RSJ and Steel Beam Installation Putney
Steel beam and RSJ installation in Putney, 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 steel beams and RSJs across Putney, from the bay-fronted Victorian terraces off the Upper Richmond Road to the Edwardian homes and riverside properties near the Thames. We open up load-bearing walls safely and see every beam through to building control sign-off.
In Putney, 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 Putney.
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 Putney address and an itemised quote.
- The engineer we appoint sizes the beam, and the work is registered with Wandsworth 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 Putney terraces
The typical Putney terrace has a load-bearing wall between the two reception rooms and another between the kitchen and the rear closet wing. Taking either out to create a single open space needs a steel beam, sized by a structural engineer, bearing onto padstones at each end. Before we cut anything, we install temporary propping to carry the floor and the wall above, then demolish in careful, staged sections rather than all at once.
Because these SW15 houses share party walls and chimney stacks with the neighbours, the beam often bears into masonry that is jointly owned. That brings the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 into play, so you serve the correct notices on adjoining owners in good time. Every RSJ we fit is inspected and signed off by building control under the building regulations, giving you a clean paper trail for the future.
Housing in Putney
Roughly 20,990 dwellings sit on the valuation list for Putney. 25% are houses and 75% flats, and by age 36% predate 1919, 8% are interwar and 54% post-war. Most homes here are flats, and a beam in a leasehold flat in Putney needs the freeholder's licence for alterations, since the lease usually keeps the structure with the freeholder.
Steel for a Putney flat and the full plans approval route
In Putney 75% of homes are flats, so the room getting an RSJ is more often part of a flat than a whole house. That changes who has to be satisfied before any steel is cut. The freeholder's surveyor can be expected to ask for calculations, and the owners above and below have floors and ceilings either side of the props. A full plans application to Wandsworth Building Control means the design from the structural engineer we appoint is checked by the council's own service before fabrication. The freeholder then has an approved drawing to rely on rather than a promise.
The fee for full plans is split in two. Wandsworth takes 40% of the total charge on application and invoices the remaining 60% inspection charge after the first site visit. The larger part is therefore due early in a Putney job, not at completion. Order the steel only once the approval and the freeholder's licence are both in writing. A beam made to drawings that later change may have to be cut again or remade, and in a block or a converted house a second beam has to come up the common stairs all over again.
Engineered steelwork for Putney homes
No two Putney houses carry load in quite the same way. A double-storey terrace with rooms above, a loft conversion overhead or a wide side-return infill all change the size of steel required, so we never guess. We work from the calculations of the structural engineer we appoint, who specifies the beam, the bearing length and the padstones, whether that is a single RSJ or a goalpost frame with columns.
Solid Victorian brickwork behaves differently from later cavity walls, and the closet wings on these terraces often sit on shallow foundations. We open up and check the bearings, build out weak masonry as the engineer directs and make sure the new steel is properly bedded and fire-protected. Once the beam is in and the props come out, we make good the openings, plaster the reveals and leave the room ready for the next stage of your project.
Traps in a converted Putney house
Many Putney terraces were divided into flats or converted at some point, and that history is where steel jobs go wrong. Walls get built off floor joists rather than off structure below, so a partition that looks non-structural on a plan turns out to be carrying a bathroom above it. Openings have been formed before without approval. And fire separation between flats has frequently been compromised by whoever did that earlier work. We ask for any drawings or paperwork from previous work at survey, since they often explain what we then find behind the plaster.
The other issue near the river is what lies underneath. Ground conditions vary along the Thames edge of SW15, and some of these houses have shallow footings on made ground. A beam concentrates load onto two points where a wall never did, so the engineer needs to know what is below before judging whether the existing foundation is adequate or a bearing needs spreading. We open up and find out rather than assume.
- Load-bearing wall removal and knock-throughs
- Structural openings for open-plan living
- Concrete and high-density padstones at every bearing
VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for Putney Embankment & Lower Common, Putney Town & Wandsworth Park, Putney West and East Putney. Counts rounded by the VOA.
Trusted RSJ and Steel Beam Installation in Putney
Putney homeowners choose GS Renovation because we treat steel beam work as engineering, not guesswork. One team handles the propping, the safe demolition, the beam and the making good, working to the engineer's calculations and to building control. With our founder's 30+ years on the tools, including party wall terraces, we keep the job safe, tidy and fully documented from start to sign-off.
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 always kept to commitments and arrived on time. He offered helpful suggestions during his initial visit and promptly provided a reasonably…
It's the second time I have hired George and he has been absolutely professional and the work he did resembles perfectly what I had in mind. Being an…
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about RSJ and Steel Beam Installation Putney
Which parts of an RSJ and steel beam installation project in Putney cost the most?
Which part of an RSJ and steel beam installation project in Putney costs most depends on the house, which is why the survey comes first. In older stock reinstatement often outweighs the structural element; a newer SW15 property is the other way round. GS Renovation prices the two separately within £1,500 to £4,000 for one beam opening (indicative), so phasing is possible, provided the order holds: the opening is propped before any masonry comes out.
Do I need a party wall notice to fit an RSJ in my Putney terrace?
Usually yes. In most Putney terraces the wall you want to open sits on, or the beam bears into, a party wall shared with your neighbour, so the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies. You must serve written notice on the adjoining owners before work starts. We guide you through the timing and, separately, arrange building control sign-off under the building regulations.
How is an RSJ carried up to an upper-floor Putney flat?
Through the common stairwell, which is often the tightest point. We measure the turns before ordering, and where a full-length beam will not pass, the engineer designs it in bolted sections joined inside the flat. Moving steel through shared parts also needs the freeholder's agreement, so we arrange that with the consent.
Can a steel beam bear onto a stud wall in a converted Putney house?
No. A beam needs a bearing that carries its load all the way to the foundation, usually masonry with a padstone or a steel post. Later partitions added during conversions are often timber studwork, which cannot take that load. The engineer traces a solid path down, and if needed a new post or pier is built.
What will the freeholder want to see before an RSJ goes into a Putney flat?
Usually the engineer's calculations and drawings, and sometimes a method statement setting out where the props stand and for how long. Many freeholders pass these to their own surveyor before giving written consent under the lease. Building control approval follows, and the steel is only ordered once both are in place.
Should the RSJ go in before or after a new kitchen in Putney?
Before. The steel, padstones and props need the room clear, and building control must inspect the bearings before anything is covered. Once the beam is signed off, first fix electrics and plumbing go in, then plastering, and only then the kitchen units. Fitting a kitchen first means removing it again.
Where does a Putney homeowner send the building control application for a new RSJ?
Wandsworth Council runs its own Building Control service. It takes applications through the Building Control application service on the Planning Portal, or by emailed form to buildingcontrol@wandsworth.gov.uk. Attach the calculations and drawing for the beam, padstones and temporary propping, not only a description of the opening. We put that pack together with the structural engineer we appoint, so the application and the steel order describe the same beam.
Can an RSJ go into a Putney flat in a block built since 2000?
Sometimes the question never arises. 27% of Putney's homes were built in 2000 or later, and in a concrete frame block the floors are carried by columns and slabs, so the walls inside a flat can be partitions rather than structure. Other blocks rely on their walls, and some slabs carry tensioned cables that must never be cut or drilled blind. Ask the managing agent for the structural drawings and the health and safety file before any design starts.
Does Wandsworth charge more when the steel opening into a Putney extension is wide?
It can. Wandsworth's fixed charge for an extension covers forming an opening into it up to 1.5m wide, and an additional charge may apply for structural openings over 1.5m wide. A Putney house opened across its full back wall into a new kitchen is well past that width. Give the real span and the beam on the application, so the charge is agreed at the start and the inspections cover the steel as well as the new room.
Every Service, One Team
More GS Renovation Services in Putney
One team for every GS Renovation service in Putney:
Same Service, Nearby Areas
RSJ and Steel Beam Installation Near Putney
We carry out RSJ and steel beam installation across Putney and the surrounding areas. Explore a nearby location:
Ready to Start Your Putney Project?
Free, no-obligation quote for RSJ and steel beam installation in Putney.