GS Renovation installs RSJs and structural steel across Hoxton's bay-fronted Victorian and Edwardian terraces, from the streets around Hoxton Square to the homes bordering Shoreditch. With over 30 years of structural experience in N1, we prop and set every beam to the engineer's sizing so load-bearing walls come out safely and Hackney building control signs the work off.
Removing load-bearing walls in Hoxton
The dividing wall between the two ground-floor rooms in a Hoxton terrace is almost always load-bearing, carrying the floor joists above and often a chimney stack. Before anything comes down, our structural engineer calculates the load and specifies the right RSJ or universal beam, along with the padstones it will bear onto. Nothing is removed until the steel is on site and the calculations are signed off by Hackney building control.
With the beam sized, we install Acrow props and needle supports to carry the floor while the old brickwork is taken down in careful stages. The steel is lifted into place, seated on concrete or engineering-brick padstones, then bolted, plated and fire-protected to regulations. Because many of these Victorian dividing and flank walls sit on a shared party wall, you serve the correct Party Wall Act notices to neighbours before work begins.
Steel beams for Hoxton knock-throughs
The most common steel job we handle in N1 is the open-plan knock-through, opening the kitchen into the rear closet wing or the middle reception to create one bright, sociable space. Depending on the layout we fit a single beam, a goalpost frame with posts either side, or paired steels where a rear return is being widened. Each arrangement is drawn up by the engineer so the loads pass cleanly down to the foundations.
Older Hoxton terraces were built with soft lime mortar and shallow Victorian footings, so we check the existing bearings and underpin or pad out where the ground below cannot take the concentrated point loads a new beam creates. Once the steel is in and inspected, we make good the openings, box in the beam and leave a level, plumb surface ready for plastering, so the finished room shows no sign of the structural work behind it.
- Bearing checks into party walls and shared masonry
- Steel delivered cut, drilled and primed to the engineer's schedule
- Ceiling and floor levels resolved where the beam sits below joists
- Level, plumb and deflection checks before props are struck
- RSJ and structural steel beam installation
Why Choose GS Renovation in Hoxton
Homeowners in Hoxton trust GS Renovation because steelwork is our core trade, not a sideline. One team handles the engineer's calculations, the props, the beam and the building control inspections, so nothing falls between contractors. With 30+ years across N1 and the wider Hackney terraces, we know how these houses are built and how they behave when a wall comes out.
- Structural engineer instructed and coordinated on your behalf
- A dedicated project manager from first survey to handover
- Steel sized to the engineer's design, never guessed on site
- Party Wall Act notices served where a beam bears into a shared wall
- Steel ordered cut, drilled and primed to the schedule
- Clean, tidy and reliable tradespeople