Who should I call about a suspected gas leak — the gas company or a fireplace technician?
In Leicester, many rural homes out toward Sandy Mush run propane and wood, so a gas smell means calling your propane supplier's emergency line — or the utility if you're on a main, or 911 — from outside. They shut the tank off at no charge. Finding and repairing the leak is then our work as a licensed gas contractor.
Rural and often on propane
Leicester's big rural properties — Sandy Mush, Turkey Creek, up the Newfound Road valleys — lean on propane and wood heat, and some remote homes run on limited electrical capacity to boot. All of which means your emergency gas call goes to your propane supplier, who answers any hour, comes out, sweeps the area, and shuts the tank down free. First, though: everyone outside, no switches or flames, and make the call from the yard. We're a fireplace company — we don't control the tank, so this call belongs to the supplier.
The line to the house is yours to repair
Your propane supplier owns the tank and usually the regulator; the piping from there to your fireplace is yours, and locating a leak in it is licensed gas-contractor work under North Carolina law. We trace it with an electronic detector, pressure-test the full run with a manometer, make the repair, retest, and pull the Buncombe County permit when the scope requires it — so the fix is documented and your insurance has nothing to question.
Cold hollows, so don't sit on it
Cold-air drainage runs Leicester's rural valleys 5 to 8 degrees colder than Asheville on clear winter nights, so a hearth left off isn't trivial. Keep our 24/7 line, (828) 545-0525, next to your propane supplier's emergency number. Leicester is 15 minutes west of our showroom.
Fireplace help in Leicester
We install and service fireplaces throughout Leicester and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes west from our Asheville-area showroom.