in the remote and the battery-backup ignition — on a Napoleon, that backup is what keeps heat coming when the grid drops. Then run a test burn on a cool morning.
We're minutes up Emma Road
Our showroom is at 629 Emma Rd, so an Asheville service call is a short drive, and you're welcome to stop in and watch a unit fire before deciding anything. On gas or venting work we pull the Buncombe County permit and meet the inspector. Elevation holds our nights in the 20s well into spring, so the season is long — get on the schedule before the first cold snap fills it, and we'd rather catch a problem in September than on the first freezing night. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Asheville
We install and service fireplaces throughout Asheville and the rest of Buncombe County — we're headquartered right here.
Related questions
- How do I shut down my gas fireplace for the summer?
- Why does my fireplace smell like burning dust the first time I light it each fall?
- How do I keep dust and debris out of my fireplace during the months it is not used?
- Should the damper be kept closed during the off-season?
- Is it good to run my gas fireplace occasionally during the off-season?