Can I remove this partition? What to check before opening the kitchen to the living room

Do not decide from the sound or apparent thickness

Tapping a wall, measuring it or looking at its material can provide clues, but none proves that it can be removed. Before opening the kitchen to the living room, find the original plans, check the direction of floor slabs and beams, inspect columns and junctions, and locate chases, pipes, cables or ducts. A technician should compare those clues with what was actually built. The practical decision is to separate the design question —how wide an opening you want— from the technical check —what can be altered safely—.

If structure is involved, the solution and quote change

The Basic Document on Structural Safety sets rules and procedures for meeting the building's essential requirements. An opening in a structural element cannot be priced like the removal of a partition: it may need calculations, designed reinforcement, temporary propping and a specific construction sequence. This does not mean every opening is impossible; it means the solution must be designed before work begins. Ask the quote to identify demolition, reinforcement, protection, checks and reinstatement of finishes separately.

Opening the kitchen also changes the airflow path

DB HS 3 requires adequate ventilation and, in homes, organises airflow from dry rooms towards kitchens and bathrooms, which have extraction. When combining the kitchen and living room, do not assume that a window or cooker hood solves everything: review openings, transfer paths and existing ducts, as well as the exhaust requirements of installed equipment. Decide the kitchen layout, hob position and suspended ceiling together with ventilation; moving them later can alter several items in the quote.

The owners' association matters even for work inside the flat

Spain's Horizontal Property Law allows private elements to be modified when the building's safety, general structure and external configuration, and other owners' rights, are not impaired; it also requires prior notice to the association's representative. Review the building rules, plans and common elements before touching columns, facades, shared stacks or ducts. This guide does not replace checking the municipal permissions or the specific rules that apply to the building.

What to prepare for comparable renovation quotes

When contacting renovation companies, prepare a plan showing the desired opening —full, partial or with a door—, dimensions, photographs from both sides and the position of columns, radiators, sockets, water, gas, extraction and air conditioning. Add available building documents, the technician's instructions and the association's conditions. Give everyone the same scope: protection, demolition, waste removal, structure where required, services, ventilation, ceilings, floors, painting, technical documents and permits. You will compare a complete solution, not just the price of knocking down a wall.

Sources consulted

• Technical Building Code: Structural Safety
• Basic Document HS Health
• Law 49/1960 of 21 July on horizontal property