Is a bird's nest or animal in the chimney a fire or carbon monoxide hazard?
Arden's older open masonry fireplaces — the drafty ones in Royal Pines and Skyland — are both the nesting site and part of the problem. A wide, hard-pulling open flue is easy for birds and animals to enter and easy to pack with debris, which then catches an ember as tinder or, unburned, chokes the draft and pushes smoke and carbon monoxide back into the room.
Drafty open hearths cut both ways
The 1980s and '90s homes around Skyland, Royal Pines, and Glenn Bridge were built with open masonry fireplaces that pull hard — great for drawing a nest and its debris straight up into the throat and smoke shelf, where a swift, squirrel, or raccoon has already been building. The same strong draw that lofts embers toward a dry nest is what makes an ignition possible. And these open fireplaces are notorious for pulling room heat up the chimney even when they're working, so many owners here are already thinking about a change.
The blockage is the silent half
If the nest doesn't catch fire, it strangles the draft, and combustion gases reverse into the room. With wood you'll see smoke and know to stop. On the many Arden homes that switched to natural-gas logs or an insert, the warning is gone — a blocked flue quietly leaks carbon monoxide with nothing to see or smell. Scratching or chirping overhead, a fireplace that suddenly won't draw, or a musty odor all mean stop burning and get it inspected. A CO detector on each level is basic protection.
One upgrade solves both
A sealed insert is the clean answer for these tired open fireplaces: it ends the flying-ember and cold-air-draft problems, and installed with a correctly sized, capped liner it shuts wildlife out of the flue for good — while turning a hearth that can run a net heat loss into one commonly 70% efficient or better. We clear the existing flue, pull the Buncombe County permit, and cap it right. Arden's fifteen minutes south. Call (828) 545-0525 or see inserts burning at the showroom.
Fireplace help in Arden
We install and service fireplaces throughout Arden and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes south from our Asheville-area showroom.