An RSJ is the steel beam that carries the load once a wall below it is removed. The beam is only part of the job. What it bears onto matters as much as the beam itself, and the construction it bears onto is not the same across every part of Welwyn Garden City. We appoint a structural engineer, build to the calculations issued, and coordinate the building control inspections.
What the beam bears onto in the town's earliest houses
On the earliest streets the bearing can be solid brickwork rather than a cavity wall. Welwyn Rural District Council was building its second scheme, of 93 houses in Guessens Road, during 1923. The conservation area appraisal records that these were swiftly erected without cavity walls, and that these appear to survive at the southern end of the road. Whether a wall is solid or cavity changes how the padstone and the bearing are detailed, so the engineer needs the construction confirmed before anything is sized.
Terraces where the structure runs through the depth of the building
Terraced plans put structure in places you cannot always read from inside the room. Brockett Close consists of two storey red brick terrace housing with passage ways running through the depth of the buildings. The Peartree conservation area combines a mixture of hipped and gabled terraces. A hipped end and a gabled end load a flank wall differently, so the roof form above the opening belongs in the survey rather than in the snagging list.
Who inspects the steel once it is in
Hertfordshire Building Control does, rather than a team at the council's own offices. Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council's building control web address redirects to Hertfordshire Building Control, which provides the building control service for the borough. Hertfordshire Building Control states that its inspections cover foundations, damp proofing and structural issues, among other aspects of construction. We make the application and arrange the inspection visits so the beam is signed off rather than simply installed.
- Existing pipework and cabling diverted around the new opening
- Party Wall Act 1996 notices and awards handled
- Steel delivered cut, drilled and primed to the engineer's schedule
- Access and lifting plans for restricted London sites
- Structural engineer's calculations arranged and followed
The GS Renovation Difference in Welwyn Garden City
We are a contractor, not a design practice. We appoint the structural engineer, and we build to the calculations that engineer issues. We never produce structural calculations ourselves. That keeps design responsibility where it belongs, and it gives you one point of contact for the steel, the bearing, the fire protection and the making good. GS Renovation Ltd is fully insured and registered in England, company number 14611254. Quotations are free and carry no obligation.
- Steel sized to the engineer's design, never guessed on site
- Registered in England, Companies House no. 14611254
- Building control applications and inspections coordinated for you
- Party Wall Act notices served where a beam bears into a shared wall
- Structural engineer instructed and coordinated on your behalf
- Fully insured, with cover in place on every site