What's the best option for converting a wood fireplace to electric?
In Brevard, electric conversion has a case the drier towns can't make: 80-plus inches of rain a year cracks chimney crowns, spalls brick, and rusts dampers — and an electric insert is the one conversion that never asks that chimney to work again. Set a Dimplex insert in the firebox, seal the flue, and Transylvania County's wettest masonry problem stops costing you. Just don't mistake 5,000 BTU for heat.
Retiring a rain-beaten chimney
Brevard's wet season runs March through June, and the damage shows up exactly where wood burners feel it — cracked crowns letting water into the flue, rusted dampers that won't close, moisture working through chimney chases and crawl spaces. Keep burning wood and you're committed to maintaining all of it. Convert to electric and the chimney retires: we clean out the firebox, set the Dimplex insert, and seal the flue top and bottom so the stack stops breathing damp air through your house. Downtown homes and Connestee Falls cabins alike, it's the lowest-commitment hearth there is.
Propane country changes the math
Brevard runs largely on propane, which matters when you weigh the alternative. A wood-to-gas conversion out here means LP — regulator, piping, coordination with your propane supplier — all licensed gas work we do and permit with Transylvania County. Electric skips every bit of that: no tank, no line, one circuit. Depending on the unit, that circuit may need to be dedicated, and we coordinate with an electrician when it does.
The outage question, asked plainly
Here's the trade. The cabins up our mountain roads lose power in every serious storm, and an electric fireplace gives you nothing when they do — no flame, no heat, no light. If this hearth is your backup plan, an EPA wood insert or an LP gas unit belongs in the conversation. If it's ambiance for the den, electric is honest work. A free in-home assessment settles it — call (828) 545-0525. We're about 40 minutes northeast at the Asheville showroom if you'd like to see the flame first.
Fireplace help in Brevard
We install and service fireplaces throughout Brevard and the rest of Transylvania County — just 40 minutes southwest from our Asheville-area showroom.