Should I clear snow and ice away from my fireplace's outside vent termination?
Yes — if you have upgraded one of Arden's tired 1980s-90s open masonry fireplaces in Royal Pines or Skyland to a sealed gas insert, you now have an outside termination that snow and ice can block. A buried vent shuts that insert down or spills exhaust. Keep it clear after every storm, at home or at a Biltmore Park property.
Once an open hearth becomes a sealed insert
Those open masonry fireplaces around Royal Pines and Skyland pull heat out of the room, which is why so many owners drop in a sealed gas insert that actually heats. The trade-off is a new outside vent, terminating either up the old chimney chase or out a sidewall, and that vent is what winter can block. A sealed insert needs both intake and exhaust open to run at all.
The commercial and office spaces around Biltmore Park run gas fireplaces too, and their plowed lots pile snow against low terminations the same way a driveway does.
Clear it without denting it
Wait until the insert is cool, brush the snow off the termination, and clear the ground or the cap. Do not chip at ice with a shovel or screwdriver. A bent cap or torn screen is a repair, not a chore. Let solid ice thaw on its own.
We are just 15 minutes south of Emma Road. If an Arden vent will not clear or the cap looks damaged, call (828) 545-0525 before you light it, and if a damaged run needs replacing, we pull the Buncombe County permit.
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.
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