Service area · Plymouth County
Chimney Service in Lakeville, MA
Lakeville is our closest neighbor, set off from Middleborough in 1853 and home to the Assawompset ponds. Most of its homes are detached houses built in 1980 or later, and six in ten heat with oil. Here is what that means for the chimneys, and how we cover Lakeville.
Lakeville housing, by the numbers
A newer town of detached houses
Lakeville has roughly 4,500 homes, and about 85 percent are detached single-family houses. About 58 percent were built in 1980 or later, and about 24 percent in 2000 or later. Only about 7 percent date from 1939 or earlier.
Newer houses are more likely to have a framed chase with a metal cover on top, or a masonry chimney with a poured or mortared crown that has now seen twenty to forty winters. Both fail at the top first. Rust streaks below a chase cover and cracks across a crown are the two things to look for from the yard.
What the historical survey records
Center-chimney cottages and pond-side summer houses
The state's historical survey records two houses in Lakeville from the early 1700s, one about 1705 and one dated 1717, both center-chimney houses five bays wide. It also suggests that a good number of the town's center-chimney cottages may date from the colonial period, with groups of them on Route 105, at Staples and Upper Four Corners, and on Pierce Road.
By the end of the Federal period, the survey says, cottages with two chimneys set on the inside of the end walls had become the preferred form. Later, a few summer cottages were built at Long Pond. The survey also notes that the 1894 brick pumping station at Assawompset Pond became the Town Hall in 1959.
A center-chimney house has one large masonry mass at the middle of the house, often with several fireplaces opening off it. These chimneys can be very old inside even when the house has been updated around them, so a Level 2 inspection is worth it before relying on any of those fireplaces.
Source: Massachusetts Historical Commission, Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Lakeville (1981). Descriptions of house forms and places are from that report; the chimney notes that follow them are ours.
House heating fuel
Six in ten homes heat with oil
About 60 percent of Lakeville's occupied homes heat with fuel oil, one of the highest shares among the towns we cover. Propane is next at about 15 percent, and utility gas at about 13 percent. About 110 homes, roughly 3 percent, heat mainly with wood.
With that much oil heat, the chimney flue in most Lakeville houses is working all winter even if nobody uses the fireplace. Soot and scale from the burner build up over time, and a flue that is partly blocked can push combustion gases back into the house. Working carbon monoxide alarms and a yearly look at the flue go together.
Where to start
Services that fit Lakeville 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 Lakeville.
Chimney Sweeping
Removes soot and scale from oil-fired flues as well as fireplace and stove creosote.
Chimney Chase Cover Installation
For newer homes with a framed chase and a metal top.
Chimney Crown Repair
Crowns on chimneys from the 1980s and 1990s are reaching the age where cracks appear.
Level 2 Chimney Inspection
Before relying on an antique center chimney, or when buying or selling.
Chimney Waterproofing
For brick that stays damp, especially on chimneys exposed to open wind off the ponds.
From 150 W Grove St
How we cover Lakeville
Lakeville is the closest town to our base. The middle of Lakeville is about 4.1 miles from 150 W Grove St in a straight line. We do not keep a Lakeville office; visits are booked through the same phone number and confirmed with you directly.
Permits in Lakeville
Lakeville's Building Department office is at 241 Main Street, with online permitting through ViewPoint Cloud, and paper applications are also accepted. If you are selling, the town's smoke inspection page says smoke inspections are scheduled through the same online platform. 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: Lakeville Building Department and the Lakeville smoke inspection application, read October 15, 2026.
Common questions
Lakeville chimney FAQ
Yes. The oil burner vents through a flue in the chimney, so the chimney is in use every time the heat runs. Soot and scale collect over time, and a yearly check of that flue is the standard recommendation.
Possibly, but find out first. Old center chimneys often have unlined or deteriorated flues, and several fireplaces can share masonry with hidden gaps between them. A Level 2 inspection looks at each flue before anyone lights a fire.
Usually a rusting metal chase cover. Water pools on a flat or dented cover, the metal corrodes, and the rust runs down. The chase cover page explains the replacement.
Yes. Lakeville is on our Google Business Profile service area and is the nearest town to our Middleborough base, about 4.1 miles in a straight line.
Nearby
Other towns we serve
- Middleborough, our home town
- Taunton
- Bridgewater
- Carver
- Plympton
- Rochester
- Acushnet
- Freetown
- Raynham
All ten towns are summarized on the service areas page.