RSJs over knock throughs.
A single steel beam carries the wall above a new opening between 2 rooms. We cut it to the length on the drawing and add the end details your engineer has specified, such as plates for a padstone.
Services / Steel beams and RSJs
Beams made and fitted from Norwich
Steel beams and RSJs, made in Norwich and fitted across Norfolk and Suffolk
Send your drawings for a free estimateSwift Fabrication makes steel beams and RSJs to the sizes on your structural engineer's drawing, and we are based in Norwich. We can deliver the steel for your builder to fit, or carry out the steel beam installation ourselves, lined, levelled and bolted up.
Made to your engineer's sizesFree estimates
Based in Norwich. Beams for homes and builds across Norfolk and Suffolk.
Steel beams for openings in houses and buildings
The beam your engineer specified, cut and welded to the drawing.
Most beam jobs are an RSJ over a knock through or a goalpost frame across the back of a rear extension, and some openings need a box frame with steel on every side. We cut UB and UC sections to length, then weld on the end plates and baseplates the drawing shows. Orders come from builders and developers as well as homeowners, and a single beam is a normal job for us.
The design is not ours to do. Section sizes and calculations come from your structural engineer, and Building Control or your approved inspector will expect to see them. What we can add is a fabricator's eye on the detail. If an end plate looks awkward to make, or a beam looks too long to get through the house, we say so before anything is ordered.
See our structural steel fabrication service
The work
RSJs, goalposts, box frames
The price
Free estimate, agreed first
The area
Norfolk and Suffolk
What we make
RSJs, goalpost frames and box frames.
Each order is made to the engineer's drawing, and beam work usually takes one of 3 main shapes.
Goalpost frames for rear extensions.
Taking out most of a back wall usually needs 2 posts and a beam joined into one goalpost frame, often with baseplates at the foot. Where the route into the house is tight, the beam can be made in sections with bolted splices, provided your engineer agrees the joint.
Box frames for wide openings.
A box frame puts steel round all 4 sides of an opening, so the structure above and below is tied together. We make the frame to the drawing and trial fit complex connections in the workshop before it leaves.
Supply only or fitted
Supplied for your builder, or lifted in and bolted up.
You choose how far our part of the job goes. Supply only is fine. Your builder can take delivery and fit the beam. If you want the steel beam installation done as well, we bring it to site and set it in place for you.
In a house, propping the wall above stays with your builder, and we fit the steel into the opening they have prepared. When a beam is too heavy to carry in by hand, lifting is arranged to suit the site. A telehandler or HIAB delivery usually does it, and a hired crane comes in where the reach demands it.
Tell us about access before the day, because soft ground or overhead cables can change how the steel reaches the opening. A long carry through the house matters as well.
Getting a price
What to send for a beam price.
Start with the engineer's drawing and calculation sheet, which should show the sections and lengths along with every connection and bearing. Add the site postcode, the finish you want and the date the builder plans to open up the wall. Photographs of the room and the way in from the road help too. If you only have a builder's sketch, send it anyway and we will tell you what else is needed.
You get a free estimate, and the price is agreed with you before we start. If the drawings change after that, we tell you what the change does to the cost before any steel is cut. If a job names a standard or welder coding, we will confirm what we can supply.
Request a beam estimateFinishes and where we deliver.
Beams going inside a house are normally primed. For steel that will be left exposed or will live outside, we can arrange paint or galvanising, and powder coating is also possible. Galvanising and powder coating are done off site.
Based in Norwich, we deliver across the city, out to Wymondham on the A11 and to Dereham, 16 miles from Norwich. Thetford is about 30 miles down the A11. Longer runs to King's Lynn or Ipswich are planned trips.
Open the fabrication quote checklistBefore you order
Steel beams and RSJs: common questions.
Short answers on beam sizes, fitting and timing.
Can you tell me what size beam I need?
No. Sizing a beam is your structural engineer's job, and their calculations are what Building Control will normally want to see. Once the drawing is done we fabricate the steel to it.
Do you make one RSJ for a single knock through?
Yes. We make single RSJs for knock throughs as well as full frames, and the estimate is free either way.
Can a long beam be made in pieces?
It can, if your engineer agrees the joint. A long beam is often split with bolted splices so it can be carried in. The pieces are then joined in position, where the beam will sit. Before we make it, tell us the door widths and the turns on the route in. Mention anything else that could get in the way, such as a staircase or a narrow side passage. Photographs of the route help us decide where the splice should go.
Will you fit the beam as well as make it?
We can, or we can supply it for your builder to fit. When we install, the steel is set into the opening your builder has propped and then bolted up, and heavier beams are lifted with suitable plant.
How long will my steel take?
That depends on the size of the order and how busy the workshop is at the time. A single beam is quicker than a building frame. Send the drawings with your programme dates and you will get a realistic delivery date before you place the order.
More than the beam
More steel work from Swift, based in Norwich.
Swift Fabrication Services
Your beam price starts with the drawing.
Send the engineer's drawings with the site postcode and your dates, and we will give you a free estimate for the steel. The price is agreed before anything is cut.
Request a quote
Or call 07495 409006 and talk the job through.