Will converting my wood-burning fireplace to gas change how it looks?
In Swannanoa, many conversions are part of a rebuild. As storm-damaged homes come back, owners are adding fireplaces where there weren't any and updating old Grovemont fireboxes — so the look is often a fresh choice, not a change. A sealed insert gives efficient, power-optional heat with a glass front; a log set keeps the traditional open masonry look.
Rebuilding is a chance to choose the look outright
A lot of Swannanoa homes are being renovated or rebuilt after the storm, and that's the ideal moment to decide how you want the hearth to look and work. Adding a sealed insert to a 1940s–60s Grovemont masonry firebox gives you 70%-plus efficient heat and a clean modern face; keeping the open firebox with a vented Real Fyre set holds the mid-century character. Starting from a renovation, you're not so much changing the look as picking it.
Heat that survives the next outage
The people who stayed warm here through the days without power were the ones with a working gas or wood hearth. A millivolt or battery-backup insert keeps heating when the grid's down — a real reason to accept the finished, glassed-in look over a purely decorative log set. Electric conversions go dark in an outage, so for a primary hearth we steer toward gas.
Permit and proximity
You're on natural gas here and only about 15 minutes east of our showroom. We run the line, pull the Buncombe County permit, and meet the inspector — the licensed step a rebuild contractor legally can't finish. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Swannanoa
We install and service fireplaces throughout Swannanoa and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes east from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
- What does a wood-to-electric conversion look like in an existing masonry fireplace?
- Will a gas insert ruin the look of my masonry fireplace?
- Can I keep a Victorian or antique fireplace look while adding a modern insert?
- Do gas fireplace inserts come in different front and faceplate styles?
- What can I do with a fireplace I never use?