Removing a load bearing wall means proving what the wall carries, supporting it, putting in a beam that takes the load, and having the work inspected. We appoint the structural engineer, build to their calculations, and coordinate the building control application and the inspections. We never produce the calculations ourselves. This page sets out how that runs in Bishop's Stortford.
Newtown was built after the railway, on hilly ground with narrow streets
That is the conservation area appraisal's own description. It records that the Newtown area is bounded by Apton Road, South Street and Apton Road Cemetery. It began to develop only after the railway arrived in the mid 19th century, and it is characterised by terraces and narrow streets on hilly ground.
A terrace on a narrow, rising street sets the method before anyone touches the wall. Where the props stand, where the steel is unloaded, how far it has to be carried, and how the houses either side are protected are all decided at survey. We agree that sequence with you in writing before any wall is opened up.
The notice for the wall goes to Hertfordshire Building Control, not to the council
East Herts District Council does not run its own building control service. It is delivered by Hertfordshire Building Control Limited, which is owned by East Herts along with seven other Hertfordshire local authorities.
That organisation has 48 surveyors, 36 of them professionally qualified, and its operations team can be reached on 01438 879990. We make the application, then book the inspections so the opening is seen while the temporary support is still standing and the bearings are still visible. Work that is covered up before it is inspected is expensive to prove afterwards.
Where the Article 4 direction applies is set by what can be seen from the highway
The householder direction limits itself in its own Schedule One. It withdraws the listed permitted development classes only, in its words, to elevations or areas facing or visible from a highway, open space or waterway, except Class G. The council's leaflet repeats the limit in plain words: with the exception of the controls on chimneys and flues, the new controls apply only to elevations or areas visible from the public realm.
So on a wall removal the consent question is about what the job changes outside. If the same works alter a door or a window on an elevation seen from a highway, open space or waterway, that part is checked before the programme is fixed. We raise it at survey and put the answer in writing with the quotation.
- Electrics, pipework and radiators diverted out of the wall
- Assessment of whether a wall is load-bearing
- Rubble bagged and cleared as the work progresses
- Structural engineer's calculations arranged and followed
- RSJ and steel beam installation to the approved design
Why Bishop's Stortford Homeowners Choose GS Renovation
We are a contractor, not an engineering practice. On a Bishop's Stortford wall removal the sequence is fixed before we start: engineer appointed, calculations issued, temporary support designed and installed, wall taken down, beam set, bearings made good, then inspected. Building control applications and inspections are coordinated by us, so you are not chasing a surveyor between trades. One point of contact runs the job from the propping to the finished plaster. GS Renovation Ltd is fully insured, registered in England, company number 14611254, and rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder.
- Free follow-up visit after completion if anything needs attention
- Downstand and flush beam options priced at quotation stage
- Site left safe and secure at the end of every day
- We establish what the wall actually carries before we quote
- Waste cleared as we go, not left piled in the garden
- Registered in England, Companies House no. 14611254