Service area · Bristol County
Chimney Service in Freetown, MA
Freetown has two village centers, Assonet and East Freetown, very little utility gas, and a strong reliance on oil and wood heat. Its Federal-era houses share a distinctive detail the state survey points out. Here is how that shapes chimney care in Freetown.
Freetown housing, by the numbers
Mostly detached houses, many from the 1970s
Freetown has roughly 3,400 homes, and about 90 percent are detached houses. About 12 percent were built in 1939 or earlier, and about 61 percent before 1980. The 1970s were the busiest decade, with close to 900 homes.
A chimney built in the 1970s is now about fifty years old. By that age the crown has often cracked, the flashing has been resealed at least once, and the mortar joints near the top are starting to wash out. Those are the places where water gets in, and water is what shortens a chimney's life.
What the historical survey records
The end-gable overhang and Assonet's Federal houses
The state's historical survey says most early 1800s houses in Freetown were built at Assonet. About twenty two-story houses from that period survive, with center-chimney plans built in nearly equal numbers to the then more up-to-date double and end chimney plans, along with about two dozen cottages, most with center chimneys.
The survey points out one feature in particular: almost all of Freetown's Federal-period houses and cottages have a shallow hewn overhang at the gable end. By the mid-1800s, it notes, East Freetown began to outpace Assonet in new houses.
On an older house with end or double chimneys, each chimney usually serves its own fireplaces, and one may have been relined or rebuilt while the other was left alone. It is worth knowing which is which before deciding where to light a fire.
Source: Massachusetts Historical Commission, Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Freetown (1981). Descriptions of house forms and places are from that report; the chimney notes that follow them are ours.
House heating fuel
Oil and wood, with little gas
About 62 percent of Freetown's occupied homes heat with fuel oil and about 14 percent with propane. Only about 8 percent use utility gas, the lowest share among our towns. About 205 homes, roughly 6 percent, heat mainly with wood.
Between oil burners and wood stoves, most Freetown chimneys work hard every winter. Oil leaves soot and scale; wood leaves creosote. Both are reasons to have the flue cleaned and checked every year, and wood burners should also keep an eye on how quickly buildup returns.
Where to start
Services that fit Freetown homes
These are the services from our list of twenty-three that match the housing above. Every service on the services page is available in Freetown.
Chimney Sweeping
Yearly cleaning for the many oil- and wood-heated homes.
Chimney Crown Repair
Crowns on chimneys from the 1970s are at the age where cracks let water in.
Chimney Waterproofing
For brick that absorbs water and shows white staining.
Chimney Flashing Repair
Where the chimney meets the roof, often resealed but rarely rebuilt.
Downdraft Repair
For smoke that rolls back into the room, common with tall trees or a chimney lower than the roof ridge.
From 150 W Grove St
How we cover Freetown
The middle of Freetown is about 8.9 miles from our base at 150 W Grove St, Middleborough, in a straight line. Assonet and East Freetown are both covered. We do not have a Freetown office; every visit is scheduled from Middleborough and confirmed with you directly.
Permits in Freetown
Freetown's Building Department is in the Town Hall Annex at 69 South Main Street in Assonet, and it takes permit applications online through PermitEyes. Whether a particular chimney job needs a permit is up to the department, so for a liner, a rebuild or a new stove, check with them before the work starts.
Source: Freetown Building Department, read October 15, 2026.
Common questions
Freetown chimney FAQ
Yes. Both villages are part of Freetown, which is on our Google Business Profile service area. We serve the whole town from Middleborough.
If the oil burner and the stove each have their own flue, both flues need attention, and they can usually be handled in one visit. Never vent a wood stove into the same flue as an oil burner; if you suspect that is happening, call us.
Common causes are a chimney that is too short for the roof around it, nearby trees, a tight house that cannot supply enough air, or a partly blocked flue. The downdraft repair page goes through each.
About 8.9 miles in a straight line from 150 W Grove St in Middleborough to the middle of Freetown.
Nearby
Other towns we serve
- Middleborough, our home town
- Taunton
- Bridgewater
- Carver
- Lakeville
- Plympton
- Rochester
- Acushnet
- Raynham
All ten towns are summarized on the service areas page.