Why doesn't my wood-burning insert draft as well as it used to?
In Hendersonville, a wood insert that used to draw hard and now struggles usually has a restricted liner — but this town adds a wrinkle: the clay-heavy valley soil shifts foundations and stresses older masonry chimneys, so a cracked or offset flue can leak the draft your insert depends on. An inspection tells creosote apart from a moving chimney.
When the ground moves, the chimney does too
Henderson County's clay soil swells and settles with the seasons, and older homes around Laurel Park and the Main Street district feel it in their masonry — hairline cracks in the flue, mortar joints opening, a chimney that has pulled slightly away from the house. Any of that lets air sneak into the flue and rob the controlled pull an insert needs.
That is different from creosote, and the fix is different too — which is exactly why we scope the liner and the masonry, not just sweep and leave.
Quiet hearths, quiet buildup
Hendersonville's many retirement households favor a low-key fire, and a gently burned insert lays down creosote slower to notice but just as surely. A season or two of easy evenings and the liner has narrowed without a dramatic smoky night to warn you.
If the decline has been gradual and steady, a sweep restores the cross-section and the draw returns.
One visit, and we permit if it grows
We're twenty-five minutes south, so a Hendersonville inspection is routine for us. We'll read the liner, check the cap and gasket, and if the masonry has shifted we'll tell you plainly what it needs — and if that turns into relining or gas work, we permit it with Henderson County and meet the inspector. 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.