Structural Modifications

Most of the transformation in a renovation comes from a small number of structural decisions: removing the wall between two rooms, opening the back of the house, taking the roof space, digging out the lower ground floor. They are also the decisions with the least room for improvisation. The programme, the finishes and the neighbours all depend on getting them right.

We manage structural work end to end — the assessment, the engineer's design, the approvals, the temporary works, the build and the sign-off — as part of a single coordinated project.

How we approach it

Nothing is opened up until it is understood. We survey the existing construction first: wall types, floor spans, joist direction, roof structure, the position of load paths and services, and what the foundations and ground are likely to be. Where the picture is uncertain we open up a small area rather than guess.

A structural engineer then produces calculations and details for the proposed work — beam sizes, padstones and bearings, connections, lintels, any strengthening or new foundations, and the temporary propping needed while load is transferred. Those calculations go to building control and are inspected at each stage.

On site the sequence is deliberate: propping in, services diverted, opening formed, steel set and bolted, bearings packed and loaded, propping struck only when the engineer is satisfied. Rushing that order is how buildings crack, and cracks in a finished house are expensive to argue about later. Where the existing structure turns out to differ from the drawings — an unexpected bearing, a hidden opening, a floor spanning the other way — the engineer revisits the design before work continues rather than after.

What's involved

• Structural survey and opening-up investigations
• Structural engineer's calculations, details and specification
• Building control full plans submission and stage inspections
• Temporary works, propping and needle beams where required
• Load-bearing wall removal, steel beams, padstones and new openings
• Chimney breast removal with gallows brackets or new support above
• House extensions: rear, side return and wrap-around
• Loft, basement and garage conversions, including underpinning where necessary
• Party wall notices, schedules of condition and awards, handled with planning permissions and approvals

In London homes

The typical London job is a terraced house where the wall you want to remove is doing more than it looks. Spine walls in Victorian terraces often carry both the upper floor and part of the roof; a chimney breast taken out on one storey still has masonry standing above it; a rear closet wing shares a party wall with next door. All of these are workable, and all of them bring the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 into play, with notices served two months in advance for work to a party structure and one month for excavation close to a neighbour's foundations.

Ground conditions matter as much as the building. Much of the city sits on London clay, which shrinks and swells with moisture, so new foundations near mature trees are usually taken deeper than they would be elsewhere. Basement schemes are governed by borough-specific policies and require sequenced underpinning, movement monitoring, and drainage and waterproofing design resolved together rather than in turn.

Drainage is a frequent surprise. Shared soil stacks and combined drains often run directly beneath the slab you want to lower or the extension you want to build, so a build-over or build-near agreement with the sewerage undertaker may be needed before excavation starts. It is a straightforward application, but not one to begin in the week the digger arrives.

Fire and sound requirements arrive with the structure. A loft conversion changes the escape strategy for the entire house, which is why a protected stairway, fire doors and mains-linked alarms belong in the design from the outset rather than being discovered at inspection. Converted flats bring separating-floor performance into the same conversation.

Working with us

Structural work is coordinated with the engineers and specialists we use repeatedly, and run against the same programme and cost plan as everything else — see project management and coordination. Where the aim is more usable space rather than simply more space, it is worth starting with luxury space optimisation, because a better plan sometimes removes the need for a bigger one.

Have a look at our projects to see completed structural work in comparable properties, then book a survey.