My chimney is damaged — can I still install a gas insert?
Yes, usually — and in Arden it often solves two problems at once. The 1980s and 90s homes around Royal Pines and Skyland tend to have open masonry fireplaces that are both drafty and, by now, cracked. A sealed gas insert vents through its own stainless liner, fixing the damaged flue and turning a heat-losing hole into a real heater. Only structural failure stops it.
The tired open fireplace, upgraded
A lot of Arden's established neighborhoods — Royal Pines, Skyland, Glenn Bridge — went up in the 1980s and 90s with open masonry fireplaces, and forty-odd years on, many are both drafty and cracked. Left open, that kind of fireplace actually pulls heat out of the room, and a damaged flue only makes it worse. A gas insert flips the whole thing around. We line the chimney with sized stainless, the sealed insert vents through it regardless of the old flue's condition, and the room gains an efficient, sealed heater instead of a hole that loses warmth up the chimney.
What a liner can and can't do
A cracked clay flue, a failed liner, or heavy buildup is a routine fix — the stainless liner handles all of it. What a liner can't do is hold up a chimney that's structurally failing, so a leaning stack, a spalling chase, or a crown broken open to the weather gets repaired first. We run a Level 2 camera inspection to tell the two apart, and we quote the masonry work and the insert honestly and separately before anything begins.
Natural gas and a short trip
Arden is firmly on the natural-gas mains, so once the liner's set we connect the insert to the existing line — licensed, permitted work we pressure-test through Buncombe County, never a hookup a showroom or mason can legally make. Pick battery-backup ignition and the upgraded fireplace stays warm during a power outage. Arden is only about 15 minutes south of the showroom, so an assessment is easy to schedule. Call (828) 545-0525.
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.
Related questions
- Do I need a chimney inspection before installing an insert?
- Can you vent a gas fireplace or insert through an existing masonry chimney?
- Does a gas fireplace insert need a chimney liner?
- Why does a gas insert need two liners (co-linear venting)?
- Can a gas insert be installed in my existing masonry fireplace?