My chimney is damaged — can I still install a gas insert?
Yes, and Flat Rock is exactly where we do this most. The historic homes here, some dating to the 1800s, have oversized open masonry fireplaces and aging clay flue liners that are often cracked or shot — and a sealed gas insert vents through its own new stainless liner, preserving the character while fixing the draft. Only a failing structure stops it.
An 1800s fireplace, brought back without losing it
Historic Flat Rock is full of homes old enough that the fireplace is part of the architecture — big open fireboxes, hand-laid masonry, and clay liners that have spent well over a century cracking and eroding. Homeowners here worry that fixing a damaged chimney means tearing into something original. It doesn't. A gas insert slides into the existing firebox, and we run a correctly sized stainless liner up the old chimney so the sealed appliance vents through steel, not the failing clay. The room keeps its mantel and its character, and the drafty old hole finally becomes a real, sealed heater.
Those oversized old hearths pull cold air in
One thing owners of these historic homes feel every winter: a big open masonry fireplace with a tired flue acts like a chimney-shaped hole, pulling warm air up and out and cold air into the room. A sealed insert reverses that completely. It closes off the open throat, burns efficiently, and — on natural gas with battery-backup ignition — keeps producing heat even when the power fails, which matters in an old house with no central-heat fallback in an outage.
Inspection first, then the permit
Because these chimneys are so old, the Level 2 camera inspection matters. Most of the time the masonry is sound and only the liner's finished, which is a clean insert job. But a stack that's leaning or a crown that's broken open gets repaired first — a liner can't shore up century-old masonry that's moving. We permit through Henderson County and meet the inspector, and the showroom is about 30 minutes south. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Flat Rock
We install and service fireplaces throughout Flat Rock and the rest of Henderson County — just 30 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?