GS Renovation creates open-plan spaces in Richmond upon Thames, opening up the compartmented layouts of Georgian, Regency and Victorian homes across TW1, TW9 and SW13. With 30-plus years of structural experience in the borough, we handle knock-throughs, kitchen-diners, broken-plan schemes and Crittall dividers, engineering the steel so period homes flow without losing their character.
Open-plan living in Richmond period homes
Richmond's period houses were built as a series of small, separate rooms, so opening them up nearly always means taking out load-bearing masonry. A double knock-through to make one reception room, or joining the kitchen to a rear diner in a Teddington terrace, needs a structural engineer to size the steel that will carry the floors and walls above once the dividing wall has gone.
We favour a broken-plan approach in these homes, keeping a sense of the original proportions rather than gutting everything to one box. A steel beam on padstones can be boxed in flush or left exposed, and Crittall-style glazed dividers let light travel through while still marking the old room lines, which suits the borough's conservation-area streets and their more restrained character.
Steel, party wall and building control in TW9
The beam that makes an open-plan space possible has to be right. Our engineer sizes it for the actual loads, we set it on padstones at each end, prop the structure above and take the old wall down in stages before removing the props. Getting the steel and its bearings correct is what keeps floors level and doors square long after the work is finished.
Knocking through is notifiable under the Building Regulations, not planning, so Richmond Council's building control inspects and certifies the structural work. Where the removed wall meets a shared party wall, common in the borough's terraces across TW11 and SW14, we serve party wall notice on the neighbour first. For listed homes or conservation areas we check whether any external element, such as new glazed doors, needs consent before we begin.
- Knock-throughs between reception rooms
- Open-plan kitchen-diner conversions
- Steel beam installation to remove the dividing wall
- Side-return integration for wider spaces
- Broken-plan layouts and Crittall-style dividers
Why Choose GS Renovation in Richmond upon Thames
Richmond homeowners choose GS Renovation for open-plan conversions because we deliver the whole job under one roof: engineer-sized steel on padstones, party wall notices and building control sign-off, sympathetic broken-plan and Crittall detailing for period homes, and tidy staged working. More than 30 years on the borough's Georgian and Victorian stock stands behind every knock-through.
- Free, no-obligation quotations
- Over 30 years of experience
- Dedicated project management
- Fully insured and guaranteed work
- Building control and planning support
- Clean, tidy and reliable tradespeople