Lowell chimney sweep and inspections: Seacoast Chimney for area code 978

Chimneys and homes in the 978 area

The 978/351 territory covers northeastern Massachusetts, from Lowell, Lawrence and Haverhill in the Merrimack Valley to Peabody, Newburyport and Cape Ann, and west through towns like Fitchburg and Leominster. It is an old housing stock: of about 540,000 homes and apartments, roughly 65% were built before 1980 and 29% before 1940, and the median home dates from the 1960s. About 56% are single-family detached houses.

Lowell, with about 115,500 people in 2020, is one of the two traditional seats of Middlesex County, alongside Cambridge, and the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts. It is the hub of Greater Lowell and of the Merrimack Valley, the river corridor it shares with Lawrence and Haverhill.

Winters are long and cold. NOAA's 1991–2020 normals for Boston Logan International Airport, MA show about 5,545 heating degree days a year, a January average of 29.9°F, and about 49.2 inches of snow. Repeated freezing and thawing is hard on brick, mortar and chimney crowns, which is why crown repair, repointing and chimney caps come up so often on older homes.

Census figures put utility gas as the main heating fuel in about 52% of occupied homes and heating oil in about 26%. Wood is the main heat in fewer than 2 in 100 homes, so most fireplaces here are for cool evenings, and gas fireplaces and inserts are common. Oil furnaces and boilers vent through a chimney too, and their flues need checking as well. The area falls in IECC climate zone 5A. Whatever the fuel, NFPA 211, the national standard for chimneys, fireplaces and vents, calls for a yearly inspection.

Sources: Census ACS 2018–2022 (B25034, B25040, B25024); NOAA Climate Normals 1991–2020, Boston Logan International Airport, MA (USW00014739); IECC 2021 climate zones by county (PNNL-33270); NFPA 211; Wikipedia: Lowell, Massachusetts.