GS Renovation installs RSJs and steel beams across Charlton, working on the bay-fronted Victorian and Edwardian terraces that line the SE7 streets between Greenwich Park and the river. With more than 30 years of structural experience in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, we remove load-bearing walls safely and open up these period homes without cutting corners.
Removing load-bearing walls in Charlton terraces
The dividing wall between the front and rear reception in a Charlton terrace is almost always load-bearing, carrying the floor above and often a chimney stack. Before any demolition we have a structural engineer size the steel, then we set temporary props, cut back in stages and lift the RSJ into place onto concrete or engineering-brick padstones. Every beam we install in SE7 is calculated for the real loads above, never guessed.
Because these houses were built with solid brick walls and shared party walls, careful sequencing matters. We work methodically so the structure above stays supported at all times, protect the rest of the home from dust and debris, and only strike the props once the steel is properly bearing. Building control inspects and signs off the finished installation before we plaster and make good.
Party wall notices on shared Charlton walls
Many Charlton terraces share a party wall with the neighbour, and the chimney breast or dividing wall you want to remove often sits within it. Where our steelwork bears into or affects that shared structure, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies and notice must be served on the adjoining owner. We flag this early so the legal side runs alongside the build rather than holding it up.
We explain in plain terms which notices are needed, coordinate with your party wall surveyor where one is appointed, and keep a record of the condition of adjoining rooms. This is standard practice on the terraced stock across SE7, from streets near Charlton village towards Woolwich, and handling it properly protects both you and your neighbour for the long term.
Soft brick, lime mortar and older bearings
The Victorian terraces around Charlton Park were built in soft London stock brick laid in lime mortar, which behaves nothing like modern brickwork in cement. Lime is forgiving and lets a wall move, but it is weaker in local compression, so a beam bearing straight onto old brickwork can crush it. The engineer's padstone is sized for that, and it is normally bedded on a wider spread of sound bricks than a newer house would need.
Foundations in this stock are shallow, often little more than a corbel of brick on clay, so we avoid overloading a short length of wall while the props are up. Cutting is done carefully rather than with heavy percussion, since vibration opens joints in lime mortar and cracks plaster in the next room. Where the wall is in poor condition we rebuild the bearing zone in engineering brick first, on the engineer's instruction, before the steel arrives.
- Lintel and catnic support to smaller openings
- Ceiling and floor levels resolved where the beam sits below joists
- Concrete and high-density padstones at every bearing
- Level, plumb and deflection checks before props are struck
- Steel columns, base plates and bolted connections
The GS Renovation Difference in Charlton
Charlton homeowners choose GS Renovation because steel work is our flagship trade, not a sideline. We handle the engineer's calculations, the propping and the building control sign-off as one accountable job. With 30+ years across the Royal Borough of Greenwich, we open up SE7 terraces safely and leave the finish neat.
- Restricted London access planned before the steel arrives
- Making good and plastering priced in, not treated as an extra
- A dedicated project manager from first survey to handover
- Structural engineer instructed and coordinated on your behalf
- Dust screens and floor protection in occupied homes
- High-density concrete padstones bedded at every bearing