In Brevard, water in the firebox is nearly a given if the chimney top is not sealed. Transylvania County catches 80-plus inches of rain a year, enough to crack crowns, spall brick, and rust dampers. On the propane cabins around here, a leak more often shows at a direct-vent termination or as condensation in a unit that sits idle between visits.
Eighty inches of rain finds every gap
Brevard is one of the wettest places we serve, and that volume of water is relentless on a chimney. The wet season from March through June drives rain straight at exposed masonry, saturating brick until it weeps inside, cracking the crown slab, and rusting cast-iron dampers from the top down. Downtown homes with older masonry are the classic case, where a chimney that looked fine can start leaking after a single hard spring.
Crawl spaces and chases hold the damp
The other thing that defines Brevard homes is moisture-prone crawl spaces and chimney chases. On the factory-built and propane direct-vent units common in the cabins around Connestee Falls and Sherwood Forest, water in the firebox often is not storm rain at all. It is a failed chase pan or vent termination seal, or condensation collecting in a sealed appliance that only lights when owners are in town. Either way it rusts components while no one is watching.
Find the entry, not the puddle
Mopping it out does nothing if the crown, cap, chase pan, or termination that let it in is still open. We come the 40 minutes southwest from Asheville, inspect the whole system, and repair where the water actually enters. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Brevard
We install and service fireplaces throughout Brevard and the rest of Transylvania County — just 40 minutes southwest from our Asheville-area showroom.