Why does my fireplace smell like rotten eggs even when it's off?
In Weaverville, whether you're in a new Reems Creek build or an older downtown home, most fireplaces here run on the natural-gas main — so a rotten-egg smell from a unit that's off means gas is leaking. Don't touch a switch or light a flame. Get everyone outside, then call your gas utility and us at (828) 545-0525.
Two kinds of Weaverville homes, two leak stories
Weaverville has been building fast around Reems Creek, and those newer subdivisions have builder-grade gas fireplaces whose connections are young but still only as tight as the last person who worked on them. Downtown's older homes often have gas logs retrofitted into original, inefficient masonry fireboxes — more fittings, an added shutoff, a flex connector aging through years of heating cycles. In either, a rotten-egg smell with the fireplace off points to a joint that's no longer holding.
What to do the moment you smell it
This is the mercaptan odorant utilities add to natural gas so a leak reaches your nose. Don't investigate: leave switches, the thermostat, and the garage-door button alone, don't strike a match or unplug a thing, and get the family and pets out. From outside, call your gas provider or 911, then reach us — we're about fifteen minutes north of the showroom. We find the leak, pressure-test the line, and repair it once it's safe.
Our lane and no one else's
Repairing or pressure-testing a gas line is licensed work in North Carolina. A showroom or a handyman can't legally connect or fix your fuel — a licensed gas contractor can. Steady Flame pulls the Buncombe County permit, pressure-tests the line, and backs the work. A one-second whiff at startup can be normal; a persistent rotten-egg odor with the unit off always gets a technician. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Weaverville
We install and service fireplaces throughout Weaverville and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes north from our Asheville-area showroom.
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