Will a gas insert seal off the drafts and old smoke odors coming from my open fireplace chimney?
Yes — sealing off exactly that draft and old-smoke smell is one of the top reasons Asheville homeowners call us. A gas insert drops into your existing masonry firebox, runs a sealed liner up the chimney, and caps the flue with a surround panel, so the open shaft that's been venting your heated air over Montford and North Asheville stops pulling. The stale creosote odor leaves with the draft.
Why older Asheville chimneys smell on damp days
An original masonry fireplace in a century-old Montford or North Asheville home is a permanent opening to the outside; even cold and unlit, that flue keeps siphoning warm air up and out through the whole heating season, and when the humidity climbs, the creosote soaked into old brick pushes that campfire smell back down into your living room. It's the single most common complaint we field from the historic side of town. Sealing the flue is the fix — not another chimney sweep.
What sealing it involves here
A [gas insert](/services/gas-insert-installation) does two jobs at once: a stainless liner sized to the unit runs the full height of the chimney and closes the draft, and a surround panel seals the old firebox face so nothing moves through that masonry but the insert's own direct-vented exhaust. Because we're a licensed gas contractor, we run and pressure-test the fuel line, pull the Buncombe County permit, and meet the inspector — the part a showroom or mason legally can't finish. We're headquartered right here at 629 Emma Rd, so [inspecting the flue](/services/fireplace-inspection) and sizing the liner is a short drive.
From heat leak to real heat
Newer South Asheville builds lean toward clean-face gas, but the payoff is the same across town: where the open fireplace ran a net heat loss, a sealed insert commonly delivers 70% efficient or better, and with a Napoleon battery-backup or millivolt ignition it keeps throwing warmth when the grid drops — the difference our neighbors felt after Helene. At 2,100-plus feet, with nights in the 20s well into spring, that heat earns its keep. Call (828) 545-0525 for a free assessment.
Fireplace help in Asheville
We install and service fireplaces throughout Asheville and the rest of Buncombe County — we're headquartered right here.
Related questions
- Does replacing an open wood fireplace with an insert improve the air in my house?
- Can an unused fireplace or chimney cause moisture and mold problems in the house?
- Why do I smell smoke in my house when the fireplace isn't even burning?
- Does a direct vent gas fireplace use the air in my room for combustion?
- Do gas fireplace inserts burn cleaner than gas log sets?