Most single steel beam jobs in a typical UK house cost about £2,000 to £5,000 including VAT, with calculations, building control, propping, the steel and making good included. Wider external openings and flush beams cost more.
Most single-beam jobs in a typical house fall between about £2,000 and £5,000 all in, including calculations, building control, propping, the steel and making good. Wider openings, heavier loads and flush beams cost more.
| Job | Guide range (inc VAT) | What it usually covers |
|---|---|---|
| Load-bearing wall removal with steel beam | £2,000–£5,000 | Typical internal wall up to about 4 m: calculations, building control, propping, steel, padstones, fitting, fire protection and making good |
| Kitchen-diner knock-through (our estimate) | £2,500–£6,000 | Internal structural wall between kitchen and dining room, steel beam, approvals and making good (kitchen fitting extra) |
| Through-lounge knock-through | £2,500–£5,500 | Wall between front and back reception rooms, steel beam, approvals, plastering and floor infill |
| Chimney breast removal (ground floor) | £1,500–£3,000 | Ground-floor breast removed, steel to support the breast above, building control and making good |
| Chimney breast removal (whole breast) | £2,500–£5,000 | Breast removed on both floors with stack support or removal, scaffold where needed, approvals and making good |
| Widening an internal doorway | £1,000–£2,500 | Opening widened with a new lintel or short beam, approval where structural, and making good |
| Rear wall opening for bi-fold or sliding doors | £2,500–£7,000 | External wall opened up to about 5 m with steel, propping, cavity tray and making good (doors supplied separately) |
| Garage door opening infill (structural part) (our estimate) | £1,000–£3,000 | Beam or lintel checked or replaced, foundation and infill wall for the old door opening (window and finishes extra) |
| Lintel replacement | £400–£1,200 per lintel | Propping, removing the old lintel, new lintel set on beds and brickwork made good |
| Opening into a rear extension (our estimate) | £2,500–£7,000 | Original rear wall removed with a beam or goalpost, approvals and propping, coordinated with the extension build |
| Side return extension steelwork (our estimate) | £3,500–£8,500 | Beams and posts along the old side wall line, propping and approvals (extension build extra) |
| Loft conversion steels | £2,500–£6,000 | Supply and fit of floor and ridge steels on padstones, including lifting into the roof space |
| Basement or cellar steelwork (our estimate) | £2,500–£6,500 | Beams and columns with pad foundations under the floor above (excavation and waterproofing extra) |
| RSJ supply and fit (single beam) | £800–£2,500 per beam | Beam supplied, delivered, lifted and packed on padstones, with propping (calculations and approval priced separately) |
| Steel goalpost frame | £2,000–£6,000 | Two posts and a beam bolted as a frame, pad foundations, base plates and fitting |
| Steel column or post (our estimate) | £500–£1,500 per column | Column supplied and fitted with base and cap plates on a pad foundation |
| Steel beam replacement (our estimate) | £2,000–£5,500 | Propping, removing the failed beam, new steel on proper bearings, approval and making good |
| Structural calculations for a beam | £250–£750 | Site measure or photos, beam and padstone design and calculations for building control |
| Building control fees | £250–£650 | Building notice or full plans fee and inspections; varies by council or approver |
| Party wall surveyor (agreed surveyor, per neighbour) | £900–£2,000 per neighbour | Schedule of condition and award where a neighbour dissents; serving notice alone, where the neighbour consents, costs far less (England and Wales only) |
| Fire protection to a steel beam (our estimate) | £150–£600 per beam | Fire-rated board boxing or an intumescent coating system as specified |
| Temporary works and propping | £150–£500 | Props, spreaders, needles and sole plates for a typical opening, installed and struck |
| Plastering and making good | £300–£1,200 | Boxing the beam, bead and skim, reveals, floor infill where the wall stood and tidy-up |
| Shop or commercial structural opening (our estimate) | £5,000–£15,000 | Transfer beam and columns for opening units together or forming a shopfront opening |
| Steelwork for a flat or HMO conversion (our estimate) | £2,500–£9,000 | Beams and posts for a revised layout, with approvals; fire and sound separation priced with the conversion |
| Asbestos refurbishment survey (affected area) | £300–£600 | Survey of the area being disturbed, for homes built before 2000 |
Rows marked "our estimate" have no single published figure and are based on the related rows and typical job content.
What changes the price?
- The span of the opening and the load above it (floors, walls, roof, chimney)
- Whether the beam is boxed below the ceiling, set flush or left exposed
- Bearings: padstones, posts or new pad foundations
- Access for delivering and lifting the steel, and parking
- Services to reroute: radiators, cables, pipes, gas
- Party wall notices and surveyor fees (England and Wales)
- The standard of finish and how much making good is needed
Regional adjustment
Labour and materials cost more in some parts of the UK. Our local pages apply these approximate adjustments to the national ranges above.
| Region | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| London | +28% |
| South East | +12% |
| East of England | +6% |
| South West | +3% |
| West Midlands | 0% |
| East Midlands | -2% |
| North West | -4% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | -5% |
| North East | -7% |
| Wales | -9% |
| Scotland | -9% |
| Northern Ireland | -14% |
VAT
Figures include VAT at 20%, the normal rate for alterations to existing homes. Some conversions, such as turning a house into flats or bringing a long-empty home back into use, may qualify for a reduced rate under HMRC rules; your quote will show how VAT applies.
From guide price to fixed price
A guide range is for budgeting. After the survey and the engineer's calculations, you get an itemised written quote, and the price is fixed in writing once the layout, specification and scope are agreed.
Sources
Published cost guides we checked when setting these ranges:
- Checkatrade: Remove load-bearing wall + steel beam: single doorway (~1m) (Updated March 2026)
- MyJobQuote: Remove load-bearing wall + steel beam: small, single doorway (~1m) (6 October 2026)
- MyJobQuote: RSJ supplied and installed: total by span, 1m (7 July 2026)
- BestBuilders: Load-bearing wall removal + beam (props, beam, padstones, making good) (18 August 2026)
- MyBuilder: Full wall removal and RSJ installation (undated)
- Trade2Base: Load-bearing wall with steel beam (knock-through) (14 June 2026)
- Trade2Base: Small beam, single opening/doorway 1.5–2.5m, supplied & fitted (14 June 2026)
- Homebuilding & Renovating: Single RSJ, complex installation (upper end) (7 March 2026)
- Ideal Home: Knock down load-bearing wall, total job (expert quote) (8 August 2025)
- Checkatrade: RSJ beam 1–5m, up to 46kg/m (supply) (Article last updated 29 May 2023; cost table dated May 2024)
- Trade2Base: RSJ/UB steel beam, single, standard span (14 June 2026)
- F.H. Brundle: Universal beam 152x89x16 S355, supplier list price (undated)
- The Metal Store: Universal beam 152x89x16, 3m length, supplier list price (undated)
- F.H. Brundle: Universal beam 203x133x25 S355, supplier list price (undated)
- Barclay & Mathieson (bmsteel.co.uk): Universal beam 203x133x25 S355J0, supplier list price (undated)
- Checkatrade: Labour (chimney removal) (Updated April 2026)
- MyJobQuote: Labour day rate (chimney breast removal) (27 August 2026)
- BookaBuilderUK: General builder day rate (structural openings) (21 June 2026)
- MyJobQuote: Structural engineer: RSJ / load-bearing wall calculations (22 September 2026)
- Trade2Base: Structural engineer: RSJ/steel beam calculation incl. one site visit (8 June 2026)
- London Borough of Enfield (local authority building control): Building control (England, local authority): removal of load-bearing wall, full plans or building notice (Charges effective 1 April 2026)
- Kirklees Council (local authority building control): Building control (England, local authority): domestic alterations, estimated cost £2,001–£5,000, building… (undated (no fee effective date shown))
- Scottish Government - Building (Fees) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2026 (SSI 2026/7): Scotland building warrant fee: estimated value of work up to £5,000 (In force 1 April 2026)
- Belfast City Council (building control): Northern Ireland building control (Belfast): other domestic work, estimated cost up to £2,000 (undated (no fee effective date shown))
- HomeOwners Alliance: Party wall: agreed (single) surveyor, standard project (Published 22 March 2022; last modified 10 March 2026)
- BestBuilders: Party wall: notice served for you (30 August 2026)
- Trade2Base: Party wall: agreed single surveyor (8 June 2026)
- Trade2Base: Chimney breast removal: single room (ground floor or bedroom), breast above supported (13 June 2026)
- Checkatrade: Kitchen-diner knock-through (wall removal, excluding lintel/RSJ) (Article last updated 29 August 2023; price table May 2024)
- Trade2Base: Rear wall opening for bi-fold: beam supplied and fitted, up to 2.4m (8 June 2026)
- Checkatrade: Garage conversion: remove garage door and replace (Updated May 2026)
- Trade2Base: Garage conversion: garage door removal and wall/window infill (8 June 2026)
- Checkatrade: Loft conversion: steelwork to support structural changes (30m² dormer) (Page updated March 2026; steelwork figure from table dated December 2024)
- Checkatrade: Lintel replacement (concrete, steel or timber), standard window/door (Article last updated 12 January 2023; cost section May 2024)
- Trade2Base: Single window lintel replacement (10 June 2026)
- Rawlins Paints: Intumescent paint, 30 min (one coat) / 60 min (two coats), product price (undated)
- Checkatrade: Skim plastering (Updated June 2026)
- Mammoth Hire: Acrow prop hire (undated)
- Screwfix: Masonry prop bundle hire (3 props + 3 strongboys) (undated)
- BuildBuddy: Concrete padstone 440x215x102mm (PAD12) (undated)
Last checked 1 November 2026.