Structural alterations · South Holland
Knock-throughs and steel beams in Spalding
We take out walls and fit steel beams to open up kitchens, dining rooms and living spaces across Spalding and South Holland — working to a structural engineer’s calculations, with building control signed off.
Knock-throughs and steels
What’s included
- Structural engineer’s calculations, arranged or worked from
- Temporary support while the wall comes out
- RSJs and picture-frame steels, set on padstones
- Building control inspection and sign-off
- Making good: plastering, skirting and floor repairs
- Steel sourced, and the mess cleared up after
Opening up a kitchen
It’s the job we’re asked about most. On one recent house we took out two internal walls and fitted two RSJ steels, removed the old windows and back door, blocked up the openings and fitted new bifolds. With new electrics throughout and fresh plaster, it’s now one open kitchen.
Picture-frame steels
Where a whole outside wall comes out, usually when an extension replaces a conservatory, a picture-frame steel takes the load of the house above. It’s a box frame of beams and posts, and it lets the old house and the new extension become one room with no wall or pillars between them.
Doing it safely
Every load-bearing wall is different. A structural engineer sizes the steel and its supports. We prop the floors above, take the wall out, set the steel on padstones and protect it, and building control inspect it before it’s covered up. At the end you get a completion certificate, which you’ll need when you sell.
How a project runs
From the first visit to handover
Free site visit
We look at the space, talk through ideas and give an honest view on what’s possible.
Plans and approvals
Drawings, structural calculations and building control sorted before anything starts.
Clear written quote
What’s included, what isn’t, and a fair, transparent price.
The build
Our own team on the tools, with trusted local trades for plumbing, electrics and glazing.
Sign-off and handover
Building control sign-off, a walk-round together and a tidy site left behind.
Questions
Knock-throughs and steels: common questions
Do I need a structural engineer to take a wall out?
Yes, if the wall is load-bearing. A structural engineer works out the size of steel and the supports it needs, and building control approve the calculations before the wall comes out. We source the steel, prop the floor above, fit the beam and make good afterwards. If you don’t have an engineer, ask us and we’ll point you to one.
Do I need building regulations approval?
Yes, for almost every extension, garage conversion and structural alteration, even when you don’t need planning permission. Building control check the foundations, steels, insulation, drainage and fire safety as the work goes on, then issue a completion certificate. Keep it safe: your buyer’s solicitor will ask for it when you sell.
Do I need a party wall agreement?
You may need to give your neighbours notice under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 if the work touches a shared wall, builds on the boundary, or digs foundations within 3 metres of a neighbour’s building and deeper than theirs. Notice has to be served one to two months before that work starts. We’ll tell you at the site visit if it’s likely to apply.
Can we live at home during the build?
Yes, almost always. Most of an extension is built from the outside while your existing back wall stays in place. The knock-through comes near the end, when we seal off the work area with dust sheets and screens. If the kitchen is being opened up, expect to be without part of it for a while; we plan that with you.
Will you clear up after yourselves?
Yes. We keep the site tidy as we go, take our waste away and leave the place clean at handover. When a wall is coming out, we sheet up and seal off the rest of the house first.
Want to open up your kitchen?
Tell us which wall you’d like gone. Ash will come and look and tell you honestly what’s involved.