Kitchen makeover- knocking a wall down- who does it?

[LucilleBalls]

Asking for an elderly friend who's not on MN.

She wants to knock down an internal wall between the dining room and kitchen to make one larger room. It appears the wall is not brick (ie a supporting wall) but obviously she needs to check. There is a radiator presently on the dining room wall.

Her budget is on the lower side so she's looking at B&Q and Magnet kitchen ranges.

Would they do the DIY on the wall, or would she need a builder to do that first?

Builder first , I'm not sure magnet are on the cheaper side .

Definitely a builder first and definitely not Magnet. Although there is certainly room for negotiation on price with them.

Assuming she wants a design service, she could pay an independent designer to do a plan with DIY Kitchens. I would also suggest asking the builder about their Howdens discount. And maybe looking at Wickes - seems to vary by branch but ours gets very good reviews locally for their design service.

Magnet are not budget. I had a really good experience with Wren.

Builder first. Ikea is a good budget option but you do need to factor in assembling the carcasses, which is either DIY or a willing kitchen fitter but in that case you end up paying for the labour and it can end up balancing out the same as ready-assembled carcasses.

Ok thank you.

Ignoring the kitchen unit supplier, the main issue is whether it needs an architect to assess the wall and the need (or not) for a supporting beam.

We did this through a local architect/building company.
Architect came to house with an engineer as we needed a building warrant from council to remove supporting wall. They needed to put in a steel beam.
The company provided all the tradespeople so we paid a little more than going it alone but it meant everything got done quickly. Waal down, plasterers, plumber to move radiator and plumb new kitchen, electrician to rewire, joiner to fit kitchen and fit new flooring. B and Q were cheapest when we looked but then had a long delivery time. Went with Howdens instead. A lot of joiners/companies can get a discount and they price match on some things.

We used Wickes and they arranged the builder to knock our wall down, they took all the stress out of managing the trades.

Interesting about Wickes, we had promises of them getting a builder to take a wall out but when the quote was printed, was asked to sort our own builder out.

Also had a quote to take out a wall of a galley kitchen to make into kitchen/diner 5 years ago, 40k. Was the only person to turn up.

40k????? I'm actually getting quotes for this atm - it'd better be a lot cheaper!

Get a builder round first to look at it, then a structural engineer to work out if the wall to be removed needs a support. If not, the builder can crack on, if yes, the SE can calculate the steel and give to the builder. Then the council can sign everything off. I also recommend Wickes, DIY kitchen if you can do the kitchen plan, or Howdens through your builder. Don't forget you'll need a plasterer, electrician and plumber (unless you go for the fitting via the kitchen company) so ask the builder if he has any of these contacts. Don't get an independent kitchen fitter to do all the plumbing and electrics (this is just from my experience of poor electrics). If the wall is load bearing, budget £5k for this (I'm in the NW and this would be an overestimate)

I’m in the middle of exactly this as part of a property development. Yes you need to consult a qualified person to confirm how to remove the wall. To give you an idea of the costs involved (some of which will be the same roughly wherever you are) for context work is in a Home Counties area in a commuter belt town with parking on the property. Difficult access or inability to park a skip off-road will increase costs. General Builder contractor that I work with looked at it first to confirm load bearing, then structural engineer, then trades will come in (managed by me). This is a non party wall so check this before you start as otherwise you’ll need a party wall agreement (prices vary but around £1500 if executed by a surveyor).
1.builder assessment-free as part of works
2.SE £500+VAT for calculations of the Steel beam.
3.building control consulting before and after beam installation- £312 (local council) bear in mind you cannot encase the beam ready for plastering until after installation has been carried out and checked by BC and times vary in terms of how long they take.
4.Steel beam costs £690 plus specialist plate welding costs as spec
5.padstones £75
6.Specialist beam lift machinery £200
(bear in mind if access is awkward, to facilitate entry into the lintel, builder may need to create a hole in another wall to allow it to slide into place)
7.strip out and install team (for me this was a 3 man team one day to strip out and one day to install the beam so 6 man days) labour costs will vary.

I use ikea for kitchens as I find them easy to work with, quick delivery and you can return anything unopened easily, there is a long warranty (and little chance of them going bust) and they are happy for you to buy your own worktops, appliances third party. They can also give advice as to how to reduce costs if you are on a budget. You can also find many bargains in their bargain corner to reduce costs that also have their warranty (I picked up a £399 integrated extractor fan this week for £159 plus some door fronts at about 75% less)I use my own fitters as theirs cost significantly more. Make sure you go in with all of your measurements though. I avoid Howdens specifically because of their opaque pricing policy. I’ve heard good things about DIY kitchens but have never used them.

HTH, good luck with the works.