An open plan ground floor is a structural job with a kitchen fit at the end of it. A wall comes out, a beam takes its place, and services, heating and floor levels all follow the new layout. We appoint the structural engineer, build to the calculations, and coordinate the building control inspections from application to sign off.
Terraced houses set the shape of the work
At the 2021 census, 16,848 of Stevenage's 36,513 households lived in a terraced house, which is 46.1 per cent, against 23.0 per cent for England. Between 1945 and 1972 the borough gained 21,190 of its dwellings, 55.1 per cent of the council tax stock, against 25.5 per cent for England and Wales.
A terrace opens front to back rather than side to side. The through room is formed between two party walls, so the beam runs across the house and the bearings land on the party walls or on new piers. Party wall notices to both neighbours belong at the front of the programme.
Broadwater terraces need a different opening method
Work began on Broadwater in 1953, and the council records that some of the first houses built there were Wimpey no fines homes, cast by pouring concrete for the outer structure into large reusable moulds in one operation. The council describes the two storey terraced housing there as built in terraces of six to ten houses with long rear gardens.
A poured concrete wall cannot be needled like brickwork, so the temporary support and the bearing detail are designed around that construction. Long rear gardens give room for the skip, the spoil and the materials, which keeps a through job moving instead of stopping for access.
If the through room also extends at the back
Stevenage's Design Guidance SPD, at Principle HD8, allows a single storey rear extension to project 4 metres from the rear elevation, reduced to 3.5 metres where it would sit within 1 metre of a shared boundary.
Where the wall removal and the rear extension are one project, the beam layout and the new rear opening are designed together. That avoids a second steel being cut in later, and keeps one set of calculations covering the whole ground floor.
- Side-return integration for a wider ground floor
- Making good, plastering and decorating the finished space
- Open-plan kitchen-diner conversions
- Radiator relocation and underfloor heating in the new layout
- Flush beam detailing where a downstand would look wrong
Why Stevenage Homeowners Choose GS Renovation
An open plan conversion is sequencing as much as structure: temporary support, beam, services, plaster, then the fit out. We run those in order with one point of contact, so trades are not waiting on each other in your house. Indicative London ranges from MyBuilder and Checkatrade, 2026, put a full knock through, including wall removal, the engineer's fee and making good, at £2,500 to £6,500 and above. We appoint and coordinate the structural engineer, build to the calculations, and coordinate building control. Fully insured, free no obligation quotations.
- Structure and finishes delivered by one team on one programme
- Building control applications and inspections coordinated for you
- Founder-led team with 30+ years of hands-on experience
- Heat loss and acoustics considered before the wall comes out
- Waste cleared as we go, not left piled in the garden
- Free, no-obligation quotations