Job guide
Removing a Load-Bearing Wall: Paperwork and Propping
TL;DR
Before a load-bearing wall comes out you need the structural engineer's design, building regulations approval, a party wall notice if a party wall is involved, an asbestos check on older houses and RAMS. The props are temporary works with their own design from a competent person, so this guide gives no prop spacings or sequences.
Knocking through between a kitchen and a dining room is one of the most common jobs on a house. If the wall carries load, it is also one of the riskiest. This guide sets out the paperwork you need before the wall comes out, who provides each piece, and where the propping fits in.
This guide covers Great Britain for health and safety. Northern Ireland has its own CDM 2016 Regulations and guidance from HSENI. The building regulations and party wall sections cover England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own building regulations.
Build the wall removal RAMS around the engineer's design
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Start free →In this guide
The paperwork, in order
Get these in place before anyone cuts into the wall.
1.Structural design and calculations
A structural engineer designs the new beam, its bearings and anything else that takes the load.
2.Building regulations approval
Apply to a building control body before work starts, with a full plans application or a building notice.
3.Party wall notice, if a party wall is involved
Served on the neighbours at least two months before work on the party wall begins, unless the neighbours who own it and anyone living there as tenants agree in writing.
4.Asbestos check
On an older house, check for asbestos in the wall, boxing and ceilings before you open them up.
5.Temporary works design for the props
How the building is held up while the wall comes out, designed by someone competent to assess the loads.
6.RAMS
Your method statement, built on the engineer's design and the propping design, and briefed to the team.
7.Building control inspections and completion certificate
Building control inspects the work, and you usually get a completion certificate once it complies.
The structural engineer's design
The building has to carry its loads safely to the ground once the wall has gone. That is requirement A1 of the Building Regulations 2010 (Schedule 1, Part A). In practice, a structural engineer works out what the wall was carrying and designs the beam, its bearings and anything below them to take that load.
The engineer is a designer under CDM 2015. A designer must try to remove foreseeable risks to the people who build the work, reduce or control the ones they cannot remove, and give contractors enough information about the design to do their own job safely (regulation 9). Ask for that information. It is what your RAMS is built on.
Read the design before you price the job. It decides the size and weight of the steel, how it gets lifted into place, what goes under each end and whether building control needs to see anything before it is covered up.
Building regulations approval (Part A)
In England and Wales, an alteration is building work if at any stage it would make the building stop complying with a relevant requirement of the Building Regulations, or make it worse (Building Regulations 2010, regulation 3(2)). Part A, structure, is one of those requirements (regulation 3(3)). Taking out a wall that carries load affects the structure, so it needs building regulations approval.
GOV.UK describes two ways to apply to your local council:
- Full plans: the most thorough option, with a decision usually within five weeks, or two months if you agree a longer period.
- Building notice: for smaller projects. Work can start two days after you submit it, but you do not get formal approval of the plans.
You can also use a registered building control approver instead of the council. When the work is finished and complies, you will usually get a completion certificate. Give it to the homeowner with the rest of the job paperwork. For applications, inspections and what building control checks on structural work, see our guide to building control for extensions.
Party wall notice, where it applies
In a terraced or semi-detached house, the new beam may bear into the wall shared with next door. The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 gives a building owner the right to cut into a party structure for any purpose (section 2(2)(f)), but they must make good any damage it causes to the neighbour's premises (section 2(5)).
Before using that right, the building owner must serve a party structure notice on the adjoining owners (section 3(1)). It must be served at least two months before the work begins (section 3(2)). No notice is needed if the adjoining owners and occupiers agree in writing (section 3(3)).
The building owner is usually the homeowner, not you. Tell them early, because two months can hold up the start. The Act applies in England and Wales. A wall wholly inside one house is not a party wall. GOV.UK publishes guidance on the Party Wall etc. Act, including how disputes are resolved.
Build the wall removal RAMS around the engineer's design
Set up a free account and generate the RAMS, construction phase plan and site induction for one real job. No card needed.
Start free →Asbestos and services in the wall
An employer must not start work that could expose employees to asbestos without first assessing whether it is there, or presuming it is and working to the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (regulation 5). On an older house, the wall, the ceiling either side and any boxing can hide it. See asbestos awareness for builders.
Walls also carry cables, pipes and sometimes gas. Find out what runs through the wall and get it isolated or rerouted by the right trade before cutting. Cutting brick, block and concrete makes silica dust; see our guide to dust and silica.
Propping: temporary works with their own design
While the wall comes out and the beam goes in, props hold the building up. HSE lists propping for walls and floors as temporary works. The law says any temporary support must be designed, installed and maintained to withstand any loads that can be foreseen, and used only for what it was designed for (CDM 2015, regulation 19(2)). The structure must not be loaded so as to make it unsafe (regulation 19(3)).
HSE's temporary works FAQs are blunt about propping:
- Propping with standard screw props needs careful consideration. Choosing the type, size, number and spacing of props needs the loads to be known, including the wall above and any floor or roof beams near the opening.
- Propping failures often happen because the loads, particularly side loads, were underestimated.
- Even with proprietary props, the support system must be designed by someone who knows how to assess the loads and design the arrangement.
- Not every structural engineer can design temporary works. The designer needs temporary works training and experience.
So this guide gives no prop spacings, loads, sizes or sequences. Those come from the temporary works design for your wall, made by a competent person. Ask the structural engineer whether they will design the propping, or who will. On a simple job the main contractor may coordinate the temporary works and seek engineering advice as needed, HSE says; the law does not require a temporary works coordinator by that name, but it does require the work to be properly managed.
Log the props in a register: who designed them, who checked them, when they were put in, who said they could be loaded and who said they could come out. Our temporary works guide has a free temporary works register to download.
The RAMS for the job
Employers and the self-employed must assess the risks of their work (Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 3). For a wall removal, the method statement should take each step from the engineer's design and the propping design, not from a general rule. Cover:
- the sequence and propping arrangement, from the temporary works design;
- who checks the props before the wall is cut, and who says when they can come out;
- the asbestos check, and how services in the wall are found and isolated;
- dust control when cutting masonry, and the RPE to be worn;
- how the beam is lifted and set in place, and who does it;
- keeping people, including the household, out from under the work;
- what to do if anything cracks, moves or sounds wrong: stop and get the engineer.
The Site Book generates RAMS with pre-filled site-specific hazards and control measures for you to review and adjust. A generated document does not decide whether a control is suitable for your wall. Your engineer and temporary works designer do. See also RAMS for a house extension, and brief the team with the temporary works toolbox talk.
CDM on a domestic job
CDM 2015 applies to a wall removal in someone's home. If you are the only contractor, the homeowner's client duties pass to you. Where more than one contractor works on the job, the homeowner must appoint a principal designer and a principal contractor in writing. See CDM domestic client duties for who holds which duty, or answer a few questions in the free CDM role finder.
A project only has to be notified to HSE above set size thresholds. Check with our F10 notification guide.
Related on The Site Book
Common questions
Do I need building regulations approval to remove a load-bearing wall?
Yes, in England and Wales. Under the Building Regulations 2010, an alteration is a material alteration, and so building work, if at any stage it would make the building stop complying with a relevant requirement (regulation 3(2)). Part A (structure) is one of those requirements (regulation 3(3)), and taking out a wall that carries load affects the structure. Apply to a building control body before work starts, with a full plans application or a building notice. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own building regulations.
Who designs the props when a load-bearing wall comes out?
Someone competent to design temporary works. HSE says choosing the type, size, number and spacing of props needs the loads to be known, including the wall above and any floor or roof beams near the opening, and that the support system must be designed by someone who knows how to assess them, even when you use proprietary props. HSE also says not every structural engineer can design temporary works. Ask your structural engineer whether they will design the propping, or who will.
Can I use a standard propping layout?
Not as a rule of thumb. HSE says propping with standard screw props needs careful consideration, and that propping failures often happen because the loads, particularly side loads, were underestimated. Use the propping arrangement in the temporary works design for your wall. Any temporary support must be designed, installed and maintained to withstand the loads that can be foreseen (CDM 2015, regulation 19(2)).
Do I need a party wall notice to remove a load-bearing wall?
Only where the work involves a party wall or other party structure, for example a new beam bearing into a party wall in a terraced or semi-detached house. The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 gives a building owner the right to cut into a party structure (section 2(2)(f)), and a party structure notice must be served on the adjoining owners at least two months before that work begins (section 3(2)), unless the adjoining owners and any adjoining occupiers agree in writing (section 3(3)). The Act applies in England and Wales. A wall wholly inside one house is not a party wall.
What should a RAMS for removing a load-bearing wall include?
The sequence and propping from the temporary works design, who checks the props before the wall is cut and who says when they can come out, how services in the wall are found and isolated, dust control when cutting masonry, how the beam is lifted into place, keeping people out from under the work, and what happens if something moves. Take each step from the engineer's design, not from a general rule.
What this guide does, and what only your engineer can do
Pros
- Lists the paperwork for a wall removal in the order you need it.
- Shows which law each document comes from, with the source.
- Says what the RAMS should take from the engineer's design.
- Points to the free RAMS generator and temporary works register.
Cons
- It cannot size a beam, a padstone or a prop. The engineer's design does.
- It gives no prop spacings, loads or sequences, on purpose.
- Building regulations differ in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
- Party wall disputes may need a surveyor; this guide does not cover them.
| Document | Who provides it | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Structural design and calculations for the beam and its bearings | Structural engineer | Building Regulations 2010, Part A; CDM 2015 reg 9 (designer duties) |
| Building regulations approval (full plans or building notice) | Building control body, applied for before work starts | Building Regulations 2010, reg 3; GOV.UK how to apply |
| Party structure notice, where a party wall is involved | Building owner, served on the adjoining owners | Party Wall etc. Act 1996, ss 2(2)(f) and 3 |
| Asbestos check on an older house | Employer doing the work | Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, reg 5 |
| Temporary works design for the props | A competent temporary works designer | CDM 2015 reg 19(2); HSE temporary works FAQs |
| RAMS for the removal | The contractor doing the work | Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, reg 3 |
| Completion certificate | Building control body, after the work | GOV.UK how to apply |
“Lack of care with design, selection, assembly, etc leaves TW liable to fail or collapse.”
Build the RAMS around the engineer's design.
Start the RAMS for the wall removal, add the propping and the checks from the designs, and talk it through with the team.
Sources
- Building Regulations 2010, regulation 3 — legislation.gov.uk · Accessed 31 October 2026
- Building Regulations 2010, Schedule 1 — legislation.gov.uk · Accessed 31 October 2026
- Building regulations approval: how to apply — GOV.UK · Accessed 31 October 2026
- Party Wall etc. Act 1996, section 2 — legislation.gov.uk · Accessed 31 October 2026
- Party Wall etc. Act 1996, section 3 — legislation.gov.uk · Accessed 31 October 2026
- Preventing and resolving disputes in relation to party walls — GOV.UK · Accessed 31 October 2026
- Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, regulation 9 — legislation.gov.uk · Accessed 31 October 2026
- Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, regulation 19 — legislation.gov.uk · Accessed 31 October 2026
- Temporary works — HSE · Accessed 31 October 2026
- Temporary works FAQs — HSE · Accessed 31 October 2026
- Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, regulation 5 — legislation.gov.uk · Accessed 31 October 2026
This guide is general guidance, not legal advice. The structural design and the temporary works design for your wall come from your engineer and temporary works designer.