Thousands of pre-war apartments and brownstones across New York City still have fireplaces that haven't held a fire in decades. Some are sealed with a piece of plywood, some have a cracked marble surround, and some are just a dark, drafty hole in the living room wall. If you're renovating, the question usually comes up fast: can you remove or close up the fireplace and end up with a clean, flat wall? You can, and when it's done right, nobody will ever know it was there.
Why NYC Homeowners Close Up Old Fireplaces
In Manhattan and Brooklyn, many pre-war buildings were built with a fireplace in nearly every main room. Most were decommissioned long ago when buildings switched to steam heat, and in many co-ops and condos, burning wood is no longer allowed at all. What's left is often more trouble than it's worth:
Drafts and heat loss. An open flue is a direct path for cold air in the winter and conditioned air in the summer.
Soot, odors, and debris. Old chimneys drop soot, crumbling mortar, and the occasional bird or pest into the firebox.
Lost wall space. In a tight Upper West Side one-bedroom or a Park Slope brownstone parlor, a non-working fireplace takes up the best wall for a sofa, TV, or built-in.
Water intrusion. Unused chimneys are a common source of leaks, staining the plaster around the breast and mantel.
Removing vs. Covering a Fireplace
There are two main approaches, and the right one depends on your building and your budget.
Infill and cover (most common). The mantel and surround come off, the firebox opening is framed in with metal or wood studs, insulated, and closed with drywall. The new section is then taped, skim coated, and blended into the surrounding plaster so the wall reads as one continuous surface. This is the faster, cleaner option for most apartments.
Full chimney breast removal. Removing the protruding masonry breast itself is a structural job. In multi-story buildings the chimney stack often serves units above and below you, so this almost always requires an engineer, building approval, and a mason. For most NYC apartments, it isn't practical, and it isn't necessary to get a flat, finished look.
What the Wall Repair Process Looks Like
1. Coordinate the flue. Before the opening is closed, the flue should be properly sealed or capped by a qualified chimney or masonry professional so there's no airflow, moisture, or animal access behind the new wall. In a co-op or condo, check your alteration agreement and talk to the managing agent first; some buildings require approval for any work touching a shared chimney.
2. Remove the mantel and surround. Wood mantels usually come off cleanly. Marble and cast iron surrounds are heavy and are often anchored into the masonry, so removal can leave chipped plaster, exposed brick, and anchor holes around the opening.
3. Frame the opening. The firebox opening is framed flush with the existing wall plane. Pre-war walls are rarely perfectly flat or plumb, so the framing has to be shimmed to match the real wall, not a level line.
4. Insulate and vent if needed. Insulation behind the infill cuts drafts and sound. Some contractors add a small vent to keep moisture from building up in the sealed cavity, depending on the condition of the chimney.
5. Board, tape, and skim coat. The opening is closed with drywall, the seams are taped, and the entire patch, plus the damaged plaster around it, gets a skim coat so the transition between old plaster and new drywall disappears.
6. Prime and paint. A proper primer seals the new compound so it doesn't flash through your finish paint.
Common Problems We See in Pre-War NYC Buildings
Fireplace walls in older buildings come with surprises. Plaster around the breast is often cracked or delaminated from years of heat cycling. Hidden water damage from a leaky chimney crown is common, and if there are active leaks, they need to be fixed before any finish work. Many of these walls also carry multiple layers of old paint, and in buildings built before 1960, Local Law 1 lead-safe work practices apply whenever painted surfaces are disturbed. A contractor experienced with plaster repair will check for all of this before closing anything up.
How Long Does It Take?
A standard fireplace infill and wall finish typically takes two to four days, mostly because of drying time between coats of compound. Removing a heavy marble surround or repairing extensive plaster damage around the breast can add a day or two. Most of the dusty work happens on the first day, and the space is usable again quickly.
Can You Keep the Mantel?
Yes. Many brownstone owners close up the firebox but keep the original mantel as a decorative feature. The opening is infilled and finished, the mantel stays in place, and you keep the architectural character without the draft. It's a popular choice in Brooklyn Heights, Harlem, and Fort Greene brownstones.
Get Your Fireplace Wall Repaired by NYC Specialists
New York Wall Repair closes up and refinishes old fireplace walls in apartments, co-ops, and brownstones across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. We handle the framing, drywall, skim coating, and finish work, and we know how to blend new surfaces into century-old plaster so the repair is invisible.
Call (929) 319-3134 or visit newyorkwallrepair.com for a free estimate on your wall repair project.
