What are my options for a gas fireplace if my neighborhood doesn't have natural gas?
Around Mars Hill, the rural Spring Creek and Gabriels Creek valleys mostly run on propane and wood, while the university-area rentals want a fireplace that's simple to use. Off the natural-gas main, propane covers both: it burns the same clean, one-knob gas fireplace and puts out real heat at one of the colder spots we serve.
A fuel picture that splits by geography
Around Mars Hill the fuel picture splits by geography. Out in the Spring Creek and Gabriels Creek valleys, homes have long run on propane and wood — the natural-gas main never climbed up there — so a propane fireplace is simply how these houses heat. Closer to the university, the rentals and faculty homes want something low-effort that anyone can run. Propane covers both cases with the same clean, one-knob gas fireplace: real heat for a rural valley home, dead-simple operation for a rental. Kozy Heat and Napoleon both offer LP models that suit either.
Cold enough to need real heat
Mars Hill is one of the colder spots we serve, so a fireplace here needs to genuinely heat, not just flicker. A sealed propane direct-vent unit or a gas insert delivers that, and the connection process is well-worn: your propane supplier sizes, sets, and fills the tank, and we run and pressure-test the gas line, orifice the appliance for LP, pull the Madison County permit, and meet the inspector. Connecting fuel is licensed gas work in North Carolina — a landlord's handyman legally can't do it — so the hearth and the line come from one accountable company.
When the rural lines go down
Cold nights and rural power lines make backup heat more than a nicety here. A propane fireplace with millivolt or battery-backup ignition keeps a house warm when the grid drops and the tank's already full in the yard — a Valor needs no electricity at all. Central heat quits without power; a propane hearth doesn't. Thirty minutes north of our Asheville showroom; call (828) 545-0525 for a free in-home assessment.
Fireplace help in Mars Hill
We install and service fireplaces throughout Mars Hill and the rest of Madison County — just 30 minutes north from our Asheville-area showroom.