Open Plan Kitchen Conversions Derby
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01332-529933
Taking out the wall between a kitchen and a dining or living room is a structural job before it's ever a fitting job, and treating it as one from the start is what keeps a project like this on programme. The team at Derby Kitchen Fitter has been planning and building open plan kitchen conversions across Derby and the surrounding towns for around two decades, working from a structural assessment through building control sign-off to the finished kitchen-diner, with the same joiners, electricians, plumbers and plasterers on site throughout.
If you're weighing up whether your wall can come out, what it costs to relocate a gas hob or add sockets for a kitchen island, or how long the building control side takes, the detail below covers what's actually involved and what's charged separately.
Inside an Open Plan Conversion: What's Covered and What Isn't
- Structural assessment of the wall you want removed, including a structural engineer's calculations where the wall is load bearing and needs an RSJ
- Submission of the building regulations application and liaison with Derby City Council building control through to sign-off
- Taking down the wall, fitting and dressing in the steel beam where needed, and clearing the rubble and old units as part of our registered waste carrier duties
- First and second fix electrics for the new layout - rewired circuits, sockets and lighting zones, certified by our Part P registered electricians
- Plumbing relocation for sinks, dishwashers and hob or range supply pipework, carried out by plumbers qualified to NVQ Level 2 and City & Guilds
- Gas Safe registered connection and commissioning if a gas hob or range cooker is being moved as part of the reconfiguration
- Plastering and making good of walls, ceilings and any exposed chimney breast, carried out by our master plasterers
- The kitchen build itself - cabinetry, worktops (including stone and solid surface where specified) and appliance fitting
- Flooring thresholds and changeovers between the new kitchen, dining and living zones as agreed in the design
Not Included / Costed Separately
- A party wall agreement with a neighbour, if the wall being altered is shared with a semi-detached or terraced property next door - this is a legal step you or we can arrange, but it sits outside the build itself
- Garden landscaping, patios or decking beyond the immediate threshold of any new bi-fold or sliding doors
- Redecoration of rooms outside the new open plan footprint - we finish the kitchen-diner or kitchen-living area itself, not unconnected hallways or bedrooms
- Furniture, soft furnishings or freestanding sofas and dining sets for the new living or dining zone
- Air conditioning, if you decide you want it - we can advise and bring in a specialist, but it's priced as an addition once your heating needs are assessed
How We Deliver an Open Plan Project, From First Visit to Sign-Off
- Free design visit -- A designer visits your home at no charge to look at the wall or walls you're considering removing, discuss how you use the space, and put together CAD options showing how a kitchen-diner, kitchen-living or zoned layout could work in your specific rooms.
- Structural check and written quote -- Where a wall may be load bearing we arrange a structural assessment before pricing anything. You then get a written, itemised quote covering the build, every trade and the kitchen itself, so the figure you sign off is the figure you pay.
- Building control and strip-out -- We submit the building regulations application, then start on site - taking the wall down, fitting the RSJ if one's needed, and running first-fix electrics and plumbing for the new layout.
- Plastering and kitchen install -- Our plasterers make good the ceiling, walls and any chimney breast, then joiners, plumbers and electricians fit the cabinetry, worktops and appliances, with Gas Safe and Part P certified connections for gas and power.
- Final walkthrough -- We walk the finished space with you against the original design, hand over building control sign-off paperwork, and confirm your written guarantees on labour, installation and products.
Open Plan Kitchen Conversions in Derby
- 20 years planning and building open plan kitchen conversions across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
- Wall removal, electrics and plumbing handled by our own Part P electricians and NVQ Level 2 qualified plumbers, not a chain of subcontractors
- 5-year guarantee on labour and installation, 2 years on products
One Team or Several: Comparing Your Options for Building an Open Plan Kitchen
| What matters | Us | General builder plus separate kitchen fitter | Supply-only kitchen showroom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wall removal and RSJ calculations | Assessed and built in-house as one project | Usually subcontracted out, adding another point of contact | Not offered - kitchen supply only |
| Electrics for new lighting zones | Part P registered electricians on the same team, certificates issued | Depends which subcontractor is booked | Not included |
| Plumbing and gas hob relocation | NVQ Level 2 plumbers and Gas Safe engineers on staff | Varies by subcontractor availability | Not included |
| Plastering and making good | Master plasterers as part of the same crew | Often a separate trade to book and coordinate | Not included |
| Old units and rubble removal | Covered - registered waste carrier | Sometimes included, often charged extra | Not included |
| Guarantee | 5 years labour and installation, 2 years on products | Varies by contractor, rarely covers the whole job | Product guarantee only, no fitting cover |
| Who you deal with | One team, one point of contact throughout | You coordinate builder, electrician, plumber and fitter separately | You arrange your own installer |
One Team Means the Wall, the Steel and the Kitchen Are Never Out of Step
The riskiest part of an open plan conversion isn't the kitchen - it's the handover points between trades on the day the wall comes down. If the electrician doesn't know a socket circuit runs through the wall being removed, or the plasterer is booked in before the steel beam has passed building control, the job stalls or gets patched twice. Structural assessment, wall removal, first and second-fix electrics, plumbing relocation and plastering are all scheduled by the same team here rather than a chain of separate trades, so that handover risk is designed out of the programme rather than managed around it on the day. Our joiners hold City & Guilds qualifications with a bench-joinery background for the cabinetry that finishes the space, our electricians are Part P registered and certify the new lighting and power circuits an open kitchen-diner needs, and our plumbers are qualified to NVQ Level 2 for relocating sinks, dishwashers and hob supply pipework. Where a gas hob or range is moving as part of the reconfiguration, a Gas Safe registered engineer handles the connection and commissioning rather than leaving it to whoever's on site that day. Once the RSJ is dressed in, making good the ceiling, walls and any exposed chimney breast falls to master plasterers with decades of hands-on site experience rather than a general builder patching around someone else's work, and as a registered waste carrier we take the old units and rubble away legally as part of the job. The team has been running conversions like this across Derbyshire for around two decades and is a member of CITB and the FSB.
Derby's Older Terraces, and the Towns We Build Open Plan Kitchens In
Derby Kitchen Fitter works out of a workshop on Stenson Road in Sunny Hill, and open plan conversions make up a steady share of the jobs we build across the city. A lot of Derby's housing stock is Victorian and Edwardian terraces - streets around Normanton, Chaddesden and Peartree typically share a party wall between neighbouring kitchens and dining rooms, which is why a party wall agreement with next door comes up more often here than it would on a modern estate. Building regulations applications for wall removal and steel beam installations go through Derby City Council building control, and we submit and liaise on that through to sign-off as part of the job. We build the same conversions in the towns around Derby - Chesterfield, Long Eaton, Belper, Ilkeston, Heanor, Alfreton, Swadlincote, Ripley, Matlock, Dronfield, Duffield, Wirksworth, Bakewell, Buxton and into Nottingham - and on the Peak-edge side around Matlock, Bakewell and Buxton, older stone-built properties more often bring solid masonry walls into the structural assessment rather than the brick and blockwork typical of Derby itself.
Questions About Removing a Wall for an Open Plan Kitchen
Do I need planning permission to remove a wall for an open plan kitchen?
Most internal wall removals don't need planning permission because you're not changing the outside of the building, but you do need building regulations approval if the wall is load bearing or the change affects fire escape routes between rooms. We submit that building regulations application to Derby City Council and handle it through to sign-off as part of the job, so you're not dealing with the council directly.
How do I know if the wall I want to remove is load bearing?
You often can't tell just by looking - blockwork construction with a joist running above it front-to-back is one sign, but a wall running parallel to the joists can still be load bearing. The only reliable way is a site assessment, and where there's any doubt we bring in a structural engineer to calculate what size steel beam is needed before we quote the job.
Will I need a party wall agreement?
Only if the wall backs onto next door - a shared wall in a semi-detached or terraced property, which is common on Derby's older streets. It's a legal step separate from the build itself, and we can point you toward how to arrange it, but it isn't something we handle as part of the build price.
Can I still use my kitchen while the wall's coming down?
No, not during the strip-out and structural phase. The room needs to be cleared and the existing units disconnected before the wall comes down, and dust from taking down blockwork and plastering isn't something you want near food prep. Most people manage with a kettle and microwave elsewhere in the house until the new kitchen's fitted.
How long does an open plan kitchen conversion take?
It depends on whether the wall's load bearing and how much rewiring and replumbing the new layout needs, but between building control approval, the structural work, first-fix electrics and plumbing, plastering, and the kitchen fit itself, most conversions run several weeks rather than days. We give you the actual programme once we've done the structural assessment, not before.
Do I need to move my gas hob if I'm opening up the kitchen?
Not always, but if the new layout puts the hob on an island or a different wall, the gas supply needs relocating and re-commissioning by a Gas Safe registered engineer, which we handle as part of the job rather than bringing in a separate contractor.
What's not included in the price?
A party wall agreement with a neighbour, garden work beyond new bi-fold or sliding doors, decorating rooms outside the new open plan footprint, furniture for the new dining or living area, and air conditioning all sit outside the core build. We'll flag any of these that apply to your project and price them separately if you want them included.
What guarantee do you offer on the structural and fitting work?
Labour and installation are covered by a 5-year guarantee and products by a 2-year guarantee, covering the kitchen build itself as well as the electrics, plumbing and plastering carried out as part of the conversion.
What's not included in the price?
A party wall agreement with a neighbour, garden work beyond new bi-fold or sliding doors, decorating rooms outside the new open plan footprint, furniture for the new dining or living area, and air conditioning all sit outside the core build. We'll flag any of these that apply to your project and price them separately if you want them included.
What guarantee do you offer on the structural and fitting work?
Labour and installation are covered by a 5-year guarantee and products by a 2-year guarantee, covering the kitchen build itself as well as the electrics, plumbing and plastering carried out as part of the conversion.
Get a Structural Assessment Before You Commit to a Design
The only way to know what your wall actually needs, and what it'll cost, is a site visit - and it's free. Book yours and we'll tell you honestly whether the wall's load bearing, what building control will need, and what a kitchen-diner or kitchen-living layout could look like in your own rooms.
Kitchen Fitters Derby, Fitted Kitchens, Derby
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