Wood-to-gas vs wood-to-electric conversion — which is better for my fireplace?
In Asheville, wood-to-gas is the upgrade most homes here justify — you're sitting on the natural-gas mains, so a sealed insert brings real, room-heating flame that keeps burning on millivolt ignition when the grid drops. Wood-to-electric fits the formal room you rarely light or a budget that won't stretch to a gas line, but it's ambiance with a space heater's warmth.
Original masonry versus new construction
Montford, West Asheville, and North Asheville are full of original masonry fireboxes — handsome, but built to lose most of their heat up the flue. Converting one to gas means setting a sealed insert and relining the chimney, which turns a heat-leaking hole into a room that actually stays warm. South Asheville's newer builds are simpler: a clean-face gas unit or a plug-in Dimplex electric both drop into a modern opening without reworking the structure.
The outage question, close to home
Asheville didn't escape the days-long power failures that rolled across the region, and the houses that stayed warm were the ones with a working hearth. A gas insert with millivolt or battery-backup ignition throws heat with the grid down; an electric fireplace is dark the moment the lights go. If backup heat is any part of your thinking, that alone tends to settle the gas-versus-electric question.
See both flames in one afternoon
Our showroom sits right here at 629 Emma Rd, so you can stand a live gas insert next to a Dimplex electric and judge the two flames yourself — the electric effect is the most convincing sold, but it's still an effect, topping out near 5,000 BTU of supplemental heat. The gas side is licensed work in North Carolina: a furniture store can sell you a firebox, only a licensed gas contractor can legally connect and pressure-test the fuel line. We pull the Buncombe County permit, meet the inspector, and back the install with our workmanship guarantee. Call (828) 545-0525 for a free in-home 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
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