What should I check before lighting my gas fireplace for the first time each fall?
In Hendersonville, start with the seal on your sealed gas unit — the low-maintenance direct-vent fireplaces so many Main Street and Laurel Park retirees chose need the glass gasket and sidewall vent checked, and if yours is a gas log in an older masonry chimney, know that Henderson County's clay soil shifts foundations and can pull a flue out of true. Then clear the summer's spider webs.
Why the retirement crowd picked sealed gas
A lot of Hendersonville homes belong to folks who wanted heat at the flip of a switch and nothing to fuss over, so the town runs heavy on quiet, sealed direct-vent fireplaces. They ask little of you, but they still want one honest look each fall: confirm the glass front is clipped tight against an uncracked gasket, since a bad seal on a direct-vent unit is a safety matter, not just a draft. Put fresh batteries in the remote and receiver so a dead cell doesn't get mistaken for a dead fireplace, then watch the first burn settle in.
Clay soil and older masonry flues
Henderson County's clay-heavy soil settles foundations and stresses the older masonry chimneys downtown. If you burn a vented gas log in one of those original fireboxes, a shifted flue or a cracked clay liner shows up as poor draft or smoke spilling into the room — so glance up the flue and walk outside to check the cap for a wasp nest or leaves before you light. Cool valley evenings mean you'll lean on the hearth early, so do this in September, not on the first frosty night.
Our line vs. yours
Anything past the visual — cleaning the pilot, testing the valve or thermocouple — is ours, and we're only 25 minutes south. A tune-up runs from $189 and heads off the midwinter emergency. If the pilot won't stay lit or the flame looks blue and ragged, call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Hendersonville
We install and service fireplaces throughout Hendersonville and the rest of Henderson County — just 25 minutes south from our Asheville-area showroom.
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