GS Renovation removes load-bearing walls across Bexley, from the 1930s semis around Danson Park to the interwar houses of Welling and Bexleyheath. With over 30 years of structural work in DA6, DA7 and DA15, we take out the wall between kitchen and dining room and install an engineer-sized steel beam to carry the load above.
Removing internal walls in Bexley semis
Bexley's 1930s and interwar houses were built with a load-bearing spine wall running front to back, and it is almost always this wall homeowners want gone to link the kitchen to the rear reception room. Because that wall carries first-floor joists and often part of the roof, every job starts with a structural engineer calculating the load and specifying an RSJ sized to suit the span.
On these generous suburban plots the ground floors are wide, so the beam frequently needs to bear onto padstones set into solid brickwork at each end. We prop the structure temporarily, take the wall down in a controlled, staged sequence, drop the steel into place and pack it tight, so the floor above never moves while we work.
Building control sign-off in DA7 and DA6
Removing an internal load-bearing wall is a Building Regulations matter, not a planning one, so unless your home is listed or in a conservation area no planning application is needed. Bexley Council's building control inspects the beam, its bearings and the padstones, and issues the completion certificate you will want when you come to sell.
Where the wall you are opening abuts the neighbouring property, the shared party wall in a semi means the Party Wall Act can apply, and you serve notice before starting. We handle the engineer's calculations, the propping, the steelwork and the making good, so one accountable team sees the job through from survey to signed-off certificate.
Fire protection and finishing the new beam
Steel is strong but it loses strength quickly in a fire, so the Building Regulations require the beam to be protected. In practice that means boarding it in plasterboard, usually two layers or a single fire rated board depending on the specification, before it is skimmed. Encasement is part of the design rather than an afterthought, and it is one reason a finished flush beam sits slightly deeper than the bare steel section suggests.
The finish matters to the room as well. A downstand boarded square reads as a beam. Boxed with a shallow return and a shadow gap, or picked up as a bulkhead across the full width of the room, it reads as part of the ceiling. In a Bexley semi with a through lounge running from the bay to the rear doors, that detail decides whether the space feels like one room or two joined together, so we agree it before the boarding goes on.
- RSJ and steel beam installation to the approved design
- Temporary propping, needling and staged demolition
- Lintel replacement where an existing opening has failed
- Rubble bagged and cleared as the work progresses
- Knock-throughs between front and rear reception rooms
The GS Renovation Difference in Bexley
Bexley homeowners choose GS Renovation because we treat wall removal as a structural job, not a demolition. You get an engineer-designed steel beam, correct padstone bearings and Bexley Council building control handled for you, careful propping in an occupied semi, and tidy working, all backed by 30+ years across DA postcodes.
- Photographs kept at each stage for your records
- Plastering, skirting and making good included in the price
- Structural engineer instructed and coordinated on your behalf
- Joist ends properly supported once the masonry is out
- Registered in England, Companies House no. 14611254
- Downstand and flush beam options priced at quotation stage