GS Renovation removes load-bearing walls throughout Kentish Town, working in the bay-fronted Victorian and Edwardian terraces that line the streets off the main road towards Camden Town and Highgate. With over 30 years of structural experience across NW5, we open up ground floors safely, install engineer-sized steel and leave a clean, certified result.
Reading the structure in Kentish Town terraces
The terraces around Kentish Town were rarely built for open living. The wall between the front reception and the middle room usually carries floor joists and the masonry above, and the closet wing at the rear often adds a second run of load. Before we touch anything, a structural engineer inspects the wall, traces the load path down to the foundations, and confirms exactly what the steel must carry.
Once the wall is confirmed as load-bearing, the engineer sizes an RSJ or a pair of beams to suit the span and the storeys above. In these NW5 terraces the beam typically bears onto concrete padstones at each end, spreading the load into the flank wall and the party wall. We calculate bearings carefully so nothing is overstressed when the old wall comes out.
Safe removal and sign-off in NW5
We prop the floor and ceiling above with adjustable steel props before a single brick is removed, then take the wall down in controlled stages rather than all at once. The beam is lifted into its bearings, seated on the padstones, packed and bolted, and only then is the propping struck. Working in an occupied Kentish Town home, we sheet everything, protect original cornicing and manage the dust as we go.
Removing a load-bearing wall is notifiable under the Building Regulations, not a planning matter, so Camden Council's building control inspects the beam and its bearings and issues the completion certificate. Where the beam bears into the shared party wall with the neighbouring house, the Party Wall Act applies and you serve notice before starting. We handle the engineer and the inspections from one team.
Opening the wall into a rear outrigger
Most Kentish Town terraces have a two storey rear outrigger, the narrow back wing holding the original kitchen with a small bedroom above. Opening the wall between that wing and the main house is the most requested job here, and it is not the same as a straight internal opening. The corner where the wing meets the main building is doing structural work, and the wall you want out may be carrying the outrigger roof as well as the floor above.
The outrigger is usually joined to your neighbour's, so the wall between the two wings is a party wall from top to bottom. The engineer often specifies a beam that turns the corner, or two beams with a designed connection, rather than one straight member. Where the kitchen is being widened into the side return at the same time, both openings have to be designed together, since the corner between them ends up carrying more than either wall did alone.
- Dust screens and floor protection through occupied rooms
- RSJ and steel beam installation to the approved design
- Lintel replacement where an existing opening has failed
- Padstones and correct bearing at each end of the opening
- Building control notification and inspection sign-off
Why Choose GS Renovation in Kentish Town
Kentish Town homeowners choose GS Renovation because one accountable team runs the whole job. We arrange the structural engineer's calculations, serve any book Camden building control and carry out the propping and steelwork ourselves. You get correctly sized beams on proper padstones, tidy working in an occupied NW5 home, and full certification, backed by 30+ years.
- Site left safe and secure at the end of every day
- Paperwork and certificates handed over for when you sell
- Plastering, skirting and making good included in the price
- Joist ends properly supported once the masonry is out
- Founder-led team with 30+ years of hands-on experience
- Materials priced at options, so you choose the finish