Should I get a gas fireplace or a wood-burning fireplace?
For most Arden homes, gas wins, and the reason is what's already in your living room. The 1980s and '90s houses in Royal Pines and Skyland came with open masonry fireplaces that pull heat out of the room rather than adding it. A sealed gas insert turns that opening into a real heater. You're on the natural-gas mains, so it's an easy conversion. Wood suits only the purists.
From heat thief to heater
An open masonry fireplace is a poor heater — it can actually run a net heat loss, drawing more warm room air up the flue than it gives back — which is why so many Royal Pines and Skyland fireplaces sit unused. A sealed gas insert fixes that without a remodel. A Napoleon Oakville X4 slides into the existing firebox at 20,000 BTU, or a Kozy Heat Chaska 25L brings a standard blower to push more heat into the room, and both run 70% efficient or better while keeping your mantel and stone exactly as they are.
The wood-to-gas conversion path
This is one of the most satisfying upgrades we do, and there are two ways through it. The simpler path is a gas log set — a Real Fyre Charred American Oak vented set gives you a tall, realistic flame for ambiance at a lower cost, though most of its heat goes up the chimney. The heater's path is a sealed insert: real, efficient, and power-optional with the right ignition. Either way, the conversion turns on the gas line, and running or extending that line is licensed work in North Carolina — a mason or a handyman legally can't connect it. We can.
Solidly on the mains
Arden is solidly on the natural-gas mains, so the fuel's the easy part, and the Biltmore Park offices and retail spaces nearby lean gas for the same low-fuss reasons homes do. We pull the Buncombe County permit, meet the inspector, and pressure-test the line, then back the install with our workmanship guarantee. We're 15 minutes south of the showroom. Call (828) 545-0525 for a free in-home assessment and we'll size it right.
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
- Which heats a room better, a gas fireplace or a wood-burning fireplace?
- Is it cheaper to heat your house with wood or with gas?
- Which requires more maintenance, a gas fireplace or a wood-burning fireplace?
- Which lasts longer, a gas fireplace or a wood-burning fireplace?
- Which adds more resale value to a home, a gas fireplace or a wood-burning fireplace?