GS Renovation installs RSJs and steel beams across Ilford's IG1 streets, where bay-fronted Victorian and Edwardian terraces were built with load-bearing internal walls and shared chimney stacks. With over 30 years of structural experience, we open up these homes safely, from a single knock-through to a full ground-floor remodel near Valentines Park.
Steel beams for Ilford terraces
Removing a load-bearing wall in an Ilford terrace starts with a structural engineer sizing the steel to the loads above, including the floors, the roof and any masonry. We calculate the padstones, install temporary propping and carry out staged demolition so nothing is left unsupported. The beam then bears onto the padstones at each end, tied into the existing brickwork of the Edwardian party walls that run between these IG1 homes.
Because the dividing wall and chimney breast often sit within a shared party wall, the Party Wall Act usually applies, so you serve notice on the neighbours before work begins. Building control inspects the beam, its bearings and the fire protection, then issues sign-off once the steel is in and cased. We keep the house propped and weathertight throughout, working room by room so you can stay put where possible.
Opening up ground floors across Ilford
The most common Ilford project is knocking the front reception through to the rear, or removing the wall between the rear reception and the closet-wing kitchen. Each of these terraces carries load differently, so we never assume a wall is non-structural. Our engineer confirms what the wall supports, specifies the beam and details how it ties into the side return, which on many IG1 terraces has already been altered by previous owners.
Where a chimney breast is being removed, we install gallows brackets or a beam to carry the stack above, again to the engineer's design and building control's approval. Steel is heavy and awkward on a narrow terraced street, so we plan access, craning or manual handling and protection of your floors before delivery day. Once the beam is bricked up and plastered, the only sign left is a wider, brighter room.
- Structural engineer's calculations arranged and followed
- Concrete and high-density padstones at every bearing
- Access and lifting plans for restricted London sites
- Steel delivered cut, drilled and primed to the engineer's schedule
- Structural openings for open-plan living
The GS Renovation Difference in Ilford
Ilford homeowners choose GS Renovation because we treat steelwork as the structural heart of the job, not a box-ticking exercise. We coordinate the engineer, the padstones, the propping and building control sign-off under one roof. With 30+ years behind us in IG1 and the surrounding Redbridge streets, we leave your home stronger, safer and properly certified.
- Fully insured, with cover in place on every site
- Beams boxed and fire protected to the approved detail
- High-density concrete padstones bedded at every bearing
- Dust screens and floor protection in occupied homes
- One point of contact on the phone, not a call centre
- Making good and plastering priced in, not treated as an extra