RSJ and Steel Beam Installation Peckham
Steel beam and RSJ installation in Peckham, designed by the engineer we appoint and signed off by building control.
- Rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder
- London guide: £1,500 to £4,000
- Free site survey, itemised quote
GS Renovation installs RSJs and steel beams across Peckham, from the bay-fronted Victorian terraces near Peckham Rye to the converted period homes off the SE15 side streets. We remove load-bearing walls safely, sizing every beam by a structural engineer and signing the work off with building control.
In Peckham, a steel beam for one opening typically costs £1,500 to £4,000 fitted and signed off, or £2,500 to £6,500 or more for a full knock-through with the engineer's fee and making good (indicative London ranges, MyBuilder and Checkatrade, 2026). GS Renovation Ltd, a building contractor based in Potters Bar, does the work in Peckham.
Price guide
| Work | Indicative London range |
|---|---|
| Steel beam, one opening: supply, install, sign-off | £1,500 to £4,000 |
| Full knock-through with engineer and making good | £2,500 to £6,500+ |
Indicative London ranges (MyBuilder and Checkatrade, 2026), not a quotation. Prices checked September 2026. Full breakdown: RSJ & Load-Bearing Walls.
How the job runs
- Free site survey at your Peckham address and an itemised quote.
- The engineer we appoint sizes the beam, and the work is registered with Southwark Council building control or an approved inspector. On a shared wall you serve the party wall notice as building owner; we supply the drawings.
- Props go in, the opening is cut and the beam is set on padstones, packed tight above.
- Building control inspects the steel before it is covered. We make good, and the completion certificate follows.
Removing load-bearing walls in Peckham terraces
The wall between the front and middle reception in a Peckham terrace is usually load-bearing, carrying the floor above and often the chimney stack. Before anything comes down, the structural engineer we appoint sizes a steel beam to suit the span and the loads, and specifies padstones for the beam to bear onto. We then set up temporary propping, expose the wall in stages and carry out a controlled, safe demolition.
Working in SE15 means dealing with solid brick walls, timber floor joists and the occasional surprise behind old plaster. We lift the new RSJ into position, seat it on the padstones and pin everything back before the props come out. Building control inspects the beam and its bearings, and we book that inspection so you have proper sign-off on the finished structure.
Housing in Peckham
About 26,680 homes are listed for Peckham, and the mix is 26% houses to 74% flats, with 56% built after 1945, 2% in 1919 to 1939 and 36% earlier. Most homes here are flats, and a beam in a leasehold flat in Peckham needs the freeholder's licence for alterations, since the lease usually keeps the structure with the freeholder.
What a Peckham beam bears on: Victorian brick or post-war concrete
Only 2% of homes in Peckham were built between 1919 and 1939, while 56% went up after 1945. That near-empty middle matters for steel, because the inter-war house is close to absent here. A new beam in Peckham lands either on solid Victorian brickwork bedded in soft mortar, or in a post-war block of concrete floors and block or panel walls. The two need different surveys, different fixings and a different first conversation with the structural engineer we appoint, so establish which one you have before asking anyone to price the steel.
Southwark lets you start a building regulations application in one of three ways: a building notice, full plans or regularisation. For a beam in a Victorian terrace, full plans means the calculations are checked before the steel is fabricated, which helps when party wall surveyors also want approved drawings. A building notice starts sooner, but nothing is formally approved in advance, so any query about the design is settled on site with the steel already cut to length. In a post-war block the freeholder's surveyor may want to review the design too, and approved calculations give them something fixed to review. Regularisation is for work already done, not for a new beam.
Party wall notices on Peckham steel projects
Many Peckham terraces share their dividing walls and chimney breasts with the house next door, so cutting a beam pocket into that party wall brings the Party Wall Act into play. We flag this early, explain which notices apply and give you time to serve them on your neighbours before work starts. Getting this right avoids disputes and keeps a shared SE15 wall on the right side of the law.
Where a beam bears into a party wall, the engineer specifies the bearing and padstone so the neighbour's side is not put at risk. We coordinate the propping, the pockets and the making good, then arrange building control inspection of the completed steelwork. We keep the structural drawings and the party wall timetable lined up, so neither side of the job is left loose.
If an old beam has no paperwork
A good number of Peckham houses already contain steel from an earlier alteration with nothing on file to show for it. That comes to light during a sale, or when we open a wall up for new work. The proper route is a regularisation application, which asks Southwark to inspect and certify work carried out without approval and usually means exposing the bearings again so that they can be properly seen. It is not fast, so it is far better to raise it when you buy the house than when you come to sell it.
The alternative many solicitors reach for is an indemnity policy, which insures against enforcement but proves nothing about whether the beam is adequate. That is a conveyancing fix, not a structural one. Where we find undocumented steel we say so, ask the engineer to assess whether it is doing its job, and let you decide. On our own work the certification is arranged as we go, so the question never arises for the next owner.
- Steel columns, base plates and bolted connections
- Building control applications and inspection sign-off
- Bearing checks into party walls and shared masonry
VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for all 6 statistical areas in Peckham. Counts rounded by the VOA.
Why Choose GS Renovation in Peckham
Peckham homeowners choose GS Renovation because we treat steelwork as engineering, not guesswork. Beams are sized by a structural engineer, seated on proper padstones and signed off by building control, with temporary propping and staged demolition keeping your period home safe throughout. Backed by our founder's 30+ years on the tools, we also give you the drawings and programme for the party wall notices you serve on shared SE15 walls.
We loved working with George and Ibrahim and would highly recommend them. They have done splendid job on our new kitchen refurb which including new…
George was brilliant. Lovely bloke, very reasonably priced and a perfectionist to boot. He completed our small kitchen renovation with care and great…
George always kept to commitments and arrived on time. He offered helpful suggestions during his initial visit and promptly provided a reasonably…
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about RSJ and Steel Beam Installation Peckham
Is a cheap RSJ and steel beam installation quote in Peckham worth taking?
Be careful with a cheap RSJ and steel beam installation quote in Peckham, particularly if nobody has visited. Pricing a purpose-built post-war home unseen is how a low figure becomes a high one halfway through, because the load path above the Peckham opening decides the beam. GS Renovation surveys, itemises within £1,500 to £4,000 for one beam opening (indicative) and holds the total. A second opinion on the SE15 quotation costs nothing.
Do I need a party wall notice to fit an RSJ in my Peckham terrace?
Usually yes. In most Peckham terraces the beam bears at one end into the party wall shared with next door, often beside a chimney breast. Cutting a beam pocket into that wall means serving notice under the Party Wall Act. We identify this at the survey, tell you which notices apply and give you time to serve them before the steel goes in.
What if my Peckham house already has a steel beam with no paperwork?
It can be regularised through Southwark Council. A regularisation application asks building control to inspect and certify work carried out without approval, which usually means exposing the bearings so they can be seen. Some solicitors use an indemnity policy instead, but that does not show the steel is adequate. It is best raised when you buy the house rather than when you sell.
Can I leave the steel beam exposed as a feature in my Peckham home?
You can, but it has to meet the same rules as a hidden beam. Building control usually needs the steel protected against fire, and on exposed steel that means intumescent paint rather than plasterboard. The beam should be specified with its finish in mind, and its ends and connections neat.
What does the engineer need to know before sizing a Peckham RSJ?
Everything that bears on the wall. That includes the floor joists, any wall above it, the roof, any chimney stack and loads from the flats above. The engineer visits and may ask for plaster or floorboards to be lifted to see joist direction and bearing. The calculations then size the beam, padstones and propping.
When can the props come out after a Peckham RSJ goes in?
Only once the beam is carrying the load properly. The padstones and packing are bedded in mortar, which needs to gain strength before load is transferred, and Southwark building control may want to see the bearings before they are covered. The props are removed gradually, and any cracks are checked as they come out.
Are Southwark building control fees for a Peckham beam quoted with VAT?
No. Southwark's final fees and charges schedule lists its building control fees excluding VAT, with VAT added at the time of invoicing or charging. If you are weighing Southwark against a registered building control approver for the same beam, put both figures on the same basis before choosing. The engineer's design fee and the steel sit outside either figure. Ask for the building control charge as its own line in any quote, so it is clear which number still has VAT to add.
What does a Victorian wall in Peckham need before a beam bears on it?
An engineer's check of what is underneath. 36% of homes in Peckham were built before 1919, and walls of that age are usually solid brick in soft lime mortar on shallow footings. A beam gathers the load of a whole floor onto a short length of wall, so the structural engineer we appoint specifies a padstone to spread it and may ask for a trial hole to see the footing. Where the bearing lands on an old flue or a patched opening, that brickwork is rebuilt before the steel goes in.
Does a beam inside a flat above a Rye Lane shop need planning permission?
Not for the beam itself. Southwark's Rye Lane Peckham Conservation Area is principally centred on Rye Lane, Peckham Hill Street and Peckham High Street, and conservation area status is about the outside of buildings. A beam inside an unlisted flat is a building regulations matter, plus the freeholder's licence. If the building is listed, listed building consent covers the inside too. The position also changes if the job moves a window, forms a new rear opening or replaces the back door, because a flat has no householder permitted development rights. Check those items with Southwark planning first.
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