Should I install gas logs or keep burning real wood in my fireplace?
In historic Flat Rock, the fireplace is often part of the home's character, an oversized open masonry hearth from the 1800s with an aging clay flue liner. Keep burning wood if you cherish the ritual and maintain the chimney. But if that big open firebox is pulling cold drafts into the room, a sealed insert fixes the draft while preserving the mantel and surround.
The trouble with a beautiful old open hearth
Flat Rock's 1800s homes have some of the finest fireplaces we see anywhere in the county, and some of the leakiest. A large open masonry firebox with the damper open behaves like a straw, pulling warm room air up the chimney and drawing cold air in around the edges. On a raw evening, an open hearth like that can run a net heat loss, taking more warmth than it gives back. The historic charm is real, and so is the draft. The good news is that comfort and character do not have to be a trade-off here.
Preserve the character, upgrade the performance
A sealed gas or wood insert slides into the existing masonry opening with a properly sized stainless liner, leaves the historic surround and mantel untouched, and turns a drafty showpiece into a heater that runs 70 percent efficient or better instead of at a loss. It is the single most common fix we recommend in old Flat Rock and Kanuga homes, precisely because it respects the architecture. Prefer to stay with real wood? Keep it, just let us inspect that aging clay liner before you rely on it, since a century-old flue rarely seals the way it once did.
On the mains, and permitted properly
Flat Rock sits on the natural-gas service, so a conversion is straightforward with no propane tank to coordinate. Running or extending that line is licensed work in North Carolina; a mason can restore your brick beautifully but cannot legally connect the fuel. We can, we pull the Henderson County permit, and we meet the inspector. 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
- Should I get a gas fireplace or a wood-burning fireplace?
- Is it cheaper to heat your house with wood or with gas?
- Does a gas fireplace give you the crackle, smell, and feel of a real wood fire?
- What are my options for converting a wood-burning fireplace to gas — logs vs insert vs new fireplace?
- Can I convert my gas fireplace back to wood-burning, and is it worth it versus keeping gas?