How do I winterize an outdoor gas fireplace?
Waynesville sits near 2,650 feet, so winterizing runs on a different clock than it does down in Asheville — you'll shut the outdoor fireplace down later in fall and leave it covered longer in spring. Close the gas (the propane tank valve too, if you're on propane up here), clear and dry the firebox, brush the burner, and cover it before the hard freezes.
Elevation stretches your heating season
Waynesville averages ten to fifteen degrees colder than the lower WNC towns, and the heating season runs about three weeks longer than Asheville's. That matters for an outdoor fireplace two ways. You can keep using it later into the cold than most folks realize, so there's no rush to button it up in October.
And the freeze-thaw that corrodes a burner tube is harsher here — more cycles, deeper freezes — so a burner left full of standing water pays for it worse than it would at lower elevation. Dry it out thoroughly before the cover goes on.
The Hazelwood factor
A lot of the older Hazelwood housing stock leans hard on its hearths, and the same drafty, moisture-prone character that plagues those indoor fireplaces shows up outdoors — leaves pack the firebox, dampers rust, grit settles in the ports. When you shut down, brush the burner ports clean and clear every corner of the firebox so nothing's sitting in the holes over a long, wet Haywood winter.
Plan the fall relight ahead
We're about thirty-five minutes west of the showroom, so if you want us out for the fall relight, book it before the season crush hits. The gas side of that fireplace is licensed work — we pull the Haywood County permit, pressure-test the line, and meet the inspector. Late summer or early fall is the right window, before you're depending on it. If the pilot won't hold or you smell gas, stop and call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Waynesville
We install and service fireplaces throughout Waynesville and the rest of Haywood County — just 35 minutes west from our Asheville-area showroom.