Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Cirencester

Thinking about open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Cirencester?

Some households in Gloucestershire want a kitchen-diner for having people round, where guests can sit at a table or island while the food is still being cooked.

Parents across Gloucestershire often want to see the garden and the children from the hob, which a knock-through between the kitchen and family room can make possible. Our Gloucestershire coverage reaches every part of Cirencester (GL7) and out towards Stroud.

What is included in the work?

Here is what usually goes into open-plan kitchen knock-throughs, adjusted to your Cirencester kitchen after we have measured it:

Cables, pipes and radiators in the wall rerouted by qualified trades
Free survey visit to check the wall, the floors above and the services running through it
In England and Wales, party wall requirements checked where a beam bears into a shared wall
New kitchen fitted once the opening is made good and the structural work inspected
Building Regulations approval arranged, or a building warrant before work starts in Scotland
Beam boxed in, the opening plastered and the floor joined where the wall stood

What do open-plan kitchen knock-throughs cost in Cirencester?

These guide ranges include VAT at 20% and are adjusted for prices in the South West. We confirm your price in writing after a free survey visit. Costs in the South West sit close to the national guide.

What do open-plan kitchen knock-throughs cost in Cirencester?
Typical project	Guide price
Non-load-bearing wall removed and made goodStud or light partition, minimal services	£820–£2,100
Load-bearing wall with a steel beamStructural engineer's design and making good; building control or warrant fees listed separately	£3,100–£8,800
Knock-through with a new kitchen-dinerSteel beam, new kitchen, new floor throughout	£26,000–£56,500

Load-bearing guide ranges include the structural engineer's design for a typical single opening and making good; council building control or building warrant fees, rerouted services, decorating and the kitchen itself are listed separately. Prices include VAT at 20%.

What kind of kitchens do we fit in Cirencester?

Across Gloucestershire you will often find cotswold stone cottages, Regency townhouses, Victorian terraces and post-war estate houses, and each shapes the kitchen differently. Cotswold stone cottages often have a small kitchen in a rear extension, while Regency townhouses in Cheltenham may have a long kitchen at garden level or in a former basement.

Stone villages with narrow lanes and limited parking can make deliveries slow, and townhouse flats over several floors may mean carrying units up stairs. Hard water is the norm across most of Gloucestershire, so expect limescale on taps and appliances and think about a filter for a boiling water tap.

Building regulations, electrics and gas in Cirencester

In England, removing a load-bearing wall needs a structural engineer's design and Building Regulations approval through local authority building control or a registered building control approver. Where a beam bears into a party wall, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 means serving notice on the neighbours before work starts. If the new open-plan kitchen opens onto the hall and stairs, building control will check the escape route, and homes with a floor more than 4.5 metres above ground may need extra fire safety measures.

Listed stone cottages, Cheltenham's Regency terraces and homes in conservation areas may need consent before new vents are cut or historic features are removed.

Worth knowing before the fit

Clear both rooms completely before the opening is made in your Gloucestershire home, and seal doors to the rest of the house with dust sheets and tape.
Before asking for prices for your Cirencester home, look upstairs: a wall directly above the one you want removed is a strong sign it is load-bearing.
If your Cirencester home is leasehold, ask the freeholder for written consent before any structural work is designed or booked in.
Think about fire escape if the kitchen will open onto the hall and stairs, particularly in homes of three storeys or more.

Questions about open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Cirencester

How much do open-plan kitchen knock-throughs cost in Cirencester?

For removing a non-load-bearing wall and making good, budget around £820 to £2,100 including VAT in Cirencester. That reflects typical costs in the South West; we confirm the actual figure in writing once we have measured up.

Which parts of Cirencester do you work in?

All of them. Our Gloucestershire coverage takes in the whole of Cirencester, including the GL7 postcode district, as well as surrounding towns such as Stroud. If you are unsure, send us your postcode.

Who designs the steel beam for a knock-through?

A structural engineer does. We arrange the engineer, who calculates the loads and specifies the beam size, the padstones it bears on and the temporary propping needed while the wall comes out. Those calculations go with the Building Regulations application or building warrant. We do not design steelwork ourselves; the work follows the engineer's design and is inspected as part of the approval.

Does knocking through to the kitchen affect fire safety?

It can. If the new open-plan kitchen opens straight onto the hall and stairs, a kitchen fire could affect the escape route from upstairs, so building control, or the building warrant process in Scotland, will check how people would get out. In houses with a floor more than 4.5 metres above ground, usually three storeys or more, extra fire safety measures may be needed. We confirm what applies before work starts.

How can I tell if a kitchen wall is load-bearing?

Usually you cannot be certain by looking. Clues include floor joists landing on the wall from above, another wall directly on top of it upstairs, or the wall running down the middle of the house on its own foundation. A hollow knock is not a reliable test, because some stud walls carry loads. We check at the survey, and where there is doubt a structural engineer confirms it before anything is removed.

Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in neighbouring towns

We also carry out open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in these towns near Cirencester: