Wood-burning insert vs gas insert — which should I choose?
In Swannanoa, a lot of these decisions are happening inside a rebuild. Storm damage has homes being renovated across the valley, and that's the right moment to put in a sealed insert that heats when the grid's down. Gas gives you switch-on warmth on the natural-gas mains; wood gives you total independence. Both replace a heat-losing open masonry firebox with an efficient, outage-ready heater.
Rebuilding is the chance to get it right
Swannanoa took storm damage, and a wave of rebuilds and renovations is underway — which means a lot of fireboxes are open and accessible right now. That's the ideal time to move past a drafty original masonry fireplace and install a sealed insert that actually heats. The Grovemont area's 1940s-to-'60s homes especially were built with open fireboxes that lose warm air up the chimney; an insert reclaims that opening. If you lived through days without power, you already know why backup heat is worth building in now rather than wishing for later.
Wood or gas after the outage
Both keep the house warm with the grid down — the split is how you refuel. A wood insert makes you self-sufficient: feed it and keep going as long as the power's out. A gas insert with millivolt or battery-backup ignition keeps radiating heat too, on the Swannanoa Valley's natural-gas service, with the blower resting until power returns. Swannanoa's river-valley fog and cold-air pooling are hard on masonry, so a fresh stainless liner is part of either install. Gas connection is licensed work; we pull the Buncombe County permit and pressure-test.
Fifteen minutes away
We're 15 minutes away in Asheville with both inserts burning at the showroom. Call (828) 545-0525 for a free in-home assessment.
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.
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