Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Coleraine

Is open-plan kitchen knock-throughs right for your Coleraine kitchen?

If you are already replacing the kitchen in your Coleraine home, knocking through first means the layout is planned for the bigger room rather than squeezed into the old one.

Parents across County Londonderry 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. Homes right across Coleraine are covered, as are nearby places such as Ballymoney, Limavady and the villages in between.

What do open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Coleraine include?

Every kitchen is different, so we confirm the scope in writing. Most jobs of this kind include:

Free survey visit to check the wall, the floors above and the services running through it
Beam boxed in, the opening plastered and the floor joined where the wall stood
Temporary props set, the wall removed and the steel beam bedded on padstones
Structural engineer arranged to design the beam, padstones and temporary propping
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

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

Use these ranges to plan your budget. They include VAT, reflect costs in Northern Ireland, and are firmed up once we have seen your Coleraine kitchen. Costs across Northern Ireland tend to sit under UK averages, which these ranges reflect.

What do open-plan kitchen knock-throughs cost in Coleraine?
Typical project	Guide price
Non-load-bearing wall removed and made goodStud or light partition, minimal services	£700–£1,800
Load-bearing wall with a steel beamStructural engineer's design and making good; building control or warrant fees listed separately	£2,600–£7,500
Knock-through with a new kitchen-dinerSteel beam, new kitchen, new floor throughout	£22,000–£48,500

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 Coleraine?

Typical homes in this part of County Londonderry include red-brick terraces, Georgian townhouses, rural bungalows and post-war estate houses. Terraced houses in the city and in Coleraine often have a narrow kitchen in the return, while rural bungalows tend to have a larger kitchen with space for dining.

County Londonderry's mains water is generally soft, so limescale is rarely a big problem and taps and boiling water taps tend to stay cleaner. Steep streets in the city, terraces with limited parking and long country roads can each affect deliveries, so the route for worktops is checked at the survey.

Do you need approval for open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Coleraine?

In Northern Ireland, removing a load-bearing wall needs a structural engineer's design and approval from council building control under the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012. A non-load-bearing partition is simpler. If the kitchen will open onto the hall and stairs, building control will check the escape route from upstairs. Rerouted electrics should be installed and tested to BS 7671 and certified, and any gas pipe in the wall must be moved by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

The historic walled city is a conservation area with many listed buildings, so new external vents or changes to historic features there may need consent first.

Planning ahead

Clear both rooms completely before the opening is made in your County Londonderry home, and seal doors to the rest of the house with dust sheets and tape.
Plan the heating for your new Coleraine kitchen-diner; removing a wall can also remove a radiator, and the larger room may need more heat.
Keep the completion certificate somewhere safe after the work, as a buyer's solicitor will usually ask for it when you sell your Coleraine home.
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 Coleraine

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

Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Coleraine typically cost £700 to £1,800 including VAT for removing a non-load-bearing wall and making good, based on prices in Northern Ireland. Larger or more involved jobs cost more, and your price is fixed in writing after a free survey visit.

Do you cover all of Coleraine?

Yes. We work across Coleraine, including the BT51 and BT52 postcode districts, and nearby towns such as Ballymoney and Limavady. Book a free survey visit and we will arrange a time that suits you.

Do I need approval to remove a wall between kitchen and dining room?

For a load-bearing wall, yes, everywhere in the UK. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland that means Building Regulations approval through building control; in Scotland a building warrant must be granted before work starts, followed by a completion certificate. A non-load-bearing partition is simpler, although a listed building may need listed building consent and a leasehold flat usually needs the freeholder's written consent.

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.

When is the new kitchen fitted after a knock-through?

After the opening is complete. The order is propping, removing the wall, setting the beam on its padstones, inspection, then boxing in, plastering and joining the floor where the wall stood. Fresh plaster usually needs three to six weeks to dry before full decorating, though a mist coat can go on sooner, so the units are often fitted while the walls dry and the decorating follows later.

Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in neighbouring towns

The same service is available a short drive from Coleraine, including: