GS Renovation installs steel beams and RSJs across Finchley, from the 1930s semi-detached houses along the N3 streets to the larger interwar homes near Hampstead Garden Suburb. With over 30 years of structural experience in Barnet, we remove load-bearing walls safely and open up these solid family homes without compromising the building above.
Opening up 1930s Finchley semis safely
The typical Finchley project takes a 1930s semi with a separate front reception, back reception and small kitchen, and removes the walls between them to create one flowing space. Because those dividing walls carry the floor and often the chimney breast above, we start with a structural engineer who sizes the RSJ, specifies the padstones and calculates the exact loads passing down into the existing brickwork and foundations.
Once the calculations are signed off, we install temporary propping to hold the floors and roof, then carry out staged demolition so nothing is ever left unsupported. The steel is lifted into position, bears onto concrete or engineered padstones, and is packed and bolted tight before the props come out. Barnet Council building control inspects the work at the key stages through to final sign-off.
Party walls in Finchley semi-detached homes
In a Finchley semi the shared dividing wall with your neighbour is a party wall, and the chimney stack usually sits within it. When a new steel beam bears into or cuts into that wall, the Party Wall Act applies and your neighbour must be served the correct notice before work begins. We flag this early so the notice period does not delay your build, and we work to the agreed schedule of condition throughout.
Interwar houses in N3 were built with cavity walls and reasonably deep foundations, which gives us solid bearing points for the steel. Even so, every beam is sized for the real loads above, not a rule of thumb. We check the padstone bearing, confirm the wall below can carry the point load, and keep the whole sequence tidy and structurally sound in an occupied home.
Living in the house while we work
Most Finchley clients stay put during a beam installation, and it is manageable if the disruption is planned rather than discovered. The room being opened is sealed with a dust screen and a zipped door, floor protection runs from the front door to the work area, and an extractor pulls dust out through a window rather than letting it circulate. Cutting and breaking out is the loud part and takes two or three days, not the whole job.
Services need thinking about too. The wall coming out often carries the hall lighting circuit or a heating pipe, so we plan a temporary supply and tell you the days heating or hot water will be off. Work runs to normal weekday hours out of respect for the attached neighbour. At the end of each day the site is swept, the props are checked and the house is left usable rather than a building site you camp in.
- Steel delivered cut, drilled and primed to the engineer's schedule
- RSJ and structural steel beam installation
- Level, plumb and deflection checks before props are struck
- Steel columns, base plates and bolted connections
- Temporary propping and staged, controlled demolition
Why Finchley Homeowners Choose GS Renovation
Finchley homeowners choose GS Renovation because we treat steel work as structural engineering, not guesswork. One team handles the engineer's calculations, the propping, the safe demolition for your shared semi wall and the building control sign-off. With 30+ years across Barnet and N3, we open up your home without cutting corners on safety.
- Free, no-obligation quotations
- Restricted London access planned before the steel arrives
- Temporary propping in place before anything is cut
- A written scope and programme agreed before work starts
- Steel ordered cut, drilled and primed to the schedule
- Itemised pricing, so you can see what every stage costs