open plan kitchen

[delhard]

i am considering removing the stud wall and door between my kitchen and dining room. the living room/dining room is already open plan so this will mean no doors downstairs. are there any building regs preventing this?

 

[Richard C]

Not as far as I know but think carefully before you do it; open plan accommodation like this is very fashionable at the moment but one of the big drawbacks is that even with a good external extractor, your living area & even the bedrooms will end up reeking of whatever food you’re cooking & it can get overpoweringly hot! My daughter lived in a modern, new open plan penthouse apartment for 2 years & by the time she moved out 3 months ago she was totally fed up with it & swore she would never live in another open plan property.

 

[JohnD]

I agree.

One floor of my house is like that and you wouldn't want to cook bacon, kippers or a curry. I am even thinking about putting in a partitition of glazed doors so I can shut off the cooking area.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Its possible there may be some issues with regard to escape in the event of a fire, if your current escape route from the first floor goes downstairs and out without going through the kitchen (which is likely I would think) and opening up living room/kitchen etc meant that the only way to escape would be via your existing living room then you would need an alternative means of escape ie one that didn't involve going through the living room. If the escape route is separate then there shouldn't be any fire issues, although a compliant fire door between your living room (now with a kitchen in it) and the entrance hallway is likely to be required to comply. Easy enough to check with building control to be honest, they're a helpful bunch usually and you can ask 'hypothetical' questions and not give your details.