Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs · England
Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in West Sussex
We carry out open-plan kitchen knock-throughs across West Sussex, from Crawley to the smaller towns, with a free survey visit and an itemised written quote as standard.
When do open-plan kitchen knock-throughs make sense in West Sussex?
When a West Sussex 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 West Sussex 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 West Sussex include?
Here is what usually goes into open-plan kitchen knock-throughs, adjusted to your West Sussex kitchen after we have measured it:
- 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
- In England and Wales, party wall requirements checked where a beam bears into a shared wall
- 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 West Sussex?
Typical open-plan kitchen knock-throughs prices for homes in West Sussex, including VAT and adjusted for the South East. Your own figure depends on the size of the kitchen, the layout and what is moving. Prices in the South East usually run above the national guide, mainly because labour and parking cost more.
| 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%.
Kitchens in homes across West Sussex
You will find 1930s semis, flint and brick cottages, post-war new town houses and seaside bungalows throughout West Sussex. Crawley's new-town houses often have a compact galley, while seaside bungalows in Worthing and Bognor Regis tend to have a small square kitchen beside the dining area.
West Sussex has mostly hard water, so limescale on taps, sinks and boiling water taps is common and a filter is worth considering. Coastal flats may have no lift, and village lanes on the edge of the Downs can be narrow for delivery lorries, so the delivery route is checked at the survey.
Seaside bungalow owners often open the kitchen into the dining room and refit it for easier everyday use. New-town houses tend to have small kitchens where taller wall units, integrated appliances and a better layout help make the most of the space.
Rules for open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in West Sussex
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 in the South Downs National Park, listed flint cottages and conservation areas such as central Chichester may need consent for a new external vent.
Before you start
- Think about fire escape if the kitchen will open onto the hall and stairs, particularly in homes of three storeys or more.
- Check what runs through the wall: sockets, switches, radiator pipes, gas pipes and sometimes a soil stack all need rerouting first.
- Allow time for the engineer's design and approval before work starts, especially in Scotland, where the building warrant must be granted first.
- Expect dust and noise for several days; clearing both rooms and sealing doors to the rest of the house saves a lot of cleaning.
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in West Sussex
How much do open-plan kitchen knock-throughs cost in West Sussex?
Guide prices in West Sussex 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.
Do you cover the whole of West Sussex?
Yes. We carry out open-plan kitchen knock-throughs across West Sussex, including Crawley, Worthing, Bognor Regis and Littlehampton. Every job starts with a free survey visit and an itemised written quote.
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.
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.
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 towns across West Sussex
Choose a town for local guide prices and postcode coverage:
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Crawley
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Worthing
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Bognor Regis
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Littlehampton
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Horsham
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Haywards Heath
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Chichester
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Burgess Hill
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in East Grinstead
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Shoreham-by-Sea
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Lancing
- Open-plan kitchen knock-throughs in Midhurst