What annual maintenance does a wood-burning insert need?

A longer, colder burning season

Waynesville's elevation is the whole story. Homes here lean on their hearths for weeks that lower towns never see, and the Hazelwood housing stock is full of older, drafty open fireplaces that a wood insert turns into a real heater. But the trade for all that warmth is creosote — the more you burn, the faster it coats the stainless flue. Left alone it hardens into the glazed kind that fuels chimney fires. An annual sweep and full liner inspection is the counterweight, and in a town that burns this long, once a year is the floor, not a suggestion.

The parts we check while we're in there

Along with the liner we inspect the firebrick for heat cracks, test the door and glass gaskets for a tight seal, check the cap and top-plate, vacuum cold ash, and clean and service the blower that pushes heat into the room. Many inserts have to be drawn partway out of the fireplace so the entire liner run can be reached — expect a proper visit, not a quick pass.

Because your heating season starts early up here, book in September before the first hard nights. We pull the Haywood County permit where it's needed and service every major wood brand, Regency and Superior included, to CSIA and NFPA standards. Call (828) 545-0525.