I just moved into a home with a fireplace — should I have it inspected before using it?
Yes, and in Fletcher the usual case is a builder-grade fireplace that came with a 1990s subdivision home. Those units get installed to a price and rarely serviced afterward, so the one you inherited may never have had a real look. Before the first fire, have us confirm the venting and gas connection were done right and still are.
Builder-grade isn't maintenance-free
Fletcher's 1990s subdivisions came with basic gas fireplaces, and along the I-26 corridor new construction keeps adding more of the same. Builder-grade units are perfectly fine when installed and maintained correctly — but they're often vented to the minimum, connected quickly, and then forgotten for twenty years. On a resale home, 'it has a gas fireplace' tells you nothing about whether it's safe to light today. We check the vent, the connection, and the burner, then test-fire it, so a unit that's been ignored for two decades gets verified before you count on it through a Fletcher winter.
Gas on the main
Fletcher sits squarely on the natural-gas main, so most of these are natural-gas units, which means any line a prior owner added or extended was licensed work that should have been permitted with Henderson County and pressure-tested. A furniture showroom or a handyman legally can't connect gas in NC — we can, and part of the inspection is verifying that what's already there was done to code. If the home also came with an outdoor gas feature near the airport-area commercial corridor, that line gets the same check.
Then a clean annual rhythm
We're 20 minutes north in Asheville. Once the move-in inspection clears the unit and we've handled anything it turns up, you're onto a normal annual service — late summer, before you need it — and Fletcher's mild valley setting keeps that predictable. Call (828) 545-0525 or request a free quote.
Fireplace help in Fletcher
We install and service fireplaces throughout Fletcher and the rest of Henderson County — just 20 minutes south from our Asheville-area showroom.
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?