Structural Engineer Cardiff

What a structural engineer in Cardiff actually does

Most people contact a structural engineer Cardiff for one of three reasons: they want to remove a wall, they are planning a loft conversion, or they need calculations for a home extension. In every case, the job is the same in principle. We work out what loads are being carried by the existing structure, design a steel beam or frame to replace that support, and produce a calculation pack that your builder and Building Control can both use.

Cardiff’s housing stock runs from Victorian terraces in Roath and Canton to Edwardian semis in Llanishen and Whitchurch, 1960s estates in Ely and Llandaff North, and modern homes in the Bay. Each type has its own quirks. Older terraces sometimes have timber lintels that have deflected over time. Some 1930s semis have no proper padstones under their RSJs. Bay-area conversions can have unusual load paths where original industrial structures were modified during redevelopment. We take all of that into account before we size a single beam.

Our structural engineer Cardiff services

• Structural engineer Cardiff: RSJ and steel beam design for wall removals across Cardiff and South Wales
• Full load path analysis covering floors, roof and walls above the opening
• Loft conversion structural calculations, including ridge beams and floor joists
• Home extension structural packs for single and two-storey projects
• Padstone and bearing plate design for Cardiff’s brick and stone walls
• Lateral restraint details and connection notes for your builder
• Chimney breast removal calculations with support beam sizing
• Structural calculations for listed buildings in Cardiff and the Vale
• Building Regulations-ready packs for Cardiff Council and all CF postcodes
• Newport, Barry, Penarth and Rhondda Cynon Taf coverage

Structural engineers Cardiff – knowing the local housing stock

The inner suburbs of Cardiff are built almost entirely on Victorian and Edwardian terraced housing. Roath, Cathays, Canton and Pontcanna have street after street of two and three-storey brick terraces where the internal walls carry not just the floor above but often a roof purlin as well. When a homeowner in one of these streets wants an open-plan kitchen, the beam calculation has to account for both loads. Get it wrong and you end up with a beam that sags, doors that stick, and cracks spreading up from the corners of the opening.

Moving north, Whitchurch, Rhiwbina and Llanishen are dominated by 1920s and 1930s semi-detached houses with longer joist spans and different floor build-ups. These properties often have a party wall agreement to consider as well, particularly when the removal involves a wall that sits on or near the boundary. Our structural engineers Cardiff produce calculations that cover all of these scenarios clearly, so your Building Control officer gets everything they need in one submission.

The Vale of Glamorgan, covering Barry, Penarth and the surrounding villages, has a mix of Victorian seafront properties and newer detached housing. Penarth in particular has a strong market for loft conversions, given the premium placed on extra bedroom space close to Cardiff. We cover the entire CF and NP postcode area.

Building Regulations Cardiff and Wales

Wales has had its own Building Regulations since 2012, fully separate from England since 2023. The Welsh Government now sets the technical standards, and while many of the requirements remain similar to England, there are differences that matter for structural calculations. Cardiff Council’s Building Control team administers applications for most city properties, while the Vale of Glamorgan Council handles applications in Barry and Penarth.

Every structural engineer Cardiff calculation pack we produce meets the relevant Welsh technical standards. They include everything Cardiff Building Control expects: load path analysis, beam sizing with bending and deflection checks, padstone design, lateral restraint details, and clear drawings your builder can follow on site.

• Building Regulations structural calculations for Cardiff Council
• Vale of Glamorgan Building Control structural packs
• Newport City Council and Caerphilly County Borough coverage
• Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil Council submissions
• Structural packs for listed building consent applications in Cardiff

Cardiff Council Building Control guidance

How to get your Cardiff structural calculations

Simple process, fast results from your structural engineer Cardiff team

For loft conversion projects, our loft conversion structural engineer page goes into more detail. For extensions, see our home extension structural design page.

Wall removals and RSJ design in Cardiff

Knocking through from a kitchen to a dining room is the most common job any structural engineer Cardiff handles for homeowners across the city. The Victorian terraces in Roath, Canton and Pontcanna were built with solid nine-inch brick walls separating front and back rooms, and those walls nearly always carry something structural. Before anyone takes a sledgehammer to one, you need a calculation that proves the beam above can carry the load safely and a drawing that shows the builder exactly how to install it.

As your structural engineer in Cardiff, we size the RSJ based on the actual tributary area loading down from the structure above, not a rule of thumb. That means checking whether there is a floor above, whether any roof elements bear on the wall, and whether the brickwork at each end is strong enough to take the beam reaction through a padstone. Cardiff’s older stock often has soft lime mortar bedjoints, which affects how we size those padstones.

If the wall you want to remove sits close to the party wall with your neighbour, you may also need a Party Wall Agreement with a surveyor. We do not handle that side of things, but we can confirm which elements of the structure relate to the party wall so your surveyor has the information they need. More on wall removals: load bearing wall removals and RSJ design.

Structural engineer Cardiff cost

All structural engineer Cardiff fees are fixed before we start. There are no surprise charges once the work is underway. The price depends on the scope of the job: a single wall removal with a short span is straightforward, while a full loft conversion or two-storey extension involves considerably more calculation work.

Areas we cover across Cardiff and South Wales

Our structural engineer Cardiff and structural engineers Cardiff service covers all CF and NP postcodes. No site visit is required, so coverage across South Wales costs exactly the same as a job in central Cardiff.

Why Cardiff homeowners choose us

There are plenty of structural engineers in Cardiff, but most are set up for larger commercial or development projects. Residential calculations for a single wall removal or loft conversion are often treated as low priority, which means slow turnarounds and fees that feel out of proportion with the work involved.

We focus entirely on residential structural calculations as a dedicated structural engineer Cardiff and South Wales service. That means quick turnarounds, transparent fixed fees, and calculation packs written in a format that Building Control officers and builders actually find useful. We have no interest in selling you more than you need.

• Fixed fees for every structural engineer Cardiff project, confirmed before we start, from £150
• 24 to 48 hour turnaround for most Cardiff wall removals and RSJ designs
• Building Regulations-ready packs written for Cardiff and South Wales councils
• Remote service covering all CF, NP and SA postcodes
• Experienced with Cardiff Victorian terraces, Valleys coal-era housing and modern Bay properties
• Phone support available for your builder during installation

Structural engineer Cardiff: questions we get asked