GS Renovation carries out structural alterations throughout Merton, working on the Victorian and Edwardian terraces of Wimbledon, Mitcham and Morden and the more substantial suburban homes nearby. Over 30 years in SW19, SW20, CR4 and SM4 has covered new openings, replacement joists, supported openings and underpinning, each designed by a structural engineer and signed off by building control.
Structural work for Merton's period homes
The typical Merton terrace has a rear closet wing and a side return, and much of our structural work is about widening the link between the original house and those spaces. Forming a new opening into a side-return extension, or a wider doorway between the closet wing and kitchen, means the masonry above has to be caught on a lintel or steel beam bearing onto padstones. An engineer sizes every element first.
Older properties near Mitcham Common and Morden Hall Park often need more than a new opening. We replace decayed or undersized floor joists, form supported openings where a wall is only partly removed, and where foundations have moved we underpin in carefully sequenced bays. Each of these is designed to a structural engineer's specification and propped and staged so the building stays stable throughout.
Engineering and consents across Merton
Any alteration that changes how loads travel through the building is notifiable under the Building Regulations, and Merton Council's building control inspects the works at the key stages and issues the completion certificate. We book those inspections, keep the engineer's calculations on site and make sure padstones, beam bearings and connections match the approved design before anything is closed up.
Where an opening, a new bearing or underpinning affects a wall shared with the adjoining house, the Party Wall Act applies and you serve notice on the neighbour before starting. This matters on Merton's tightly packed terraced streets in SW19 and CR4, where the party wall is doing structural work for both homes. Internal alterations like these need building control, not planning permission, unless exterior conservation-area work is involved.
- Chimney breast removal and support to the stack above
- Building control applications and completion certification
- Temporary works, propping and needling
- Reinstatement, plastering and finishing after structural works
- Floor structure, joist and beam replacement
The GS Renovation Difference in Merton
For structural alterations, Merton homeowners get one team managing the engineer's design, the propping and staged construction, and building control certification, all under a single point of contact. We keep the site clean and the house liveable while we work, and we bring 30+ years of alterations experience across Merton's terraces and suburban homes in SW19, SW20, CR4 and SM4.
- Itemised pricing, so you can see what every stage costs
- Structural engineer instructed and coordinated on your behalf
- A written scope and programme agreed before work starts
- Building control inspected at foundation, steel and completion
- Clean, tidy and reliable tradespeople
- Trial holes dug to confirm what is under the building