Wood-to-gas vs wood-to-electric conversion — which is better for my fireplace?

The draft problem in an old open hearth

An oversized open masonry fireplace in an 1800s home is charming and thermally brutal — when it's idle, a cracked clay liner lets cold mountain air settle in the chimney like a plug and spill down into the room, and when it's lit, most of the heat goes straight up the flue. A sealed gas insert closes that opening off, drops the draft, and actually warms the space at 70 percent efficiency or better. That's the single biggest comfort change we make in these old Flat Rock houses.

Preserving character, and where electric is fair

The good news for a historic home is that an insert works inside the existing masonry — you keep the original mantel, the surround, and the character, and gain a modern sealed unit behind it. Both a gas insert and an electric conversion preserve the look and both seal that leaky flue; the difference is what you get for it. Gas is a real heater that holds on millivolt ignition through an outage; electric is the flame effect plus a space heater's warmth. You're on the natural-gas main here, which keeps the gas path clean, and we permit it with Henderson County.

If a given room is more showpiece than heat source — lit for guests a few evenings a year — electric is a fair, low-cost answer. Call (828) 545-0525 for a free look at your chimney.