GS Renovation forms open plan living space in Cheshunt homes by removing internal walls and replacing them with sized steel. The engineer's design comes first, then the propping, then the beam, then the services and finishes. We coordinate the building control application and inspections, and you get one point of contact throughout.
Two build periods, two starting points
Cheshunt's houses cluster in two periods, and each sets a different starting point. In the six middle layer super output areas covering Cheshunt, 25.5 per cent of council tax properties were built between 1955 and 1964, the single largest build period band. In the Rosedale area, 48.2 per cent were built between 1965 and 1982.
Neither figure tells you what a particular wall is carrying. It tells you what to check. The engineer inspects the wall, the floor above and the roof structure, then sizes the beam for the span you actually want rather than the span that is convenient to build. That is settled before a start date is offered.
Terraces need the bearings planned early
In a terrace the beam ends have fewer places to go. At the 2021 census, 35.2 per cent of Cheshunt households lived in a terraced house, a higher share than the 30.7 per cent in semi-detached houses. A bearing into a shared wall brings the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 into the programme, and notice is served before dates are fixed.
Opening up also moves services. Radiators, sockets, switches and the kitchen extract route can all sit in the wall you are taking out, so first fix is planned before demolition starts. We set the order of trades at quotation stage, so plastering is not held up waiting on an electrician who was booked too late.
Inspection hold points on an open plan job
Building control inspects at set stages, and those stages control the programme. Building control for the Borough of Broxbourne is provided by Hertfordshire Building Control Limited, which is jointly owned by Broxbourne Borough Council and seven other Hertfordshire local authorities. It sees the propping and the formed opening, then the beam on its padstones with the bearings still exposed.
Nothing is boarded or plastered over a bearing until it has been seen. That one rule shapes the whole sequence, because uncovering a bearing later is slow and it is expensive. A final visit follows the making good, and the completion certificate is issued after that. We book each visit rather than leaving it to you.
- Zoned lighting circuits and dimming for a multi-use room
- Steel beam installation to remove the dividing wall
- Bi-fold and sliding door openings onto the garden
- Making good, plastering and decorating the finished space
- Knock-throughs between front and rear reception rooms
Why Cheshunt Homeowners Choose GS Renovation
Open plan work fails on sequencing more than on steel. We set the order at quotation stage: engineer, propping, beam, first fix services, then finishes, with the building control inspection of the bearings placed before anything is covered. One point of contact holds that programme together, so trades are not booked against each other and your home is not opened up longer than it needs to be. Fully insured, free no obligation quotations.
- Site left safe and secure at the end of every day
- Neighbours given notice before the noisy stages
- Broken-plan and Crittall-style options priced alongside full open-plan
- Photographs kept at each stage for your records
- One point of contact on the phone, not a call centre
- The house kept usable while the opening is formed in stages