Will a gas insert seal off the drafts and old smoke odors coming from my open fireplace chimney?
Yes. Mars Hill splits two ways — university-area homes near the natural-gas service and rural Spring Creek and Gabriels Creek properties on propane or wood — and a gas insert seals the open firebox on either. A stainless liner and surround panel cap the drafting flue, stop the cold-air pull, and clear the old smoke smell, whatever fuel feeds it.
Campus-close or up the creek
Around Mars Hill University the housing is rental-heavy and leans toward easy-use gas, while out in the Spring Creek and Gabriels Creek valleys homes rely on propane or wood. It's one of the colder spots we serve, so an open masonry fireplace here is a serious heat leak — drafting warmed air up the flue all winter and, on damp days, sending that stale creosote smell back into the room. Sealing it matters more the colder you are.
One insert, either fuel
A [gas insert](/services/gas-insert-installation) slides into the existing firebox, caps the chimney with a stainless liner, and seals the face with a surround panel — draft closed, odor gone, only the unit's sealed exhaust in the flue. We configure it for natural gas or propane depending on your property, and where the open hearth ran a net heat loss, the insert commonly runs 70% efficient or better. Easy-use flame at the flip of a switch, no cold-start smoke.
Licensed and permitted in Madison County
Connecting either fuel is licensed work in North Carolina — a showroom or a handyman near campus can't legally run gas. We do, pull the Madison County permit, pressure-test the line, and meet the inspector, then [inspect the flue and size the liner](/services/fireplace-inspection). For a wood-heat home up the creek, a full [wood-to-gas conversion](/services/wood-to-gas-conversion) is the bigger version of the same upgrade. We're 30 minutes north of the Asheville showroom. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Mars Hill
We install and service fireplaces throughout Mars Hill and the rest of Madison County — just 30 minutes north from our Asheville-area showroom.
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?