City of Ryde · postcode 2114
Home Renovations in Melrose Park: Opening Up a 1950s Kitchen
The kitchen was built for one person with the door shut. That was 1958.
Melrose Park's older streets are lined with post-war cottages whose kitchens sit behind a wall, a door and a serving hatch. Across the road, brand-new apartments sell open-plan living. Opening that kitchen up is usually the single change that makes these houses feel current.
Short answer
Can I turn a closed 1950s Melrose Park kitchen into an open-plan kitchen?
Usually, yes. The wall between kitchen and dining is often load-bearing, so an engineer specifies a beam and a certifier or council approves the structural change first. Budget for rewiring and a new switchboard circuit for induction, and plumbing if the sink moves. A mid-range kitchen is $19,500 to $22,000 on Rawlinsons Sydney rates, before the wall, beam and electrical upgrades.
Written and reviewed by Oliver Alameri
Licensed builder, NSW Contractor Licence 487805C · Founder, Buildana
Fact-checked
Is that wall holding up the roof?
In a lot of post-war houses, the wall between kitchen and dining runs down the middle of the house and carries the ceiling joists, sometimes the roof struts too. Remove it without support and the ceiling sags. Remove it properly and nobody ever knows it was there.
Properly means an engineer inspects the roof space, then specifies a beam, usually steel or engineered timber, sized for the span, with posts or piers carrying the load down to footings. Structural changes need approval before work starts, either as complying development or a DA.
- Roof space checked for joists, struts and ceiling loads
- Beam and posts designed by a structural engineer
- New footings where point loads come down
- Approval in place before the wall comes out
A wall that's been there since 1958 has earned an engineer's visit before it goes.
Power, plumbing and the new layout
A 1950s kitchen ran on a stove circuit and a couple of power points. An induction cooktop, wall ovens, dishwasher, rangehood and a bench full of appliances need dedicated circuits, safety switches and often a switchboard upgrade. Old wiring behind the walls gets replaced while they're open.
Moving the sink to an island means running waste pipes under the floor. On a timber floor, easy. On a slab, it means cutting a trench. It's worth deciding early whether the island gets the sink or stays a clean bench.
The rangehood should vent outside through the roof or an external wall. Recirculating hoods are a compromise in an open-plan room where every smell reaches the lounge.
Ready to lose the serving hatch?
Point your phone at the kitchen wall you'd like gone, take a shot, and send it with the street address. I'll explain what that wall is probably doing and what opening up would cost.
0476 300 300Making the open plan feel right
Removing a wall creates one long room. Zone it: kitchen at the back near the yard, dining in the middle with the best light, living toward the front. Ceiling bulkheads from an old wall line can be kept as a subtle divider or flushed out completely.
Floors have to run through unbroken. Where the old kitchen had vinyl and the dining room had boards, new flooring across both is part of the budget, not an afterthought.
Approvals and cost
Replacing kitchen cabinets on the same plumbing is usually exempt. Removing a load-bearing wall is structural, so it needs complying development or a development application with the City of Ryde; merit applications typically take 11 to 15 weeks.
Rawlinsons' Sydney schedule has a mid-range kitchen, including its plumbing and electrical, at $19,500 to $22,000. The beam, posts, electrical upgrade, flooring through to the dining room and making good the ceiling are priced separately from the engineer's design.
Before the wall comes down
What I check in any Melrose Park kitchen opening.
- 01
What does the wall carry: ceiling joists, roof struts or both?
- 02
Is the floor timber on bearers or a concrete slab?
- 03
Can the switchboard take induction and new circuits?
- 04
Will the sink move to an island?
- 05
Where will the rangehood duct out?
- 06
Does the flooring need to run through to the dining room?
Opening up kitchens in Melrose Park
How do I know if a wall is load-bearing?
A builder or engineer checks the roof space to see whether ceiling joists or roof struts rest on it. Never assume from the room side.
Do I need approval to remove a kitchen wall?
If it's structural, yes: complying development or a DA. Non-structural partition walls can often be removed without approval.
Do I need a new switchboard for an induction cooktop?
Often in older homes. Induction needs a dedicated circuit, and many post-war boards don't have the capacity or safety switches required.
How long does an open-plan kitchen renovation take?
Typically six to ten weeks on site once approved, depending on structural work, flooring and cabinet manufacture times.
Sources and references
Costs are from the Rawlinsons handbook with the local cost index applied; rules and timeframes are checked against the sources below.
One room where there used to be three.
A Melrose Park kitchen opened up properly, from the roof space down.