GS Renovation installs RSJs and steel beams across Dulwich, working on the bay-fronted Victorian and Edwardian terraces that fill the SE21 streets around Dulwich Park. With over 30 years of structural experience in South London, we remove load-bearing walls safely, from the dividing wall between two receptions to the wall closing off a rear closet wing.
Steel beam knock-throughs in Dulwich terraces
Most Dulwich steel work involves opening up the two front-to-back reception rooms in a period terrace, or removing the wall between the kitchen and the rear closet wing. Every beam is sized by a structural engineer for the actual span and loads above, then set to bear onto concrete padstones at each end. We never guess a section, because the wall above often carries the floor joists and part of the roof.
Before any brickwork comes down, we install temporary propping to support the floors and any masonry overhead, then take the wall out in safe, staged sections. In these solid-walled SE21 houses the dividing wall frequently forms part of a shared party wall with the neighbouring terrace, so the sequence and propping have to be planned with the connected structure in mind.
building control in SE21
Where the wall you want to open sits on the boundary with the house next door, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies. you serve the correct notices on adjoining owners in good time, which matters on Dulwich's tightly built terraces where chimney breasts and dividing walls are commonly shared. Getting this right protects both properties and keeps the job moving without disputes.
Structural beam work is controlled under the Building Regulations rather than planning permission, so it needs building control approval, not an application to Southwark Council for permission. We arrange inspection at the key stages, with the engineer's calculations and beam schedule ready, and secure sign-off once the steel, padstones and fire protection are in place, giving you the certificate you will need when you come to sell.
Bringing a beam into a Dulwich house
The streets around Dulwich Village and the park are leafy and narrow, and many houses sit behind a front garden with a path too tight for a wheeled load. A five metre steel is heavy and will not turn corners, so we measure the approach at survey and decide then whether it comes in through the front door, through a temporarily removed window, or over the rear boundary from an adjoining garden with permission.
Waste travels the same route and there is a great deal of it, so collection points are planned where they will not stand on grass verges or block the footway. Where a property falls under the Dulwich Estate scheme of management, restrictions can apply to skips and hoarding on the frontage, and bagged collection or a shorter hire is the practical answer. Settling this before the steel is ordered avoids a delivery arriving with nowhere to go.
- Steel delivered cut, drilled and primed to the engineer's schedule
- Steel columns, base plates and bolted connections
- Ceiling and floor levels resolved where the beam sits below joists
- Access and lifting plans for restricted London sites
- RSJ and structural steel beam installation
Why Dulwich Homeowners Choose GS Renovation
Dulwich homeowners choose GS Renovation because we treat the structure as the priority, not an afterthought. One team handles the engineer's design, the propping, the safe demolition and the building control sign-off. After 30+ years opening up SE21 terraces, we know how these houses are built and we make the mess and disruption as short as possible.
- Waste cleared as we go, not left piled in the garden
- Photographs kept at each stage for your records
- Beams boxed and fire protected to the approved detail
- Site left safe and secure at the end of every day
- High-density concrete padstones bedded at every bearing
- A dedicated project manager from first survey to handover