Why does my pilot light blow out on windy days?
In Flat Rock, blame the chimney's age more than the wind — many homes here date to the 1800s with oversized open masonry fireplaces and aging clay flue liners, and a tall, leaky old flue is exactly what lets a gust reverse the draft onto a weak pilot. A sealed insert or a strong pilot with the right cap ends it.
Old, oversized flues invite the downdraft
Flat Rock's historic homes were built for big, open wood fires, and those oversized masonry chimneys with their original clay liners are the least wind-resistant setup there is. A wide flue full of cool, dense air on a blustery evening reverses easily — a gust off the ridge tips the column and cold air spills down onto the burner. Add liners that have cracked or degraded with age and there are even more paths for wind to disrupt the draft. The pilot at the bottom is simply the first thing that goes out.
The fix that keeps the character
The good news is you don't have to lose the fireplace's look to solve this. Dropping a sealed gas insert with a properly sized liner into that old firebox takes the weather almost entirely out of play — the sealed unit doesn't care what the wind is doing at the top of the chimney — while the mantel and surround stay exactly as they've always been. Short of that, a strong pilot and a draft-correcting cap will hold far better than what's up there now. First, though, we make sure the pilot itself isn't burning weak from an off-season clog.
Licensed, permitted, and gentle on the house
Any liner, insert, or gas-line work in a historic home is licensed gas work — we permit it with Henderson County, pressure-test the line, and meet the inspector, which also protects the home's insurance and future sale. It's roughly 30 minutes south of our Asheville shop, and we'll quote the pilot fix or the insert upgrade before any work starts. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Flat Rock
We install and service fireplaces throughout Flat Rock and the rest of Henderson County — just 30 minutes south from our Asheville-area showroom.