We're building a new home — what should we rough in now for a future outdoor fire feature?
Since we're headquartered right here on Emma Rd, we'll say it plainly: on an Asheville lot with a natural-gas main at the street, rough in an over-sized gas line to your patio zone and cap it, and have the utility set a meter big enough for a fire feature plus a grill down the road. That's the move you can't cheaply redo once the yard is finished.
New construction is the cheap moment
While your Asheville lot is still open dirt — before the driveway, walkways, and sod go in — is when a gas stub to the backyard costs a fraction of what it will after landscaping. Trenching a finished South Asheville or North Asheville yard means cutting through what you just paid to install.
Point the line toward wherever the fire pit or outdoor fireplace is likely to sit, run branches for a future grill and patio heater, and sleeve it under any slab or driveway crossing. Asheville evenings stay cool — nighttime temperatures drop into the 20s well into spring — so an outdoor hearth here earns its keep most of the year.
The meter and the licensing catch
On the natural-gas mains that serve much of Asheville, the limiting number is your meter size. Add up the combined BTU load of everything you might run outdoors and make sure the utility sets a meter that covers it — undersizing now means a service upgrade later.
One thing your general contractor can't do is connect the fuel. In North Carolina, running and extending gas line is licensed work, so the mason or builder framing your outdoor fireplace legally can't tie it to gas. As a licensed gas contractor we run the pipe, pull the Buncombe County permit, and pressure-test the line the inspector signs off on.
We're ten minutes away
Being based on Emma Rd means we can get into your rough-in schedule without a long drive, coordinate around your builder and hardscaper, and be back the day the appliance sets. Loop us in before the concrete pours. Call (828) 545-0525 for a free planning walkthrough, or visit the showroom to see the units on display.
Fireplace help in Asheville
We install and service fireplaces throughout Asheville and the rest of Buncombe County — we're headquartered right here.