Knock-through walls in Meriden

Planning your knock-through in Meriden

Work inside your Meriden home isn't development, so planning permission doesn't apply — the exception is a listed building, where Solihull Council would need to give listed building consent. Structural work, new electrics and drainage changes come under Building Regulations.

Keep the completion certificate and engineer's calculations safe, as a buyer's solicitor will ask for them.
If you have a loft conversion, opening the hallway may break your protected escape route, so the fire strategy needs checking first.
Textured ceilings applied before 2000 should be tested for asbestos before they're cut or disturbed.

Postcode district: CV7
Planning and building control: Solihull Council
From our West Bromwich base: 16 miles

Which options suit homes in Meriden?

Through-lounge

Joining the front and back reception rooms gives one long room with light from both ends. The wall between them is often load-bearing, and on some houses a chimney breast sits nearby, which needs its own support if it's removed. A partial opening with nibs left either side can be a good compromise on cost and structure.

Wide opening instead of full removal

Keeping short sections of wall at each end, or a bulkhead above, lets you open two rooms up while keeping some separation and somewhere to put furniture. It can mean a shorter, lighter steel, and it sometimes gives a better result where the two floors are at slightly different levels or the ceilings don't line up.

How much should you budget in Meriden?

For a home in Meriden, our guide range is £1,200–£14,000 depending on size and specification. Opening up a 3.5 m load-bearing wall between kitchen and dining room in a semi: usually £4,500–£6,800.

Guide prices for knock-through walls
Option	Guide price	Good to know
Non-load-bearing wall removed	£1,200 – £2,800	No steel, mostly making good
Load-bearing wall with steel beam (up to about 4 m)	£3,800 – £7,500	The usual kitchen-diner or through-lounge
Wide span, chimney breast or multiple steels	£7,500 – £14,000	Bigger steels, more propping and making good

Guide ranges include VAT where it applies. A free survey turns this guide into a fixed, itemised price.

Questions about knock-through walls in Meriden

How messy is it, and can we stay at home?

You can stay at home, but expect dust and noise for a few days. We seal doorways with dust sheets and zip doors, protect floors, and take rubble straight out to a skip or bags. The two rooms being joined will be out of use, and the kitchen may be too, if the wall involved is the kitchen wall.

Which postcodes in Meriden do you work in?

We cover CV7 and the streets around them. If you're on the edge of Meriden, neighbouring Allesley and Earlsdon are covered too.

How long does a knock-through take?

Most take 1–2 weeks on site. The steel usually takes one to two weeks to make after the engineer's calculations are approved, so allow three to five weeks from instruction to finished walls. The wall removal and steel installation themselves typically take two to four days; plastering, drying and refitting sockets take up the rest.

Does Solihull Council need to approve my knock-through?

Not for planning — internal work isn't development unless the house is listed. Building Regulations approval is needed for structural work such as removing a load-bearing wall, through Solihull Council or a registered building control approver.

Nearby places we cover

Other work we do in Meriden

Book a free visit in Meriden and we'll tell you whether your wall is likely to need steel before you commit to anything.