Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Devizes

Why open-plan kitchen knock-throughs for a Devizes home?

Plenty of Devizes homes have a small back kitchen beside a dining room that only gets used at Christmas, and joining the two gives one room the household actually lives in.

If you are already replacing the kitchen in your Devizes home, knocking through first means the layout is planned for the bigger room rather than squeezed into the old one. If your home is in Devizes or close by in Melksham or Chippenham, the same survey, quote and fitting process applies.

What is included in the work?

The exact scope is agreed after the survey, but a typical job in Devizes covers:

Temporary props set, the wall removed and the steel beam bedded on padstones
In England and Wales, party wall requirements checked where a beam bears into a shared wall
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
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

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

The figures below are guide prices for Devizes, including VAT and adjusted for typical costs across the South West. The fixed price comes after we have measured up. Prices across the South West are broadly in line with UK averages.

What do open-plan kitchen knock-throughs cost in Devizes?
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%.

House types around Devizes and what they mean for a kitchen

The housing mix across Wiltshire includes thatched and stone cottages, Victorian railway terraces, post-war estate houses and new-build estates, so no two kitchen fits are quite alike. Railway terraces in Swindon often have a narrow back kitchen, while stone and thatched cottages in the villages tend to have small kitchens with low ceilings.

Village lanes and farm tracks can be narrow for delivery lorries, and Salisbury's historic centre has limited parking, so delivery is planned in advance. Wiltshire's water is hard, much of it from chalk, so limescale on taps and boiling water taps is common and a filter can help.

Building regulations, electrics and gas in Devizes

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 thatched cottages, Salisbury's historic centre and other conservation areas may need consent for a new external vent or changes to historic features.

Planning ahead

If your Devizes home is leasehold, ask the freeholder for written consent before any structural work is designed or booked in.
Clear both rooms completely before the opening is made in your Wiltshire 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.
If a beam will bear into a wall shared with a neighbour in England or Wales, the Party Wall Act may require notice before work starts.

Questions about open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Devizes

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

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

Do you work near Devizes as well?

Yes. As well as Devizes itself, we cover the rest of Wiltshire and nearby towns such as Melksham and Chippenham. The process is the same wherever the kitchen is.

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

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