Steel BeamInstallers
Grey steel goalpost frame installed where a rear wall has been removed

Steel goalpost frames · Uxbridge

Steel goalpost frames in Uxbridge

Steel goalpost frames for homes in UB7, UB8, UB10, designed by a structural engineer.

  • Price fixed in writing once scope is agreed
  • Building control arranged
  • Temporary works and making good included

Free survey in Uxbridge

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  • Free survey visit
  • Engineer's calculations arranged
  • Building control handled
  • Fixed written price once scope is agreed
  • England, Wales, mainland Scotland & NI

Planning steel goalpost frames in Uxbridge

Planning steel goalpost frames in Uxbridge? Our team covers UB7, UB8, UB10 and UB11 and the streets around them. The wider London area is covered as well. You get one written quote for the calculations, approvals, propping, steel and making good.

When a rear wall is opened almost corner to corner, or the brickwork either side is too thin, cracked or broken up by openings to take a concentrated load, a beam on padstones is not enough. A goalpost frame brings its own supports: two columns carry the beam's ends straight down to new foundations, so the walls around the opening are not relied on.

What to expect

  • Stability is part of the design, not just strength. A frame standing in a wide opening can sway sideways if the joints are too flexible, so the engineer decides whether the connections must be moment-resisting or whether the frame is tied back to the surrounding structure.
  • Columns can be boxed in with fire-rated plasterboard to look like small piers, built into new stud walls, or left exposed and painted. Where an extension wall continues past the opening, a column can often sit within it out of sight.
  • Keep the engineer's calculations, the frame drawings and the building control completion certificate together. They show a future buyer's surveyor how the opening is supported and save questions about the columns when the house is sold.
  • Goalpost frames are made to measure, so accurate site dimensions matter. Floor-to-ceiling height, the finished floor level and the width between column positions are taken before fabrication, because a frame that is a few millimetres out cannot simply be trimmed on site.
  • A goalpost frame differs from a simple beam because the beam does not rely on the walls at its ends. The two columns and the beam are connected so the whole frame carries the load down into foundations of its own.

Four stages, one team

  1. Look and measure

    We check the wall, the span you want and what the wall is carrying, and photograph anything the engineer needs to see.

  2. Design and price

    Calculations come back from the engineer and we confirm your fixed written price, line by line.

  3. Building control

    We submit a building notice or full plans application to the local council's building control team, so approval is in place before the wall is touched.

  4. Fit, inspect, finish

    The work is propped and the steel installed and packed tight. After inspection the opening is boxed, plastered and left clean.

What do steel goalpost frames cost in Uxbridge?

As a guide, budget £2,550–£7,700 including VAT for steel goalpost frame in Uxbridge, based on published UK cost guides adjusted for London prices (+28%).

JobTypical guide rangeWhat it usually covers
Steel goalpost frame£2,550–£7,700Two posts and a beam bolted as a frame, pad foundations, base plates and fitting
RSJ supply and fit (single beam)£1,000–£3,200 per beamBeam supplied, delivered, lifted and packed on padstones, with propping (calculations and approval priced separately)
Rear wall opening for bi-fold or sliding doors£3,200–£8,950External wall opened up to about 5 m with steel, propping, cavity tray and making good (doors supplied separately)
Opening into a rear extension£3,200–£8,950Original rear wall removed with a beam or goalpost, approvals and propping, coordinated with the extension build

Figures include our approximate regional adjustment for London prices (+28%) and are rounded. How these figures are worked out.

Building control and neighbours in Uxbridge

For Uxbridge, building control is provided by the local council's building control team, or by a registered building control approver if preferred. We send them the engineer's calculations with a building notice or full plans application and book the inspections. Work done without approval can cause problems at sale and is far dearer to put right later.

If the beam bears into a wall you share with a neighbour, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies, and a party structure notice must be served at least two months before that work starts. We arrange this through a party wall surveyor.

Building rules in England

Steel goalpost frames near Uxbridge

Steel goalpost frames in Uxbridge: your questions

How much do steel goalpost frames cost in Uxbridge?

As a guide, budget £2,550–£7,700 including VAT for steel goalpost frame in Uxbridge, based on published UK cost guides adjusted for London prices (+28%). The exact figure depends on the span, what the wall carries, access and the finish, and is fixed in writing once the scope is agreed.

What happens at the survey visit in Uxbridge?

We look at the wall, the floor and ceiling either side and what sits above, measure the opening you want, and note cables, pipes and access for the steel. It usually takes under an hour and there is no charge.

Can a goalpost frame be hidden?

Usually, yes. The columns can be boxed in with fire-rated plasterboard so they read as small piers, set inside new walls, or hidden within the line of an extension's side walls. The beam is boxed like any other steel. Some owners prefer to leave the frame exposed and painted as a design feature.

When do you need a goalpost instead of a steel beam?

You need a goalpost when the walls at either end of the opening cannot safely carry the beam. That happens when piers are too narrow, the masonry is weak or cracked, the opening runs almost wall to wall, or the footings below are unsuitable. The structural engineer makes the call after looking at the loads and the bearings available.

Do I need building regulations approval for a goalpost frame?

Yes. Installing a goalpost frame is structural building work. In England it needs building regulations approval through a full plans application or building notice, in Wales an application under the Welsh regulations, in Scotland a building warrant must be granted first, and in Northern Ireland the council's building control is applied to before work begins. We arrange the application and inspections.

Planning to take a wall out?

Book a free survey visit. You get an itemised written quote covering calculations, building control, steel and making good.