To ask you to talk me through getting a wall knocked through?

[ThisGoldHedgehog]

Just that, really. We want to knock down the wall between our living room and kitchen. I’ve been online and, try as I might, I can’t figure out the steps. If someone could talk me through them like I was very stupid (as I clearly am) it would be much appreciated.

What’s the sequence of events? Do I get a structural engineer in first? Do builders handle getting in the structural engineers? As it’s an internal wall, do I need planning permission? I’ll want some sort of door and the radiator will need to be moved, so I need to get someone else in for that?

Please help.

For an internal wall, you don't need planning permission.
What you do need though is to check that it isn't a load bearing wall. You can easily check this yourself by the way the floorboards in the rooms above that wall run.
If it's a load bearing wall then you will need an RSJ installing.
A builder will be able to tell you, they will check when they come to give a quote for the work. You don't need a structural engineer.

@ThisGoldHedgehog I would not necessarily trust a builder but if you do, find an experienced one! You must know if it’s a load bearing wall or not. If it is, it’s normal for a structural engineer to do the calcs for the rsj and how it is to be fitted. The reason installation matters is because the ends of the rsj must be embedded in the walls at either end so it doesn’t twist out of place in a fire. Building regs should approve it but not planning.

If it’s load bearing, you will need props installed to support the floor above prior to the rsj being installed. Some builders will want an engineer to assess the span if it’s quite long. If you want all the wall gone, the builder must work out how to safely install the beam at either end with no piers.

When the wall is coming down, make sure lots of plastic sheets shield the rooms and don’t let any builder near your vacuum cleaner! Brick/plaster dust is terminal!

Thank you both for responding (even though you aren’t saying quite the same thing, which confuses me even more). 🤣

Start by contacting some middling sized builders; ask around for recommendations and get two or three quotes. They will

• quickly work out whether the wall is load bearing or not
• advise whether a structural engineer is needed or not
• sort out building regs
• find all the trades to do all the plumbing, plastering, joinery etc

I know 'find a reputable builder' is terrifying but start with checkatrade/Facebook/school parents etc - local builders rely on word of mouth and reputation and will be unlikely to do a crap job for fear of word getting round.

We knocked through a load-bearing wall last year. We have a lot of house resting on that wall, so we got a structural engineer in who gave us plans. I then passed those plans onto a builder who ordered the required steel and knocked through for us.

The steel went into a shared wall between us and the neighbour, so I spoke to them beforehand to tell them our plan. I think I was supposed to get her to sign a Party Wall agreement to say they're fine with this but we never did (I forgot to organise it).

Final piece of the puzzle was to sort out plastering, painting, and making the new threshold nice with a massive piece of wood.

If it’s a load bearing wall you do need a structural engineer and they need to do the beam calculations and the work will need to be inspected by building control. If you do not do this it will cause issues when you wish to sell your house.

If it’s a stud wall, it can just be removed.

We did it using YouTube!

Every single wall in our house is brick, so we had to work out whether it was load bearing. We found a YouTube tutorial showing us how to cut holes in the ceiling, then use a phone and torch to see if the wall is holding up any joists.

It wasn't so we started knocking down the top bit, got an electrician to move the sockets from the wall, then removed the entire wall.

The ceiling was going to be replastered anyway so cutting holes in it wasn't an issue.

Hmmm… stud walls can be load bearing, they can’t necessarily “just be removed”

Find a recommended builder and go from there

Thank you all!

If your house is a terrace or semi its likely you will need 'party wall' agreement. This in turn will mean you need a chartered surveyor, and is a lengthy process - our neighbours did similar to your plan and it created a huge amount of animosity, cost us money and ultimately led to us selling our house. If you don't get one you can be subject to legal action, huge costs etc. Definitely worth having a chat with your neighbours at early stages