GS Renovation installs RSJs and steel beams across Stratford, from the warehouse conversions and new-build riverside apartments near the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to the Victorian terraces of E15. With over 30 years of structural experience in Newham, we open up load-bearing walls safely and sign every beam off with building control.
Steel beams in Stratford conversions and terraces
A load-bearing wall removal in a Stratford home starts with a structural engineer sizing the RSJ for the span and the load above. In the Victorian terraces around West Ham Park the dividing wall is usually solid brick, so we install temporary propping, take the wall down in stages and lower the beam onto padstones at each bearing. Every step is planned before the props go anywhere near the ceiling.
In a warehouse conversion or new-build apartment near the Royal Docks the picture is different. Structural change is limited by the building's frame, so we work with your engineer and your freeholder to confirm what can move. The leasehold almost always requires the freeholder's licence to alter, and the managing agent will want method statements before any steel is ordered or a single wall comes down.
Party wall notices across Stratford E15
Many Stratford terraces share a party wall with the neighbouring house, and in an apartment block you may share structure with the flat next door or below. Where a beam bears into a shared wall, the Party Wall Act applies and notice must be served on the affected owners before work begins. We flag this early so the notice period runs while the engineer's drawings and the building control application are being prepared.
Building control sign-off is separate from planning permission and is what matters for steel. An inspector checks the beam size, the padstones, the bearing and the fire protection against the approved drawings. We book the inspections, keep the calculations on site and arrange the final certificate once the work passes. For leaseholders in E15 we also hand the paperwork to the managing agent, who often needs it for the building's records.
Altering a modern Stratford apartment
Removing a wall in one of the newer blocks near the Olympic Park is a different exercise from opening a Victorian terrace. Many internal walls in a concrete-framed building are metal stud partitions carrying nothing, so no beam is needed at all; the structure is in the frame and the slabs. What matters instead is establishing which walls are structural and what is buried in the slab before anything is cut.
That last point is important. Some modern slabs are post-tensioned, with tendons running through them that must never be drilled or cored without the original structural information and a scan. Fixings into the soffit, new drainage through a floor and any core hole all need checking first. The lease will also require the freeholder's consent and a structural engineer's report before work starts. We obtain the building's structural drawings where they exist rather than assuming the wall is only plasterboard.
- RSJ and structural steel beam installation
- Temporary propping and staged, controlled demolition
- Structural engineer's calculations arranged and followed
- Party Wall Act 1996 notices and awards handled
- Existing pipework and cabling diverted around the new opening
The GS Renovation Difference in Stratford
Homeowners in Stratford choose GS Renovation because we treat structural work as the serious job it is. One team handles the engineer's drawings, the propping, the beam and the building control sign-off, whether your home is a Victorian terrace or a leasehold apartment. Thirty years in Newham means we know the local stock and the paperwork inside out.
- Waste cleared as we go, not left piled in the garden
- Building control inspected at the propping and beam stages
- Steel sized to the engineer's design, never guessed on site
- Itemised pricing, so you can see what every stage costs
- Aftercare and snagging support once the job is finished
- Photographs kept at each stage for your records