GS Renovation removes load-bearing walls across Greenwich, from the Georgian and Regency townhouses near Greenwich Park to the Victorian terraces of Charlton and Eltham. With over 30 years of structural experience across SE3, SE7, SE9, SE10 and SE18, we take out internal walls safely and open up these period homes without risking the fabric above.
Taking out a load-bearing wall in Greenwich
Many of Greenwich's period homes carry solid masonry internal walls that were built to hold up the floors and roof above, so before anything is touched we bring in a structural engineer to establish exactly what each wall supports. In the taller Georgian townhouses off Blackheath and around SE10, a single wall can carry loads from two or three storeys, which changes how The engineer sizes the steel.
Once the engineer has specified the beam, we install temporary props, cut out the masonry in careful stages and lower the RSJ onto padstones bedded into the flanking walls. Every step is planned so the structure is never left unsupported, and in these older properties we watch for lime mortar, timber lintels and past alterations that the calculations must account for before the props ever come down.
Building control and party walls in SE Greenwich
Removing an internal load-bearing wall is governed by the Building Regulations, not planning permission, so the Royal Borough of Greenwich's building control inspects and signs off the beam and its bearings. The exception is exterior work on a listed building or in one of the borough's many conservation areas, where separate consent is needed; the internal steel itself does not require planning permission.
Where a supporting wall meets the shared party wall between two terraced or semi-detached homes, common in Charlton, Woolwich and the Victorian streets of Eltham, the Party Wall Act applies and you serve notice on the neighbour before starting. We handle the engineer's calculations and the building control application together, so nothing stalls halfway through the job.
Choices that shape the finished opening
Two decisions change the look of a finished opening more than anything else, and both belong to you rather than to the engineer. The first is whether the beam sits below the ceiling as a visible downstand, or is lifted flush into the floor above. Flush is neater and costs more, because the joists then have to be cut and hung off the steel rather than simply resting on top of it.
The second is how much of the wall stays. Leaving a short return at each end, often called a nib, gives the beam a natural bearing and the room a defined edge, and it usually reduces the steel size. Taking the wall out corner to corner looks cleaner but pushes the load further. Both need settling before the engineer designs, because a change of mind afterwards means a new calculation and frequently a new steel. How the ceiling is finished across the beam line is a smaller choice, but it is worth agreeing before the plasterer arrives.
- Making good, plastering and skirting reinstatement
- RSJ and steel beam installation to the approved design
- Temporary propping, needling and staged demolition
- Downstand and flush beam options priced at quotation stage
- Party Wall Act notices where the opening reaches a shared wall
Trusted Load-Bearing Wall Removal in Greenwich
Greenwich homeowners choose GS Renovation because one accountable team manages the whole structural job. We arrange the engineer's design, serve any install correctly sized steel on padstones and see it through building control sign-off. You get tidy working in an occupied period home and a certified result, backed by more than 30 years across the borough.
- Free follow-up visit after completion if anything needs attention
- Our own trades on site rather than a chain of subcontractors
- Props and strongboys set out to a temporary works plan
- Joist ends properly supported once the masonry is out
- Padstones and bearings detailed at both ends of the opening
- Materials priced at options, so you choose the finish