GS Renovation installs RSJs and steel beams across Hanwell, from the bay-fronted Victorian terraces near the Brent valley to the Edwardian rows around Walpole Park in W7. With over 30 years of structural experience in Ealing, we remove load-bearing walls and open up these period homes safely and correctly.
Load-bearing wall removal in Hanwell terraces
The typical Hanwell project takes out the wall between the front and middle reception rooms, or the wall closing off the rear closet wing, to create a single flowing space. In these Victorian and Edwardian terraces those dividing walls are usually load-bearing and often carry a chimney breast, so nothing comes out until a structural engineer has sized the steel and we have temporary props holding the loads above.
We work in a careful, staged sequence: prop the floor and ceiling, cut back to solid brickwork, form the bearings, lift the RSJ into position and set it onto padstones that spread the load into the wall. Building control inspects the beam and the padstones before we case the steel and make good. The result is a clear opening that carries the house properly.
Padstones and party walls in Hanwell W7
Steel beams need somewhere solid to sit. We cast or place concrete padstones under each bearing so the point loads pass safely into the wall and the foundation below rather than crushing the old brickwork. The engineer specifies the padstone size and the required bearing length, and we photograph everything for your building control file so the sign-off is straightforward.
Many Hanwell terraces share their side wall and chimney stack with next door in a party wall. Where a beam bears into that shared wall or you cut into it, the Party Wall Act applies and your neighbour must be served notice before work starts. We flag this early so the notice period runs alongside the engineering, keeping your project on schedule and your neighbour relations intact.
- Lintel and catnic support to smaller openings
- Goalpost frames where two walls meet at a corner
- Steel delivered cut, drilled and primed to the engineer's schedule
- Structural openings for open-plan living
- Bearing checks into party walls and shared masonry
Why Hanwell Homeowners Choose GS Renovation
Hanwell homeowners choose GS Renovation because we treat steelwork as structural engineering, not guesswork. We coordinate the engineer, the temporary propping, the padstones and the Ealing Council building control inspections as one accountable job, and we understand the shared party walls in these W7 terraces. Over 30 years of beams installed across West London stand behind every opening.
- Restricted London access planned before the steel arrives
- Paperwork and certificates handed over for when you sell
- Beams boxed and fire protected to the approved detail
- Itemised pricing, so you can see what every stage costs
- Our own trades on site rather than a chain of subcontractors
- Temporary propping in place before anything is cut