Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs · Hampshire
Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Eastleigh
Whether your Eastleigh kitchen is a narrow galley or an open-plan room, open-plan kitchen knock-throughs follow the same careful order: survey, written scope, fit and a final check together.
Is open-plan kitchen knock-throughs right for your Eastleigh kitchen?
Parents across Hampshire 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.
Buyers in Hampshire 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. We cover all of Eastleigh, including the SO50 postcode district, and travel out to neighbouring towns across Hampshire.
What is included in the work?
Here is what usually goes into open-plan kitchen knock-throughs, adjusted to your Eastleigh kitchen after we have measured it:
- Structural engineer arranged to design the beam, padstones and temporary propping
- 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
- Building Regulations approval arranged, or a building warrant before work starts in Scotland
- New kitchen fitted once the opening is made good and the structural work inspected
- Temporary props set, the wall removed and the steel beam bedded on padstones
How much do open-plan kitchen knock-throughs cost in Eastleigh?
Use these ranges to plan your budget. They include VAT, reflect costs in the South East, and are firmed up once we have seen your Eastleigh kitchen. Labour in the South East generally costs more than the UK average, which lifts these ranges a little.
| Typical project | Guide price |
|---|---|
| Non-load-bearing wall removed and made goodStud or light partition, minimal services | £920–£2,300 |
| Load-bearing wall with a steel beamStructural engineer's design and making good; building control or warrant fees listed separately | £3,400–£9,800 |
| Knock-through with a new kitchen-dinerSteel beam, new kitchen, new floor throughout | £28,500–£63,000 |
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 Eastleigh and what they mean for a kitchen
In and around Eastleigh, homes range across Victorian terraces, 1930s semis, post-war estate houses and thatched and brick cottages. Terraces in Southampton and Portsmouth often have a narrow back kitchen, while post-war estate houses tend to have a compact rectangular room suited to an L-shape.
Dense terraced streets can be very tight for parking, and New Forest lanes and village roads may limit the size of delivery vehicle. Water across Hampshire is mostly hard, largely from chalk sources, so limescale on taps and boiling water taps is common and a filter can help.
Building regulations, electrics and gas in Eastleigh
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.
Homes within the New Forest or South Downs national parks, listed cottages and conservation areas may need consent for a new extractor vent or alterations to historic features.
Worth knowing before the fit
- Tell your neighbours early if a beam may bear into a wall you share; in England and Wales a party wall notice may be needed before work starts.
- If your Eastleigh home is leasehold, ask the freeholder for written consent before any structural work is designed or booked in.
- Plan the heating for your new Eastleigh kitchen-diner; removing a wall can also remove a radiator, and the larger room may need more heat.
- Expect dust and noise for several days; clearing both rooms and sealing doors to the rest of the house saves a lot of cleaning.
Questions about open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Eastleigh
How much do open-plan kitchen knock-throughs cost in Eastleigh?
Guide prices in Eastleigh are about £920 to £2,300 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.
Which parts of Eastleigh do you work in?
All of them. Our Hampshire coverage takes in the whole of Eastleigh, including the SO50 postcode district, as well as surrounding towns such as Southampton. If you are unsure, send us your postcode.
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.
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 Eastleigh:
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Southampton
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Romsey
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Winchester
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Totton
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Hythe, Hampshire
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Fareham
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs across Hampshire