Taking a chimney breast out is the quickest way to get a usable rectangle out of an awkward bedroom, and it is the job people most often see done badly. The plastering is the easy end of it. The part that matters is what happens to the weight that was sitting on the bit you removed.
There is a masonry stack above every breast, and in a terrace or a semi it usually continues up through the bedroom and into the roof. Remove the ground floor breast without supporting what is above it and you have left several tonnes of brickwork standing on nothing. That is not a theoretical problem, and it is why this job starts with a structural engineer rather than with a bolster.
Support first, always
Where the breast above is staying, the load has to be picked up and carried into the walls either side. In practice that is gallows brackets bolted into sound brickwork, or a beam, and which one is acceptable is not a judgement call made on site. It is specified by a structural engineer and it is signed off by building control.
That is a real cost and a real delay and it gets said at the estimate rather than discovered later. It also affects what you own afterwards: unsupported removals turn up in surveys, hold up sales and cost more to put right than they ever saved. Where the whole stack is coming out from the roof down, the support question goes away and the job is simpler.
Once the breast is out there is a scar where it was: a step in the wall face where the breast stood proud, a break in the skirting, a gap in the floorboards and a strip of ceiling that was never plastered because a chimney was in front of it.
All of that is one plastering job rather than four small ones. The wall is built out or boarded to a single plane and skimmed right across so there is no line where the old surface meets the new. Skirting is pieced in and matched to profile. Floorboards are let in to run the right way. If the room is being replastered anyway, this costs very little extra and it is the difference between a flat wall and a flat wall with a ghost in it.
In anything with original cornice there is a length of it missing where the breast interrupted the run. Butting modern coving up to an original profile looks worse than leaving the gap, so where the existing run is worth keeping, the missing section is taken from a mould of the original and run back in to match.
Where the cornice is plain or has already been replaced, plain coving carried right round is the sensible answer. What does not happen is stopping the run short of the gap and hoping the eye does not travel, because the eye does exactly that.
If part of the stack stays, it still needs air moving through it. A capped flue with no ventilation collects condensation, and that comes through as damp staining on the chimney breast in the bedroom above within a year or two. A vent at the bottom and a capped pot that still breathes at the top is the usual answer.
The same applies to a fireplace that is being blocked up rather than removed. It gets an air brick or a vent in the blanking panel rather than being sealed solid and plastered over, because a sealed flue is a cold damp shaft with nowhere for the moisture to go.
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“Frank and Steve did a fantastic job on my hallway! Really professional team and their work is seamless. I was really impressed, and they even fixed my skirting board and put it back on for me, a very appreciated extra! Would highly recommend.”
“They did a great job. I had an awkward hallway area and a large ceiling to skim. I thought they'd finished earlier in the day as it looked great to me then, but they went over the whole area to make sure that the finish was perfect.”
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“Frank completed a wall for me that needed plastering, he was on time, very polite and nothing seemed an issue. ... Although only a small job, kept my house tidy, even outside the house, cleaned up after he finished and done a perfect job, highly recommended from myself.”
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“I don't often leave reviews, but Frank was so helpful and pleasant to work with that he deserves 5 stars. Very responsive and professional. He did a great job and left our place clean and tidy. Thanks again Frank!”
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“Although we didn't require any work, Frank was extremely helpful and knowledgable on his visit to inspect our issue. He was prompt and on time and responded quickly.”
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“Really happy with the work. Great finish and very professional. Turned up on time, kept things tidy, and did a top-quality job. Would definitely recommend.”
“very pleasant experience in communication and the level of service provided. tradesman was very polite. He came around for a diagnosis before outlining the job in details with cost and what needs doing.”
“Just had Scott round, Arrived on time started straight away and just got on with the job. Pleasant at all times clean & tidy worker will definitely use again. Work looks good and he stuck to his price. Thanks Scott was was good to meet you.”
“Very professional, was very clear on what exactly will be done. Agreed a price and kept me update all the way through. Happy with the work completed and after care as well. Very helpful and highly recommended.”
“Scott called me before booking a date to come and do work. He reasured me about somethings i was worried about. He come in time he said he would and helped me with another job as well. Very helpful and happy with service”
“Great job by Scott plastering the small room, he managed to sort out the uneven ceiling and walls. Will be using Scott again to sort out a couple of other rooms.”
Chimney breast removal: frequently asked questions
Do I need building control?
If the breast is coming out and anything above it is staying, yes, along with a structural engineer's detail for the support. It is not optional and it turns up in surveys when it has been skipped.
Can you do the whole job or just the plastering?
The making good, the plastering, the skirting and the cornice, yes. The structural side is engineered and signed off rather than improvised, and that gets arranged as part of the same programme.
What about the one somebody already took out badly?
It gets looked at and the engineer's view is the one that counts. Retro fitting support to an unsupported removal is a normal job and it is far cheaper than what happens if it is left.
Will I be able to see where it was?
Not if the wall is skimmed right across rather than patched, the skirting is pieced in to profile and the cornice is run back. Patching just the scar is what leaves a ghost of the breast in the wall.
