My wife and I recently purchased a four-bedroom detached property built in the 1980s.

I'm not convinced we need to, but my wife is keen to knock down some walls and create an open-plan living, dining and kitchen space.

How do you know when a wall can be knocked down or not and is this something we could do ourselves? What would we have to watch out for?

If we get a professional to do the job, how much would it cost?

Jane Denton, of This is Money, replies: Don't rush into making a decision about knocking down walls and creating an open-plan living, dining and kitchen space. 

Open-plan living has been popular for a number of years. Developers, particularly those hastily constructing sizeable blocks of flats, love to use it as it's often more cost effective and can make smaller spaces appear larger.

However, open-plan living isn't for everyone and you need to think carefully about how you plan to use your home and what you both find most comfortable. 

Open-plan living can be great for creating light, airy and sociable rooms. But, noise, a lack of privacy and lingering cooking smells can be problematic, as can ensuring the space is heated effectively throughout. 

Once you've had a good long think about whether open-plan living is what you want, then you can start taking a closer look at the walls in your property - and whether removing them is viable structurally.

I've asked two experts for their take on what sort of walls can and cannot be knocked down and how much this could cost you.    

Thomas Goodman, a property and construction expert at MyJobQuote, said: Internally, there are two types of walls. The first is known as a supporting or load-bearing wall. This is structural and will be supporting the upper floor. 

The second is called a stud or partition wall. This isn’t structural and is typically built using timber studs that are boarded over and plastered.

You can usually tell what type of wall you have by knocking on it. If it sounds slightly hollow, it’s most likely to be a stud wall. 

However, to be sure, it’s always recommended that you consult a structural engineer before removing walls.

Stud walls are easier to remove than load-bearing walls as they’re not solid or supporting weight from above. So, it’s sometimes possible to do this yourself. But there are a few things to be aware of. 

First, there may be plumbing and wiring in the wall. If so, these will need disconnecting or rerouting. 

Second, even if internal walls aren’t supporting anything, they may be serving another important function such as adding fire protection to stairs and hallways.

Therefore, you may need to implement other safety measures such as installing mains-powered smoke alarms to ensure your home meets current building regulations.

Knocking down a load-bearing wall is more complex than removing a stud wall as it needs replacing with a supporting beam. 

To ensure you have the right size beam, you’ll need to hire a structural engineer. They’ll be able to determine the type of load the beam needs to support and calculate the correct span and beam shape. 

The engineer can also produce a plan for you, to ensure the wall removal and beam installation is completed safely. A builder should be able to do the actual removal work, following this plan.

It's essential you follow these steps when you remove a load-bearing wall as the work will need to meet building regulations and get approval from building control.

Building control will inspect the alterations during the work and after it’s completed, then issue you with a certificate. You’ll need this document if you ever plan to sell your home.

Hiring a structural engineer typically costs around £450. Removing a stud or partition wall is likely to cost somewhere between £1,250 and £1,750, depending on the size of the wall and how much other work is involved, such as relocating radiators and electrical sockets. 

To remove a load-bearing, you’re likely to pay between £1,500 and £3,000. The size of the wall and the type of supporting beam you need will affect these costs.

Clive Holland, a broadcaster on Fix Radio, said: A load-bearing wall or structural wall normally supports the weight of the floor or roof above it. 

This means that a significant amount of weight is being carried and is of integral importance to the structure of your home, so you cannot remove them without substituting the wall with a horizontal beam rolled steel joist or a vertical column.

The rolled steel joist or column will then bear the load previously supported by the wall. 

Partition walls or non-load-bearing walls don’t hold any weight and can be removed relatively easily without any supportive structures.

So, how do you identify a load-bearing wall? The most surefire way is to consult a structural engineer. 

For a small charge, they will be able to confirm which walls are load-bearing. 

This small outlay could save you a lot of money and make sure that you don't remove a wall that is integral to supporting your home. 

It will also reduce the amount of money and time spent removing and supporting a wall you thought was load-bearing only to discover it wasn’t.

There are a few checks you can do yourself.  

If the thickness of the wall is greater than 100mm then it is more likely to be load-bearing. 

Check to see if the wall is parallel or perpendicular to the floor joists. You can check this by lifting the floorboards in the rooms above. 

If the wall runs parallel to the floor joists above it, it is probably not a load-bearing wall. 

If it runs perpendicular or at a 90-degree angle to the joists, there is a good chance that it is a load-bearing wall. The wall crossing the joists provides support.

However, my professional advice is that it is always best to consult a professional before proceeding with any project such as this.