wwyd - planning kitchen for our new house

[imme]

Completed on our house today. It needs a lot of work and we are currently planning what we want doing. Have already booked plumber and electrician to get basics done and now looking at bathroom and kitchen and the extent of the work required there. The kitchen has an extension which is basically where the old outside toilet used to be. Currently there is still a pillar, i.e. essentially a piece of outside wall of the house separating the kitchen and the extension. Ideally I would like this to be removed before putting a new kitchen in. This would probably involve adding a supporting beam.
DH is a bit more frugal than me and thinks we should get this done at some point in the future but avoid the expense for now. But he still wants to go ahead putting in a new kitchen.
WWYD - I would just like to get it all done at the same time rather than having the mess of removing the piece of wall at a later date when we already have a new kitchen in there.
Would be great to get some opinions from people out there!
Cheers

[FraterculaArctica]

I'd get it all done now. My DP did something v similar in his previous house - the building work WAS messy (and, in this case, slow!) - you'd have to substantially re-fit the kitchen if you put the beam in later. More expensive in the short term, but will save you money and time in the long run to get it right now (and presumably give you a bigger & brighter kitchen?)

[wendybird77]

Ha, we've had this exact conversation. No answers from experience, but my preference is to do it all at once if you have the money. I would think it would be less expensive to do as part of a bigger job and it get's the mess done with once. Also, if your DH is anything like mine he will get used to it as it is and never want to finish the job. I've learned over the years just to do it like I want and DH then gets used to it

[tricot39]

Removing a load bearing wall is dirty and messy. The people who do this work are not necessarily gentle types. If you do it later you will trash all the nice stuff you have just paid out for and suffered through.

All work should follow this rough order:
Structural work
first fix electrics
first fix plumbing
plastering
second fix electrics
first fix joinery/carcassing
second fix plumbing
joinery final fitting

doing it out of order is painful and costs more.

Do not start on anything until you have planned your kitchen and bathroom out otherwise the first fix will be in the wrong place. It's like chess you have to be thinking 10 moves ahead - if not know exactly what you want (apart from colours perhaps) at the beginning. Eg the floor finish and thickness will affect the height of sockets etc

[Brycie]

I feel sorry for your husband because he probably has his head in his hands at the thought but in my opinion you are absolutely right. If you don't get it done now, and you put in a lovely new kitchen, you'll never get it done at all, I think I would actually put a bet on that right now. I think you'd never do it.