Where to start...? (Kitchen reno incl. knocking through wall etc)

[MoHunter]

I'm looking to project manage our kitchen diner conversion as I only work part time. Looking for experiences and where to go first - for our new kitchen we are looking to knock down a wall (may or may not be a load bearing wall), add a new wall, look at changing a conservatory door (potentially discuss converting the conservatory to an extension but expect this will be too expensive). Kitchen sink will be moved so pipework involved, electrics, the lot...

Do I start with a structural engineer or an architect? (Do I need an architect?) Or should I speak with a kitchen fitter first to work out things like ideal positioning of new wall (we currently have a diner/living room with separate galley kitchen and will change this to a kitchen/diner with a separate lounge/snug)?

Has anyone done similar recently? I'd be interested in how much this has cost you and how you did it?

Floorplan attached if that helps - the "Family room" is technically a conservatory but it has a solid ceiling/roof and is used as part of the house, however there is an external style folding door between lounge and family room (which won't be practical to keep), and a normal internal door into current kitchen. I assume a structural engineer would know all about relevant building regs etc?
The family room will likely become the new dining area.

Any insights appreciated!

What walls are you taking down/ adding?

Sorry not a great sketch but looking to take down the current main kitchen wall, and add a wall to separate the lounge/snug at the front of the house.
Not sure what if anything we can do with the family room/conservatory space other, but worst case we'd have a better sized L shaped kitchen and dining area in the family room.

I would do a good drawing to scale of exactly what you want in terms of walls, doors, windows, and rough layout of kitchen units.

If you struggle with this then it is worth getting an architect.

If you can get a rough plan then you can get a structural engineer round to check it is feasible. They can often give rough ideas if cost too.

You don't need an architect for that, at most an architectural technician, but a good builder will be all you need for that, it's quite basic in terms of renovations. Is the right hand side a single storey extension? If so I'd say the right hand wall of the existing kitchen is structural if the main house and you'll need a structural engineer to design a steel for support. If you can draw a scale plan of the new kitchen space you can go to a kitchen company to design that.

Thank you!

@Sanch1 nope it's all two stories, the right hand side (utility/shower room and study) was converted a long time ago. However that wall will remain, as I really like having a separate utility room!

I'm fairly confident with measuring and should manage to draw it up so I'll forego the architect and start doing some drawings to discuss with the structural engineer. However I'd like advice on details as I'm not set on what to have where in the kitchen, so I guess a kitchen company could help me with that once I know the exact space I'll have?

Sorry I meant left hand side! Totally changes what I meant.

And yes, once you've decided on walls etc to remove, and you know the space, locations of windows/doors etc, go to a kitchen company who will generally do a design for free or small fee. We used kettle Co kitchens for our design, then bought it from DIY kitchens, and got a seperate fitter.

Ah, I see! No the left hand side up to the family room is all the original house. 😃The family room/conservatory at the back is the only single story part of the house. The backend of the kitchen is also single story (only up to where the utility room starts) so this was likely extended when the conservatory was put in decades ago, I imagine...

We are in the middle of doing something similar, you need a structural engineer. But yes definitely you need some sort of plan drawn whether you do it yourself or you get someone to draw them (we got an architect technician to draw this and you can add on the structural engineer service if you wish). Many of the builders needed the structural engineer input before they would quote.

For the kitchen, we have reached out to kitchen companies with dimensions, beam locations, doors and window locations and got them to design it for us as we were choosing between brands. We didn't pay for any of the designs (most designed something similar actually for the space).

Hope that helps in a way

There is an independent kitchen designer lurking on here somewhere. Maybe Sarah from one plan or something like that? She has done planning for quite a lot of mumsnetters I think.

It’s Karen from OnePlan (online and on Houzz) and she is incredibly helpful - she hangs out on the DIY Kitchens Facebook page. I wish we’d used her as it would have been cost-neutral in terms of her fee cancelling out the extra expense of having to order different cabinets when we made a mistake.

I haven’t done this exactly but I did oversee our extension last year which involved a new kitchen and turning the existing kitchen into a utility and downstairs loo.

My advised for what it’s worth, would be to engage an independent designer like Karen above rather than going to kitchen companies, unless you know a good independent firm local to you, in which case they are often very good. I found Howdens and Magnet wanted me to tell them what to draw (sorry if that sounds patronising but it’s how it felt to me) rather than offering me different ideas of how we could do things. Although this can be very branch-dependent.

In terms of kitchen planning, it is a good idea to look at where mains services are, external walls for extraction, and whether any changes are needed, eg gas hob to induction, or whether you want things like a dishwasher or sink in a very different place. For example, on your drawing, I’d keep water-using appliances on the side of the existing kitchen to avoid re-routing pipes. Think about a triangle of hob-sink-fridge and how people will move round the space (you don’t want everyone under your feet getting drinks when you’re trying to serve up). There’s a kitchen lessons learned thread on here which I found very helpful.

Thanks! I am terrible at remembering names!