Open Plan Conversions

About our open plan conversions service

Open plan conversions are the projects that change how a Nottingham house feels without necessarily changing its size. Most homes built before the 1980s were planned as a series of separate rooms: a front room, a back room, a narrow kitchen, a hallway. Taking down one or two of the walls between them creates a kitchen, dining and living space that suits how most households actually live now — cooking while children do homework, eating together, watching the garden. Done well, it is the highest-impact change per pound spent that a house can have.

We design and build open plan conversions as one contract because almost every one involves a load-bearing wall, and load-bearing wall removal is a structural job first and a decorating job a long way second. The wall you want to remove is very often carrying the first-floor joists, a roof load, or the wall above it. Removing it means a steel beam designed by a structural engineer, padstones sized for the bearing, temporary propping while the beam goes in, a building control application and inspection, and — in semi-detached and terraced houses — Party Wall notices where the beam bears into a shared wall.

The first visit is about establishing what is holding what up. We look at the direction of the joists, the position of walls above, the roof structure and the existing lintels and openings. Many Nottingham houses have been altered before, sometimes without records, and the wall that looks like a partition may have been made load-bearing by a previous change. Where necessary we open up small inspection areas before anything is priced, so the quotation is based on what is there rather than what is assumed.

The structural design decides the look of the finished room more than most people expect. A beam can sit within the floor depth so the ceiling runs through flush, or as a downstand below the ceiling, and the choice depends on span, load and the joist arrangement. Longer openings may need an intermediate column or a goalpost frame. We show these options on the drawings with dimensions, because a flush ceiling and a visible downstand produce very different rooms, and the cost difference should be a decision you make consciously.

Open plan living also changes the services and the fire strategy. Heating usually needs rebalancing or re-zoning because a single large space behaves differently from three small ones. Electrical circuits are typically reworked to suit an island, new lighting zones and appliance positions. If the staircase currently lands in a room that becomes open plan, the escape route may need attention under the Building Regulations, especially where there is a loft conversion above. We resolve all of this at design stage.

A good open plan conversion also thinks about what you lose. Removing walls removes wall space — for storage, radiators, sockets and furniture — and it removes acoustic separation. Part of the design is deciding what stays: a broken-plan arrangement with a partial wall or a wide cased opening often works better than a completely clear space, and we will say so if that is our view.

On site, a straightforward single-wall removal with making good is typically completed in one to three weeks. A full ground-floor re-plan with a new kitchen, reworked heating and electrics, new flooring throughout and decoration runs six to twelve weeks. The disruptive phase — propping, beam installation and initial making good — is compressed into the first days. Most households remain in the house, with a temporary kitchen arrangement agreed before we start.

We are based in West Bridgford and work across Nottingham and roughly twenty-five miles around it. The housing stock is familiar — Victorian and Edwardian terraces in Sherwood, Lenton and Beeston, 1930s semis in Wollaton and Mapperley, post-war homes in Clifton, Arnold and Carlton — and so are the local building control teams. That familiarity shortens the design stage and reduces surprises on site.

What's included

• Structural survey and opening-up

  Joist direction, walls above, roof loads and previous alterations checked, with inspection areas opened where needed before pricing.

• Layout and beam design options

  Full open plan, broken plan and wide-opening arrangements compared, with flush or downstand beam options shown on the drawings.

• Structural engineering

  Beam, padstone and bearing calculations by a structural engineer, submitted to building control.

• Building control and party wall

  Application, inspection stages and completion certificate handled; Party Wall notices identified where beams bear into shared walls.

• Heating, electrical and plumbing rework

  Circuits, lighting zones, radiator or underfloor heating positions and kitchen services redesigned for the new space.

• Kitchen, flooring and finishes

  New kitchen installation, continuous flooring, plaster, decoration and joinery under the same contract.

Key benefits

• Transforms the house without extending it

  The change in how the ground floor works is often greater than an extension would deliver, at a fraction of the cost and programme.

• Daylight travels further

  Removing internal walls lets light from the rear windows reach the middle of the plan that was previously the darkest part of the house.

• A layout for how you actually live

  Kitchen, dining and living become one space, so the household is together rather than separated by walls.

• Structure designed, not improvised

  Every opening is engineered, inspected and certificated, which protects the house and your position when you sell.

• Short programme

  A single wall removal is measured in days; a full ground-floor re-plan is measured in weeks rather than months.

• One team, no gaps

  Design, structure, approvals, building work and finishes are handled together, so nothing falls between trades.

Project types we cover

• Load-bearing wall removal between kitchen and dining room
• Knock-through of front and back reception rooms
• Kitchen, dining and living open plan conversions
• Broken-plan layouts with partial walls or cased openings
• Open plan conversions combined with a rear extension
• Ground-floor re-plans with new kitchen and utility
• Structural openings for bifold or sliding doors

Our process

1. 1
   Structural visit

   We establish which walls are load-bearing, what they carry and whether previous alterations affect the design.

2. 2
   Layout options

   Full open plan, broken plan and wide-opening arrangements compared with beam options and a cost range.

3. 3
   Engineering and building control

   Calculations completed and submitted; Party Wall notices identified where required.

4. 4
   Fixed price and programme

   Itemised written quotation with a stage-by-stage programme and a temporary kitchen plan where relevant.

5. 5
   Build

   Propping, beam installation, making good, then services, plaster, kitchen, flooring and decoration.

6. 6
   Completion

   Snagging, building control completion certificate, and a twelve-month defects period.

Why choose Design N Build Construction Company

• Structure first

  We treat wall removal as the engineering project it is, with calculations, inspections and certification.

• Honest about what you lose

  If a fully open plan will leave you short of wall space, storage or acoustic separation, we say so and show alternatives.

• Local to Nottingham

  Based in West Bridgford, working within twenty-five miles, so the housing stock and building control teams are familiar.

• Beam options shown, not assumed

  Flush or downstand, column or clear span — you see the difference on drawings before it is built.

• Finishes included

  Kitchen, flooring, plaster and decoration are part of the same contract, so the room is finished, not just opened.

• Written programme, weekly updates

  You know the sequence and the current stage in writing throughout.

Frequently asked questions

Talk to us about your project

If you are looking at a wall and wondering whether it can come out, the useful next step is to have us look at what it is carrying. Call or WhatsApp us to arrange a visit anywhere in Nottingham and the surrounding towns; we will assess the structure, show you the layout options and follow up in writing with a realistic cost range.