“Can we take this wall out?” is often the first question when a kitchen feels cut off from the rest of the home. The next question should be what the finished opening will involve. Removing the wall, relocating the services and leaving two rooms properly finished are different parts of the job.
If you are planning an open-plan kitchen in South West London, use the first survey to establish the design and the unknowns. That gives contractors something meaningful to price, before you order cabinets for a layout that may need to change.
Establish what the wall does
Ask a structural engineer to assess the wall and the proposed opening. Do not use an estate-agent floor plan, the wall’s apparent thickness or a neighbour’s similar kitchen as confirmation that it can be removed.
Planning Portal’s internal-wall guidance explains that removing a load-bearing wall requires building control approval and structural calculations. It also notes that a non-load-bearing wall can affect escape routes, ventilation, drainage or electrics.
Ask which drawings and details will be needed for pricing. If a support is required, find out how it will affect the finished opening, ceiling line and cabinet layout. Agree who is responsible for the structural design and construction arrangements; this is not a job to begin with exploratory demolition yourself.
Check the route out of the house
A wall beside a staircase may do more than separate the kitchen from the hall. Before committing to an open layout, ask the designer how the changes affect escape from the rooms above and elsewhere in the home.
Planning Portal’s fire-safety guidance makes clear that the effect of wall removal needs individual assessment. Measures suitable for one house may not be sufficient in another, particularly where there are three or more storeys. Do not assume adding an alarm settles the design.
For a flat, check who controls the structure
Read the lease before instructing alterations. Structural walls may be parts of the building controlled by the freeholder, even where they sit within your flat. If the lease requires written consent, obtain it before work begins; building regulations approval does not replace that consent. LEASE explains the distinction.
Give the designer any building-management requirements at the outset. They may affect what can be proposed, rather than simply adding paperwork at the end.
Price the finished room, not just the opening
Ask each contractor to identify what is included, excluded or still provisional. A useful scope should address:
- The agreed opening and the drawings or structural details being priced.
- Any affected sockets, switches, radiators, pipes and ventilation routes.
- Temporary protection, access, waste removal and keeping occupied areas separate.
- Any specified fire protection, boxing-in and finishing around structural supports.
- Making good the ceiling and adjoining walls, skirtings and decoration.
- The floor where the wall stood: a local repair, a threshold or a new continuous finish.
For example, a kitchen and dining room in a Tooting house may have different floor finishes or levels. A quotation that stops at removing the wall leaves that junction unresolved. Decide what you want the finished floor to look like and ask for the preparation to be assessed.
Resolve investigation and inspection needs early
Ask the contractor what information is needed before disturbing the wall and surrounding finishes. HSE says asbestos information must be sufficient for the work; breaking into building fabric may require a more intrusive refurbishment survey. Contractors’ responsibilities still apply in owner-occupied homes. See HSE’s guidance by role. An old report should be checked against the actual areas being disturbed.
Also agree who handles the relevant building control application, site inspections and completion paperwork. Wandsworth Council’s process includes inspections as work progresses and a completion certificate following a satisfactory final inspection. Check the appropriate route for your property before fixing the start date.
Bring the layout into the refurbishment conversation
Send OSPM your postcode, an outline of the rooms you want to connect and any drawings or reports already prepared. Tell us whether you are replacing the kitchen at the same time or retaining existing fittings.
We can discuss the work as part of a kitchen refurbishment or a full property refurbishment. Start with your project details so the scope can be discussed around the property and the design information available.
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