How do I make a 1970s floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace look modern?
In Candler the common complaint isn't dark 1970s fieldstone but a basic, decorative-only builder box in a fast-growing subdivision — one that makes a little light and almost no heat. Out here you're largely in propane country, so the strong update refaces the wall and puts a real heat-producing sealed insert behind it, which also burns far cleaner in the Hominy Valley bowl.
From decorative to real heat
Many of Candler's newer subdivision fireplaces were built to look like a fireplace, not to warm a room, and owners usually want more within a few years. Refacing over the plain surround — large-format porcelain or a current stacked stone, taken floor-to-ceiling — modernizes the wall, and it is the right moment to replace a decorative firebox with a sealed direct-vent insert that actually heats.
A limewash is the cheaper cosmetic route if the existing stone just reads dated, but it won't add the heat a builder box is missing.
Propane and clean air in the bowl
Candler runs largely on propane rather than a gas main, so the insert is set up for LP with the right pressures and orifices. Hominy Valley's natural bowl can trap air, which is a good reason to favor a clean-burning sealed unit over a smoky open firebox — it keeps the valley air, and your new glass, cleaner.
We pull the Buncombe County permit, pressure-test the propane line, and meet the inspector — the licensed step no builder or mason can do. Fifteen minutes from our Asheville showroom.
The right upgrade, not the priciest
In a growing subdivision it is easy to be sold the flashiest unit, and that is not how we work — no pressure and no upselling. If your builder box just needs to look current, a reface and a modest sealed insert may be all it takes; if you want to actually heat the great room, we'll size up honestly. We'd rather get you the appliance that fits your Candler home and how you live in it than the one with the biggest number on it. Call (828) 545-0525.
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.