An RSJ is the steel beam that carries the load once a wall is taken out. Our part is the survey, the propping, the beam, the padstones, the making good and the inspections that sign the work off. We appoint a structural engineer for the calculations and build to what they issue. We never write those calculations ourselves. This page sets out how the approval side of an RSJ works on a Slough property, and the dates you can plan around.
Slough Borough Council runs its own building control, with four ways in
Slough Borough Council operates its own building control service, and it offers four application routes: a full plan check, a building notice, regularisation for work already carried out, and reversion from an approved inspector. For a steel beam the choice between a full plan check and a building notice is worth making deliberately, because a plan check puts the engineer's calculations in front of the council before anyone starts propping.
The council states that your inspection plan should normally arrive within 10 working days of your application. It also states that you can request an inspection 48 hours after you submit. Those two numbers give you a usable timetable. We make the application and set the beam date against them, rather than hoping an inspector is free on the morning the steel arrives.
Booking the inspections around the steel
Slough Building Control asks for site inspection visits to be requested 24 hours in advance, so that it can plan its site visits more effectively. An RSJ has stages that cannot be seen once they are covered: the bearing, the padstone, the beam seated and packed, and the fire protection. Each of those wants a booking rather than a phone call on the day.
The council publishes a list of charges for common building projects, covering fees for most types of work, and quotes for anything outside that list through buildingcontrol@slough.gov.uk. We put the correct fee into the quotation instead of leaving it as an extra for you to find later.
No planning permission does not mean no building regulations
Slough Borough Council reminds householders that planning permission may not be required for certain house extensions. It states that this does not remove the requirement to make an application under the building regulations, which deal with the health and safety and structural aspects of the building. The same separation applies to a beam inside your own house.
So an internal opening with a steel over it is a building control matter whatever the planning position turns out to be. We treat the two as separate consents from the first visit, and we tell you which one your job needs before any price is agreed.
- Lintel and catnic support to smaller openings
- RSJ and structural steel beam installation
- Steel columns, base plates and bolted connections
- Load-bearing wall removal and knock-throughs
- Ceiling and floor levels resolved where the beam sits below joists
Why Choose GS Renovation in Slough
For a Slough beam the building control application goes to Slough Borough Council's own service. We make it, we agree the route with you, and we book the inspections around the propping sequence rather than after it. We are a contractor and not an engineering practice: we appoint the structural engineer, build to the calculations issued, and hold the props until the beam is bearing correctly. That gives you one point of contact for the engineer, the steel and the inspector. GS Renovation Ltd is fully insured and registered in England, company number 14611254, and rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder. Quotations are free and carry no obligation.
- Beams boxed and fire protected to the approved detail
- Itemised pricing, so you can see what every stage costs
- Structural engineer instructed and coordinated on your behalf
- Steel sized to the engineer's design, never guessed on site
- Party Wall Act notices served where a beam bears into a shared wall
- Materials priced at options, so you choose the finish