Structural Alterations in Woking & Surrey

Changing the shape of your home

Sometimes the best way to get more out of a house is not to build onto it, but to change the rooms you already have. Taking a wall out, opening up a poky kitchen, or knocking two small rooms into one bright space can transform how a home feels and works. Prince Builders carry out structural alterations like this right across Woking and Surrey, and we have been doing it since 1998.

Structural work is different from ordinary building. The moment you touch a wall that holds the house up, you need it done by people who understand what they are dealing with. We work alongside structural engineers, sort out the calculations, fit the right steel and make sure building control are happy at every stage. Nothing is guessed at.

Whether you want a single wall taken down or a whole ground floor reworked into open-plan living, we will tell you honestly what is possible, what it involves and what it will cost. No surprises halfway through.

How we approach the work

Every structural job starts with working out whether the wall in question is load-bearing. Not all internal walls hold weight, but plenty do, and getting that wrong is dangerous. Where the wall is taking load, a structural engineer produces calculations that tell us exactly what beam is needed to carry it once the wall is gone.

On site, the area is propped and made safe before anything comes out. We fit the steel beam (often called an RSJ) onto proper padstones so the load is spread correctly, then make good around it. The work is carried out under building control, who inspect at the key points and issue the sign-off you will want to keep for the future, especially when you come to sell.

We keep the dust down, board off where we can and tidy as we go. Living through structural work is never completely painless, but we do our best to keep your home usable and to get the messy part over quickly. If your alteration ties into a bigger project, we can roll it into a full property renovation so it is all handled by one team.

Steel beams fitted during structural work

The kinds of structural work we do

Removing a load-bearing wall to create open-plan living is the job we are asked about most. Knocking the kitchen, dining room and living area into one connected space makes a tired house feel twice the size, and a well-placed steel beam means you lose the wall without losing the support.

We also take out chimney breasts to reclaim floor space in bedrooms and reception rooms, fit steel where needed when a chimney is removed, and carry out underpinning where foundations need strengthening, for instance before adding storeys or where movement has been found. Other common jobs include forming new structural openings for wide doorways or bifold doors, and making safe after problems such as cracking or settlement. If the alteration is part of an extension, our home extensions team handles the new structure and the existing one together.

Why Prince Builders

Why choose Prince Builders

Structural work is not the place to cut corners. Here is why people across Surrey trust us with it.

Family-run and independent, going since 1998 with over 25 years behind us.
Fully qualified, certified and insured, and used to working safely on structural jobs.
We work alongside your structural engineer so the steel is sized right, not guessed.
We handle building control sign-off and hand you the paperwork you will want later.
We prop and make the area safe before any wall comes down.
Clear honest quotes with no hidden extras appearing partway through the job.
Most of our work comes through referrals and word of mouth from happy customers.
We keep your home as clean and usable as we can while the work is underway.
Local to Woking, so we know the housing stock and the building control teams round here.
One point of contact from first visit to final sign-off.

Areas we cover

We do a lot of steelwork and open-plan jobs on the larger homes near Virginia Water, where this kind of work needs finishing to a high standard, and around Cobham too. We are based in Woking and cover the rest of Surrey and South West London from there. We carry out the same structural work in Woking, Camberley, Ascot, Cobham and Weybridge, always with the calculations and building control sign-off in place before anything is opened up.

Because no two houses carry their load the same way, the right first step is always for us to come and look at the wall in question before anything is promised.

Good To Know

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if a wall is load-bearing?

It is not always obvious from looking. As a rough guide, walls that run at right angles to the floor joists above, and walls sitting directly above another wall on the floor below, are often load-bearing. We can come and assess it, and where there is any load involved a structural engineer confirms it before we touch anything.

Do I need building control for removing a wall?

Yes, if the wall is load-bearing. Building control need to approve the work and inspect it, and they issue a completion certificate at the end. We arrange all of this for you, so you are not left chasing paperwork.

What is an RSJ?

RSJ stands for rolled steel joist, the steel beam that carries the load once a supporting wall is taken out. The size is worked out by a structural engineer based on what the wall is holding up. We fit it onto padstones so the weight is spread into the walls either side.

Can you remove a chimney breast?

Yes. We can take out a chimney breast on one or more floors to free up space. Where the chimney above is being kept, it needs supporting, usually with steel or gallows brackets, and that is part of the job we plan in from the start.

How long does a typical structural alteration take?

A single wall removal is often done within a week, while opening up a whole ground floor takes longer, perhaps two to three weeks depending on the property. We will give you a realistic timescale with your quote rather than an optimistic one.

Do you do the structural engineer drawings too?

We work closely with structural engineers and can arrange the calculations as part of the project, so you do not need to organise it separately. You get one team handling the whole thing from start to finish.

Get a free quote

If you are thinking about taking out a wall, going open-plan or any other structural change, give us a call on 01483 323512 for a free, no-obligation quote and some honest advice. We will come and look, talk you through the options and put a clear price together with no pressure.

More Of What We Do