I just moved into a home with a fireplace — should I have it inspected before using it?
Yes, and in Asheville the reason splits two ways depending on where you bought. A century-old Montford or North Asheville masonry chimney and a clean-face gas unit in newer South Asheville construction fail in completely different ways, so book the inspection before the first fire and we'll tell you which of the two houses you're actually living in.
Two Ashevilles, two chimneys
The city's original masonry hearths in Montford and North Asheville have survived a century of freeze-thaw at 2,134 feet, and it shows up as cracked clay-tile liners, eroded mortar joints inside the flue, and dampers rusted half-open. South Asheville's newer clean-face and linear gas units rarely have a chimney to worry about, but they hide their risk at the gas connection and the sealed coaxial venting instead. Knowing which kind of house you inherited decides exactly what we put eyes on, and a closing-day home inspection almost never goes up the flue in real depth to sort that out for you.
Gas on the city main
Most of Asheville runs on a natural-gas main, so if a previous owner or a handyman added or relocated a gas fireplace, the real question is whether that line was ever permitted and pressure-tested. In North Carolina, running gas is licensed work — a mason or a general contractor can set a beautiful firebox but legally cannot connect it to fuel. We verify the connection and the shutoff, confirm the venting, and test-fire the unit under real conditions before you trust it on a cold night.
You're minutes from us
Our showroom is right here on Emma Road, so an Asheville inspection is a short trip and an easy same-week booking. Once the deep first look is done and anything it turns up is handled, you drop onto a normal rhythm — an annual gas service or a yearly wood sweep, scheduled in late summer before the cold arrives, which up here still runs into the 20s at night well into spring. Call (828) 545-0525 or request a free quote.
Fireplace help in Asheville
We install and service fireplaces throughout Asheville and the rest of Buncombe County — we're headquartered right here.
Related questions
- Do I need a chimney inspection when buying or selling a home?
- What are Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 chimney inspections?
- Does a fireplace I never use still need to be inspected?
- What is the difference between a chimney inspection and a chimney sweeping?
- Do fireplaces and chimneys in older homes need more frequent maintenance?