Towns we serve from Middleborough

One base, ten towns

We do not keep a separate office in each town. Our base is a suite in a professional building at 150 W Grove St, Middleborough, MA 02346, there is no showroom, and the work happens at your home. Whether you are in Middleborough itself or in Taunton, Acushnet, or Plympton, you call (617) 229-6769 or send a request, we confirm a day and an arrival window with you, and the visit follows the same routine described on the what to expect page: the room protected, photographs as we go, and the findings explained before we leave.

If your town is not on this list, call anyway and ask. We would rather tell you plainly whether we can get to you than leave you guessing.

Why each town lists the age of its houses

For every town below we have included one set of numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau: how much of the local housing was built before 1940 and before 1980. A chimney's age does not tell you its condition, but it does hint at what kind of chimney you probably have. Some chimneys from before 1940 were built without a flue liner. Houses from the 1950s through the 1970s usually have clay tile liners that are now decades old. Newer houses have newer flues, but the parts on the roof still wear out. The numbers are survey estimates, so we round them and link the source for each town.

Chimney service in Middleborough, MA

Plymouth County · served from 150 W Grove St, Middleborough

This is our home town and the address every visit starts from. Middleborough covers about 70 square miles, and its housing spans every chimney era in this area: about 22 percent of its roughly 10,200 homes were built before 1940, and about half were built before 1980.

That mix means there is no single typical Middleborough chimney. A house from the 1800s may have a flue that was never lined, a house from the 1960s is likely to have clay tiles that have been through sixty winters, and a house from the 2000s may have a crown or cap that is already showing its age. A chimney inspection sorts out which one you have before anyone talks about repairs.

The state's historical survey of Middleborough records 18th century center-chimney cottages on Thompson Road, at Eddyville and on Plymouth Street at North Middleborough, many with gambrel roofs and end-wall overhangs, a combination it calls a distinctive regional type. It describes North Middleborough, also called Titicut, as an important secondary settlement by the mid-1800s.

• About 22 percent of homes built before 1940
• About 51 percent built before 1980
• Roughly 10,233 housing units in all

Source: Census Reporter profile for Middleborough, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25034, Year Structure Built. House forms: Massachusetts Historical Commission town report (1981).

Middleborough is our home town: start on the homepage →

Chimney service in Bridgewater, MA

Plymouth County · served from 150 W Grove St, Middleborough

More than half of Bridgewater's roughly 9,400 homes were built in 1980 or later, and about 12 percent predate 1940. So a good share of the chimneys here are from the last four decades.

A younger chimney is not a maintenance-free one. The parts on top of the roof, the cap, the crown, and the flashing where the chimney meets the shingles, take the weather every day no matter when the house was built. Water stains on a ceiling near the chimney are usually a flashing or crown question, which is what our chimney leak repair page walks through.

• About 12 percent of homes built before 1940
• About 45 percent built before 1980
• Roughly 9,429 housing units in all

Source: Census Reporter profile for Bridgewater, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25034, Year Structure Built.

Chimney service in Bridgewater: housing, heating, permits and FAQ →

Chimney service in Carver, MA

Plymouth County · served from 150 W Grove St, Middleborough

Carver has one of the smallest shares of pre-1940 housing in our area, about 5 percent of its roughly 5,100 homes. Yet about half of its homes were built before 1980, and about 43 percent date from 1950 through 1979 alone.

Houses from those decades usually have clay tile flue liners. After fifty or more years of heating and cooling, tiles can crack and the joints between them can open up, and none of it is visible from the fireplace. A camera inspection shows the inside of the flue, section by section, and the liner repair page explains what happens if it finds damage.

• About 5 percent of homes built before 1940
• About 51 percent built before 1980
• Roughly 5,064 housing units in all

Source: Census Reporter profile for Carver, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25034, Year Structure Built.

Chimney service in Carver: housing, heating, permits and FAQ →

Chimney service in Lakeville, MA

Plymouth County · served from 150 W Grove St, Middleborough

About 58 percent of Lakeville's roughly 4,500 homes were built in 1980 or later, and only about 7 percent before 1940. That makes it one of the newer housing stocks on this list.

Newer houses are more likely to have a chimney that sits in a framed chase with a metal cover on top, instead of solid brick with a mortar crown. Those covers can rust, dent, and hold water, and a rusted cover tends to stain the siding below it first. Our chase cover and cap pages cover what we look at up there.

• About 7 percent of homes built before 1940
• About 42 percent built before 1980
• Roughly 4,452 housing units in all

Source: Census Reporter profile for Lakeville, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25034, Year Structure Built.

Chimney service in Lakeville: housing, heating, permits and FAQ →

Chimney service in Plympton, MA

Plymouth County · served from 150 W Grove St, Middleborough

Plympton is the smallest town we cover, with roughly 1,250 homes, and it has a relatively old housing stock for its size: about 22 percent of those homes were built before 1940.

Older masonry chimneys tend to need attention from the top down. The crown cracks first, water follows, and freeze and thaw cycles loosen the mortar joints below it. Catching that early is usually a crown repair or tuckpointing job. Left long enough, it can become a partial rebuild.

• About 22 percent of homes built before 1940
• About 48 percent built before 1980
• Roughly 1,251 housing units in all

Source: Census Reporter profile for Plympton, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25034, Year Structure Built.

Chimney service in Plympton: housing, heating, permits and FAQ →

Chimney service in Rochester, MA

Plymouth County · served from 150 W Grove St, Middleborough

Rochester has roughly 2,250 homes. About 13 percent were built before 1940 and a little over half in 1980 or later, so the chimneys here range from old brick to fairly recent.

Whatever the age, a fireplace or stove that gets regular use through the winter builds creosote in the flue, and creosote is the fuel behind most chimney fires. If you burn often, a yearly sweeping is the basic habit, and heavy, glazed buildup is a separate job covered on the creosote removal page.

• About 13 percent of homes built before 1940
• About 46 percent built before 1980
• Roughly 2,255 housing units in all

Source: Census Reporter profile for Rochester, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25034, Year Structure Built.

Chimney service in Rochester: housing, heating, permits and FAQ →

Chimney service in Acushnet, MA

Bristol County · served from 150 W Grove St, Middleborough

Acushnet has the highest share of pre-1980 housing of any town we cover: about 70 percent of its roughly 4,200 homes. Close to half were built between 1950 and 1979.

In houses that age, the fireplace itself has often seen decades of use. Firebrick and the mortar joints between them erode, and metal dampers rust until they stick open or closed. Those are covered on our firebox repair and damper pages. The flue above deserves the same attention, because original liners from that period are now roughly fifty to seventy-five years old.

• About 17 percent of homes built before 1940
• About 70 percent built before 1980
• Roughly 4,209 housing units in all

Source: Census Reporter profile for Acushnet, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25034, Year Structure Built.

Chimney service in Acushnet: housing, heating, permits and FAQ →

Chimney service in Freetown, MA

Bristol County · served from 150 W Grove St, Middleborough

About 61 percent of Freetown's roughly 3,400 homes were built before 1980, most of them between 1950 and 1979, and about 12 percent before 1940.

Brick and mortar absorb water, and after several decades the flashing and the masonry itself are the two usual places a chimney leak starts. If you see damp brick, white staining on the chimney, or water in the firebox after rain, start with the flashing repair and waterproofing pages, which explain what each repair covers.

• About 12 percent of homes built before 1940
• About 61 percent built before 1980
• Roughly 3,388 housing units in all

Source: Census Reporter profile for Freetown, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25034, Year Structure Built.

Chimney service in Freetown: housing, heating, permits and FAQ →

Chimney service in Raynham, MA

Bristol County · served from 150 W Grove St, Middleborough

Raynham's roughly 6,200 homes lean newer: about 58 percent were built in 1980 or later and about 8 percent before 1940.

A common reason for a chimney visit in any town is a house sale. The national chimney standard, NFPA 211, calls for a Level 2 inspection when a property changes hands, because a buyer is taking on a system nobody has looked inside recently. Our Level 2 inspection page explains what that inspection includes and what it does not.

• About 8 percent of homes built before 1940
• About 42 percent built before 1980
• Roughly 6,229 housing units in all

Source: Census Reporter profile for Raynham, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25034, Year Structure Built.

Chimney service in Raynham: housing, heating, permits and FAQ →

Chimney service in Taunton, MA

Bristol County · served from 150 W Grove St, Middleborough

Taunton is the largest community we cover, with roughly 25,200 homes, and it has the oldest housing on this list. About 35 percent of its homes, close to 8,800 of them, were built before 1940, and about 64 percent before 1980.

Chimneys from before 1940 were sometimes built with no flue liner at all, or with liners that have long since deteriorated, and a furnace or water heater added later may be venting into a flue that was never sized for it. A chimney inspection answers that question first. When a flue does need one, the liner installation page explains the options.

• About 35 percent of homes built before 1940
• About 64 percent built before 1980
• Roughly 25,188 housing units in all

Source: Census Reporter profile for Taunton, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25034, Year Structure Built.

Chimney service in Taunton: housing, heating, permits and FAQ →

What is the same in every town

The twenty-three services on our services page are the same list in every town we cover, from routine sweeping to masonry and liner work. Hours are the same everywhere: Sunday through Thursday 8 AM to 8 PM, Friday 8 AM to 6 PM, and closed Saturday. Pricing is worked out after we have seen your chimney, as the visit walkthrough explains. The reviews on our reviews page are the ones on our Google listing, and we do not label any of them by town.