Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs · Northern Ireland
Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in County Antrim
Our open-plan kitchen knock-throughs work covers the whole of County Antrim, including Belfast, Lisburn and Newtownabbey.
Who usually needs open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in County Antrim?
When a County Antrim kitchen is dark because its only window faces a narrow side return, a wide opening into the next room borrows light from the other end of the house.
Buyers in County Antrim sometimes take on a house divided into small rooms and plan a knock-through first, so the new kitchen can be designed for the larger space.
What do open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in County Antrim include?
After the survey visit we write the scope down. For open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in County Antrim it usually covers:
- Free survey visit to check the wall, the floors above and the services running through it
- Structural engineer arranged to design the beam, padstones and temporary propping
- Building Regulations approval arranged, or a building warrant before work starts in Scotland
- Temporary props set, the wall removed and the steel beam bedded on padstones
- Cables, pipes and radiators in the wall rerouted by qualified trades
- Beam boxed in, the opening plastered and the floor joined where the wall stood
- New kitchen fitted once the opening is made good and the structural work inspected
How much do open-plan kitchen knock-throughs cost in County Antrim?
The figures below are guide prices for County Antrim, including VAT and adjusted for typical costs across Northern Ireland. The fixed price comes after we have measured up. Costs across Northern Ireland tend to sit under UK averages, which these ranges reflect.
| 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%.
Kitchens in homes across County Antrim
Across County Antrim you will often find red-brick terraces, Victorian villas, post-war estate houses and rural bungalows, and each shapes the kitchen differently. Red-brick terraces in Belfast often have a narrow kitchen in the return, while estate houses and rural bungalows tend to have a separate kitchen with room for a table.
Mains water across most of County Antrim is soft, so limescale is less of a problem and taps and boiling water taps tend to stay cleaner. Terraced streets with entries at the back, city flats with booked lifts and country lanes can each affect deliveries, so the route for worktops is checked at the survey.
Opening the return kitchen of a Belfast terrace into the living room is a common way to make a kitchen-diner. Rural bungalows often run on oil-fired heating, and owners frequently want a larger kitchen with a utility room for boots and laundry.
Rules for open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in County Antrim
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.
Listed buildings and conservation areas in older parts of Belfast and the county towns may need consent for new vents, and apartment owners usually need management consent.
Before you start
- Allow time for the engineer's design and approval before work starts, especially in Scotland, where the building warrant must be granted first.
- Check what runs through the wall: sockets, switches, radiator pipes, gas pipes and sometimes a soil stack all need rerouting first.
- Find out whether the wall is load-bearing before planning the layout; joists landing on it or a wall directly above are common clues.
- Expect dust and noise for several days; clearing both rooms and sealing doors to the rest of the house saves a lot of cleaning.
- Clear both rooms completely before the opening is made in your County Antrim home, and seal doors to the rest of the house with dust sheets and tape.
- Choose the new floor finish before the wall comes out, so the strip where the wall stood can be levelled and covered in one go.
Questions about open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in County Antrim
How much do open-plan kitchen knock-throughs cost in County Antrim?
Guide prices in County Antrim are about £700 to £1,800 including VAT for removing a non-load-bearing wall and making good. The final price depends on the size of the kitchen and what is moving, and is set out in an itemised written quote.
Do you cover the whole of County Antrim?
Yes. We carry out open-plan kitchen knock-throughs across County Antrim, including Belfast, Lisburn, Newtownabbey and Carrickfergus. Every job starts with a free survey visit and an itemised written quote.
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 towns across County Antrim
Choose a town for local guide prices and postcode coverage:
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Belfast
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Lisburn
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Newtownabbey
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Carrickfergus
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Ballymena
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Antrim
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Larne
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Ballymoney