Removing a load-bearing wall, opening two rooms into one or taking out a chimney breast is structural work that needs calculations, padstones and Building Control sign-off. We install RSJs and goalpost frames in occupied homes, prop properly, and leave the opening plastered, square and ready to decorate.
- Guide price
- Guide price from £6,800
- Typical programme
- 1 to 3 weeks on site
What is actually holding the house up
On a terrace, the wall between the two reception rooms is frequently taking the floor above and sometimes part of the roof. The only way to know is to open up and look, and then to have it calculated. We never take a wall out on the strength of an opinion, including our own.
The sequence
Structural engineer attends and calculates. Building Control notice submitted. Acrow props and strongboys installed to take the load, on spread bearings so the props do not punch through the floor. Wall removed in lifts. Beam craned or manhandled in, seated on padstones sized in the calculation. Load transferred, props struck, and the beam boxed or intumescent-coated to the required fire rating.
Chimney breasts
Taking out a chimney breast on one floor and leaving the stack above it is the single most common dangerous alteration we are called to correct in South-East London houses. The remaining stack has to be supported on gallows brackets or a beam, designed for it, and the neighbouring property has to be considered because you usually share the stack.
Living with it
Structural jobs are short and loud. We seal the room, run dust extraction on the cutting, and get in and out in one to three weeks rather than leaving props up for a month.
What people ask about this work
Can I remove a load-bearing wall?
Almost always, with the right beam. What is not negotiable is the process: a structural engineer calculates the beam and the padstones, Building Control is notified and inspects, and the load is propped properly before anything is cut. We never take a wall out on the strength of an opinion, including our own.
My chimney breast was removed by a previous owner. Is that a problem?
Very possibly. If the stack above was left without gallows brackets or a supporting beam, it is being carried by nothing but friction and the neighbouring wall. It is the most common dangerous alteration we find in South-East London houses. We can inspect it and, if needed, support it properly with an engineer and Building Control.
Tell us what you are trying to do with the house.
We will come out, measure up and tell you honestly whether it works. The site visit and the written quotation are free, and there is no obligation attached to either.