GS Renovation creates open-plan spaces in Kew's Victorian and Edwardian terraces, turning cellular front-and-back rooms into bright kitchen-diners and knock-throughs. With over 30 years in TW9, we handle the steel and Richmond Council building control, so your open-plan conversion near the Gardens is properly engineered and certified.
Open-plan living in Kew's period terraces
The classic Kew conversion joins the two reception rooms into one, or opens the kitchen through into the side return and closet wing to make a family kitchen-diner. Because the wall between those rooms is load-bearing, this is not a simple knock-through. A structural engineer sizes the steel beam and padstones so the floors and masonry above are carried once the wall comes out.
Not every homeowner wants a single vast room, and broken-plan suits these terraces well: a Crittall-style glazed divider or a part-height wall keeps the light flowing while marking off a snug or study. We build these in alongside the structural opening, keeping the original bay window, cornices and proportions that make Kew's terraces so sought after.
Engineered and certified in TW9
We prop the structure, take the wall down in stages and set the RSJ onto padstones, then Richmond Council building control inspects and certifies the beam under the Building Regulations. This is building regulations work, not planning, unless you are also altering the exterior in a conservation area near Kew Gardens, in which case we flag the separate consent you would need.
Since the wall usually meets the shared party wall with the neighbouring terrace, the opening is notifiable under the Party Wall Act, and you serve notice before work starts. From engineer's drawings and Crittall dividers through to plastering and sign-off, one team runs the whole conversion, working cleanly around a home you are still living in.
Removing a wall that is shared with the house next door makes the work notifiable under the Party Wall etc. Act. The notice comes from you as the building owner, the surveyors settle the award between them, and our part is to build to it.
- Openings formed in stages to keep the home usable
- Rooflights and glazed roofs to bring light deep into the plan
- Side-return integration for a wider ground floor
- Zoned lighting circuits and dimming for a multi-use room
- Level flooring and threshold removal across the whole space
The GS Renovation Difference in Kew
For open-plan conversions in Kew, GS Renovation delivers the whole project through one accountable team: engineer-sized steel on padstones served, Crittall or broken-plan dividers built in, and Richmond Council building control sign-off. We protect the period features of your TW9 terrace, keep the site tidy in an occupied home, and back it all with over 30 years of structural experience.
- Cooking smells and extraction planned into an open kitchen
- Free, no-obligation quotations
- Heating and radiator positions reworked for the new layout
- Dust screens and floor protection in occupied homes
- Structural engineer instructed and coordinated on your behalf
- Waste cleared as we go, not left piled in the garden