GS Renovation removes load-bearing walls across Southwark, from the Georgian townhouses around Camberwell and Dulwich to the Victorian terraces of Peckham and the warehouse conversions of Bermondsey. With over 30 years of structural work across SE1, SE5, SE15, SE16, SE17, SE21 and SE22, we open up period homes safely and leave them properly supported.
Taking out walls in Southwark's period homes
In Southwark's Georgian and Regency townhouses, the internal walls that separate the front and rear reception rooms are usually solid masonry carrying the floors and, in narrow SE22 and SE21 houses, part of the roof load above. We never guess at this. Every job starts with a structural engineer establishing exactly what the wall holds, so the steel we install is sized to the real loads rather than a rule of thumb.
The engineer specifies an RSJ or twin steels that bear onto padstones spread across the remaining masonry at each end. We prop the structure temporarily, take the wall down in safe stages, lift the beam into place and transfer the load before removing the props. In many Peckham and Camberwell terraces the wall ties into the shared party wall, so the bearing detail is designed to suit that older brickwork.
Party wall and building control in Southwark
Because Southwark's terraced and semi-detached period homes share a party wall with next door, cutting a beam pocket into that wall to carry a new steel is notifiable under the Party Wall Act. You serve notice on the adjoining owner before work begins and record the agreed condition. In Bermondsey's leasehold warehouse conversions the picture differs: many partitions are non-structural, but altering anything structural needs the freeholder's licence to alter and coordination with the managing agent.
Removing an internal load-bearing wall is a Building Regulations matter, not planning, so Southwark Council's building control inspects and signs off the completed steelwork. Only external changes in the borough's many conservation areas or to listed buildings require separate consent. We handle the engineer's calculations, the notices or freeholder consent, the propping, the steel and the sign-off as one accountable package.
- Final level checks before the temporary props come out
- Electrics, pipework and radiators diverted out of the wall
- Building control notification and inspection sign-off
- Making good, plastering and skirting reinstatement
- Padstones and correct bearing at each end of the opening
Why Choose GS Renovation in Southwark
Southwark homeowners choose GS Renovation because one team carries the whole job: an engineer sizing the steel or freeholder consent arranged, Southwark building control sign-off, and tidy, staged working in an occupied period home. Backed by 30+ years across SE1 to SE22, we treat every wall removal as the structural job it is.
- Props and strongboys set out to a temporary works plan
- Downstand and flush beam options priced at quotation stage
- Straight advice on what is and is not worth spending money on
- Site left safe and secure at the end of every day
- A written scope and programme agreed before work starts
- Building control applications and inspections coordinated for you