Wall removal is taking out an internal wall to open up rooms; where the wall is load-bearing, a steel beam sized by a structural engineer is installed on padstones to carry the weight above, with the work approved by building control.
Whatever type of house you own in Chichester, we start by looking at how removing a wall would fit it rather than offering a standard package. We cover PO19 and neighbouring places such as Bognor Regis, Emsworth and Havant. One named person looks after you from survey to handover, and nothing is booked until you hold our figure in writing, fixed for the work described.
- Guide price
- £3,400–£9,000 inc VAT
- Time on site
- 1–3 weeks including making good
- Postcodes
- PO19
- Planning rules
- England
- Local area
- West Sussex
- Survey
- Free, with a written quote
How much does removing a wall cost in Chichester?
Budgeting for removing a wall in Chichester? The numbers below include VAT and are adjusted for the South East, where costs are about 12% above the national guide. The headline range is £3,400–£9,000. Nothing is final until we have measured up at a free survey and agreed the specification with you.
| Type of job | What it usually involves | Guide in Chichester |
|---|---|---|
| Non-load-bearing wall | Removing a stud or block partition and making good walls, ceiling and floor. | £900–£2,200 |
| Load-bearing wall up to 4m | A typical kitchen-diner knock-through with one steel beam, calculations and building control. | £3,400–£9,000 |
| Wide or complex opening | Openings over 4m, posts, flush beams or chimney breast removal. | £9,000–£18,000 |
Your price depends mostly on:
- Opening width and the load the wall carries
- Services in the wall that need rerouting
- Floor and ceiling repairs where the wall stood
- Engineer, building control and any party wall costs
What’s included?
- Structural engineer's calculations and beam specification
- Building control application and inspections
- Temporary propping and dust protection during the work
- Wall taken down and waste removed from site
- Beam boarded or treated for fire protection
- Plastering, flooring repairs and making good ready for decorating
What are homes like around Chichester?
Chichester has Georgian brick streets, Downland villages use flint and brick, and Horsham stone slabs cover some older roofs. Worthing and Bognor Regis have interwar and post-war bungalows and semis, Crawley was planned as a post-war new town, and Wealden villages to the north feature tile-hanging and timber framing.
Coastal towns face salt-laden south-westerly winds, while Wealden clay inland can shrink and swell with the seasons.
Whatever era your Chichester home dates from, we plan removing a wall around how it is actually built rather than a one-size-fits-all specification.
Do you need permission in Chichester?
Each UK nation sets its own consent rules, and Chichester is in England. What follows is a plain summary; we check the specifics for your property with the council before pricing anything.
Removing an internal wall does not need planning permission in England unless the house is listed.
If the wall is load-bearing, Building Regulations approval is needed, with a structural engineer’s calculations for the steel beam and padstones. Where the beam bears on a shared wall, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies.
Rules change and every property is different, so we check the planning history and constraints for your address before we quote.
What happens after you get in touch?
We look at the job
Book a visit and we'll come to you. The survey covers measurements, the state of what's there now and any obvious constraints, so the price that follows is based on your actual home, not an average.
Written quote
Next you receive a written quote with a fixed price for the agreed specification. It lists what is included, what is not, and how payments are staged, so you can compare it properly.
Dates and permissions
With the quote agreed, we book the work in and handle preparation: permissions where needed, building control notifications, material orders and access arrangements for your Chichester property.
Finish and handover
During the work we protect the areas around it and tidy up at the end of each day. Once complete, we check the finish, remove our materials and hand over paperwork such as building control sign-off where it applies.
What you can expect from us
Common questions
How do I know if a wall is load-bearing?
A wall is load-bearing if it carries weight from above, such as floor joists, another wall, the roof or a chimney. Clues include joists running across the wall rather than alongside it, and walls lined up with walls on the floor above. Brick or block walls are often structural but not always. We check from above and below during the survey, and an engineer confirms the design.
What is a steel beam and why is it needed?
A steel beam, often called an RSJ, is a strong steel section installed where a load-bearing wall used to be, so the weight above is carried across the opening to the walls at each end. It sits on padstones that spread the load. The size depends on the span and the load, which a structural engineer calculates. The beam is then boxed in or plastered.
Does the Party Wall Act apply to wall removal?
The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies in England and Wales only. Removing an internal wall usually does not involve it, but if the beam bears into a wall shared with a neighbour, as is common in terraced and semi-detached houses, you must serve notice first. Scotland and Northern Ireland have no equivalent Act. We tell you during the survey whether notices are needed.
Do you cover Bognor Regis, Emsworth and Havant?
Yes. As well as Chichester, we cover Bognor Regis, Emsworth and Havant and the rest of West Sussex. Our coverage is UK-wide, so the process is the same wherever you are: a free site survey, a quote in writing that fixes the price for the agreed scope, and one point of contact while the work is planned and carried out.
Do I need planning permission in Chichester?
It depends on the work, the size of the project, your property type and whether the building is listed or in a conservation area. Chichester is in England, so England's rules apply. Many smaller jobs need no planning application, but some still need building control approval. We check what applies to your address before quoting.
Near Chichester
Addresses in PO19 are all covered for Chichester, along with Bognor Regis, Emsworth and Havant close by. Give us your postcode when you get in touch and we will confirm the details.