Open-Plan Conversions Old Street

GS Renovation creates open-plan spaces across Old Street's warehouse conversions and contemporary apartments, from knock-throughs near Clerkenwell to broken-plan kitchen-diners around the Angel. With 30+ years in EC1, we open up these flats intelligently, respecting which walls are structural and which are simply partitions, so your new layout is both dramatic and sound.

Opening up Old Street apartments

The appeal of an Old Street conversion is often its volume and light, and opening the plan can make the most of it. Some of the walls between your kitchen and living space are non-structural studwork that came in with the original fit-out and can be removed easily; others are loadbearing brick or part of the retained frame. We have a structural engineer determine which is which before we design your kitchen-diner or knock-through.

Where a structural wall stands in the way, a steel beam sized by the engineer replaces it, bearing onto padstones and installed with temporary propping and staged demolition. For a softer division we fit Crittall-style glazed screens or broken-plan joinery that keeps sightlines open while zoning cooking from living. The result suits the industrial character of EC1: generous, connected space that still lets each area do its job.

Leasehold rules and sign-off near the Angel

Because Old Street apartments are leasehold, an open-plan conversion needs the freeholder's licence to alter wherever it touches structure, and your managing agent will expect the engineer's drawings before approving. We coordinate that consent and work within building-management rules on noise, dust and use of the lift, which matter in a busy converted or new-build block near the Angel where neighbours are close on every side.

Removing a structural wall is controlled under the Building Regulations, so Islington Council's building control inspects and certifies the beam; no planning permission is needed for this internal work. We also protect the sound insulation between flats, so your open new space does not carry noise to neighbours below or beside you. Non-structural partitions can simply come out, but we still confirm each one with the engineer first.

• Zoned lighting circuits and dimming for a multi-use room
• Level flooring and threshold removal across the whole space
• Openings formed in stages to keep the home usable
• Beam depth checked against existing ceiling heights
• Steel beam installation to remove the dividing wall

Before committing to open-plan conversion, most Old Street clients also look at Structural alterations in Old Street, Open-plan conversion across Islington, builders in London and building regulations explained.

Trusted Open-Plan Conversions in Old Street

Old Street clients choose GS Renovation because an open-plan conversion should be handled by one accountable team. We identify structural from partition walls, engineer the steel, secure the freeholder's licence to alter, coordinate the managing agent, protect sound insulation between flats and see Islington building control through to sign-off, all delivered tidily with 30+ years of EC1 experience.

• Straight advice on what is and is not worth spending money on
• Broken-plan and Crittall-style options priced alongside full open-plan
• The house kept usable while the opening is formed in stages
• Free follow-up visit after completion if anything needs attention
• Waste cleared as we go, not left piled in the garden
• Aftercare and snagging support once the job is finished

Written and reviewed by Abdelaaziz Saaid, founder of GS Renovation Ltd, who has spent more than 30 years on the tools and on site in London homes. Structural design is specified by the consulting engineer appointed to your project.