What should I check before lighting my gas fireplace for the first time each fall?
In Waynesville, book your check earlier than the valley towns do — at nearly 2,650 feet you run 10 to 15 degrees colder than Asheville and your heating season starts about three weeks sooner, so a September once-over beats a first cold snap in early October. Confirm the glass seal, clear the outside vent cap, and put a light on the pilot for the off-season's webs.
The mountain's longest heating season
Waynesville sits high, and it shows — mornings run well below the Asheville average and you'll be depending on the fireplace weeks before your friends downhill fire theirs up. That's the case for checking it now instead of later. In the older Hazelwood housing stock, drafty open fireplaces do a lot of the heating, so if you've fitted a vented gas log in one, make sure the damper is clamped open and the logs match the factory diagram before the first burn.
Natural gas or propane — check accordingly
Waynesville is mixed-fuel country, and the check changes with the tank. On the propane side — the Hazelwood slopes and the cabins — gauge the tank and schedule a top-off before the season, and keep the regulator vent clear of debris and early snow. On natural gas, the outside job is the sidewall vent terminal: clear of nests, leaves, or a bird. Propane also burns hotter per unit and wants different orifices and pressures, so if the flame sooted last year, that's a tuning call for us, not a homeowner fix. See [natural gas vs. propane in WNC](/guides/natural-gas-vs-propane-in-wnc).
What we handle from here
Cleaning the pilot assembly and testing the gas valve is our lane, and we cover Haywood County from 35 minutes west. A tune-up is from $189. If the pilot sputters, the flame looks wrong, or you smell gas, stop and call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Waynesville
We install and service fireplaces throughout Waynesville and the rest of Haywood County — just 35 minutes west from our Asheville-area showroom.
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