In spring 2025, London-based construction company X Construct contracted LSJ Engineering to design, construct and fit balustrades for access stairs and rear terraces at new boutique hotel Bedford Place, near Bloomsbury Square in London.
This was a straightforward contract. Our team did a fantastic job designing and constructing the balustrades at our Shoeburyness headquarters. Although we didn’t design or construct a replacement steel staircase for the access stairs as we have on other projects, we ensured the design for the stair balustrades fit seamlessly with the design for the terrace balustrades, thus guaranteeing a cohesive aesthetic for the entire space, in keeping with the requirements for a sophisticated new hotel.
The balustrades have a powder-coated finish and were installed in Bedford Place in August 2025. Our client, X Construction, took care of the wooden handrails. We’re really pleased with how this job turned out and we think the finished work looks fantastic!
Note: you can click on the images below to enlarge them.
Are you looking for architectural steel work for a commercial project?
LSJ Engineering is available for commercial architectural steel work projects across the UK. Contact our team here, email info@lsjeng.co.uk or give us a call on 01702 290 585. You can read about our other architectural steel work here. We look forward to hearing from you!
In February 2023, BHC appointed us as the architectural metalwork contractor for a building in Marylebone, London W1. BHC is the main contractor refurbishing the building, and this is a very prestigious project. LSJ Engineering was awarded the contract based on reputation, rather than cost alone, as we’ve worked with BHC on similar projects.
Client: BHC
Job date: February 2023 – present
The works were split into several different areas, from spiral staircases and Juliette railings to external lightwells and intricate service gates.
Part One: Juliette railings, a spiral staircase and a stair balustrade
Our brief was for a new build mews office space behind the main existing building. The new build is constructed entirely from CLT, a relatively new timber product that’s becoming more commonly used in construction.
We constructed Juliette railings for all three upper levels of the mews. The railings were set in front of the large opening sliding windows, fixed to the CLT structure with first fix brackets. This ensured that both the glazed brick face finishes and powder coated facia trimmings could be fitted before the main railings were fixed into place. The finished effect is fantastic:
This spiral staircase allowed access to a mezzanine level from the third floor. We built it in our workshop for accuracy, then disassembled it for reassembly on site:
The final part of this phase of the project was the steel balustrade for the staircase to the office building. We designed this balustrade as a dummy steel stringer, with the balusters welded to a secretly fixed steel plate. This ensured no welds or fixings were visible once the balustrade was fitted to the timber staircase – except for the main side fixings which were later filled and painted over. The final staircase has a lovely wood-and-steel finish:
Part Two: Four external lightwells on the existing building
The second phase of this project was refurbishing four existing external lightwells to the existing building. Also known as sky-wells, lightwells allow light and air to reach otherwise dark or badly ventilated basement spaces. These spaces are an excellent opportunity for architectural metalwork, because they usually require railings or similar safety features.
We designed and constructed hoop type balustrades and gates to form the guard rails. These balustrades had a traditional ‘London look’ and three lightwells included a feature access stair, running from the external pavement to the basement offices.
The access stairs were highly visible from the basement offices and required a minimal design to allow natural light through. This design meant the stairs had to be as slender as possible, with open grating treads. Part of the construction process is to ensure stairs pass crucial natural frequency design (wobble) checks, so we welded the stairs as a complete structure to minimise ‘wobble’.
Unfortunately, welding a complete stair complicated the final finishing (by Polytech Powder Coaters) due to their sheer size and weight. It also complicated the installation process. We’re never deterred by a challenge, though! We fabricated a special frame to allow the whole structure to be more easily taken into, and back out of, the powder coater’s oven. Once finished, we transported the stairs to site on a lorry supplied by KE Kent Transport of Basildon. We lifted them directly into place – with only two inches of room to spare – using the HIAB crane and a very skilled crane operator.
Here are the finished lightwells and stairs:
Part Three: Matching 1930s Juliette balcony rails to the main building
The third phase was matching some 1930s-made Juliette balcony rails to the main building. The balcony rails were quite complicated, as they are a hoop design with vertical bars and spheres.
We used an existing railing which had been removed to form a temporary access, taking it back to our Shoeburyness workshop to measure and copy the components. We used those measurements to fabricate close copies for three new first floor openings:
Part Four: Gates to the service yard
The fourth, ongoing, part of this project are two pairs of gates to the service yard area between the main building and the mews office building.
Although these are the gates to the rear of the main building, they will be one of its main features. They’ve been labelled Public Art gates by architects Fletcher Priest, and their design is critical to the planning approval process.
These gates are formed mainly of vertical four inch by three quarter inch flat bars. The top flat bars are rolled into concentric arches, with the two gate leaves overlapping as they close. While the design is wonderful, we encountered a logistical hitch. Because the gates require so much material, if we made them from mild steel (as originally intended), each leaf would have weighed over 900 kilograms… as you can imagine, this would cause issues with opening and closing the gates.
Our solution was to use aluminium instead of mild steel, in order to reduce the gates’ weight by over sixty percent. Using aluminium threw up extra challenges with fabrication, but the overall effect was a far better, ‘sharper edged’ product than mild steel would be:
Each flat bar will be painted a different colour to the two main faces. There will be yet another colour on the small faces. This entails three different painting and masking operations to each gate, which will take over six weeks to complete after we finish the fabrication process. This will look fabulous when complete.
We’ll share the finished gates in part two!
Are you interested in commissioning architectural steel work or steel staircases from LSJ Engineering?
We’re available for commercial steel work and staircase construction. Contact our team here, email info@lsjeng.co.uk or phone us on 01702 290 585. You can read about our other architectural steel work here and our steel staircase work here. We look forward to hearing from you!
We undertook a structural steel project for our client Comast Construction at the popular Westfield Shopping Centre in London. Our job was to create a plant enclosure, thus improving the aesthetic nature of the area.
This project needed to improve the aesthetics of the space, so residents in surrounding apartments and visitors to the shopping centre could see something a little more attractive than plant services! The LSJ team was awarded the project in March 2023, with fabrication beginning in April and completion in August of 2023.
Here are some of the materials in our workshop (you can click to enlarge individual photos):
This is the what the project looked like while it was in progress:
Here is the finished plant enclosure!
We’re pleased with how this job turned out! The area is definitely more aesthetically pleasing now, which is great for residents and visitors alike. We are still doing back-of-house metal work on the site which is progressing well.
Are you interested in commissioning structural steel work from LSJ Engineering?
Our team is available for structural steel work projects. You can contact us online here, email info@lsjeng.co.uk or phone our office on 01702 290 585. You can read about our other structural steel work jobs here. We look forward to hearing from you!
Surveyed, Detailed and Project Manager: Jordan Bendall
This was a job where careful surveying and attention to detail were crucial. The balustrade follows the line of the going and risers on the treads, which achieves a very aesthetically-pleasing result.
We are really pleased with the completed raised platform balustrade. What do you think of our work here?
Are you interested in commissioning architectural steel work from LSJ Engineering?
We’re available for architectural steel work. Contact our team here, email info@lsjeng.co.uk or phone us on 01702 290 585. You can read about our other architectural steel work here. We look forward to hearing from you!
Our regular client GPF Lewis appointed us the main contractor for a building refurbishment in Princes St, W1, London (you can see our other work for GPF Lewis here!).
This is a very complicated job. The main part of the refurbishment is a structural steel vertical extension which forms a new 5th floor level and a roof over. There’s an additional rear extension, which fills an existing lightwell from the basement to the new roof level.
Some of the new 5th floor and roof beams weigh over 2 tonnes. Due to a temporary roof on over 75% of the roof area, the only way to get the roof beams to the new levels was by lifting them in spliced sections. We achieved this by using a mobile crane to lift the beams onto a specially built scaffold deck at the rear of the property, then moving the beams on trolleys to their correct positions so we could lift them into place using gantry A frames and Genie lifts. That’s a lot of steps to ensure safe lifting of very heavy roof beams! GPF Lewis arranged for several weekend road closures in order to set up a 130 tonne mobile crane, which then lifted the new steelwork to the rear deck.
You can see the scale of the project from the photos. Note: you can click to enlarge the images.
Furthermore, we designed and installed secondary steelwork to the rear elevation to support the new window and cladding systems.
Our team was also appointed to design and install the new staircases and balustrades from basement to roof deck level, which is ongoing. We expect our works to be completed by spring 2024. We’re really pleased with how this refurbishment is going!
Are you interested in commissioning steel work from LSJ Engineering?
We are open for steel work projects! Get in touch here or email info@lsjeng.co.uk. Alternatively, phone 01702 290 585. Find more of our structural steel work projects, including other vertical extensions, here. We look forward to hearing from you.
T&B Contractors contracted LSJ Engineering to supply and fit a structural steel mezzanine floor to a shopping unit in Atria Shopping Centre, Watford, Hertfordshire. The steel beams total 89 tonnes! We began work in July 2023.
The structural steel beams were delivered to the basement service area, then hoisted two floors up to the work area via a scaffold lifting gantry. The existing columns, some of which are nearly 5 inches thick, were drilled on-site to accept the new beams. The beams were erected with Genie lifting hoists.
You can click on the images below to see the works in progress, from the 3D model to the finished structural steel mezzanine floor:
Once the steelwork is complete, the beams will be intumescent painted. Then a concrete deck will be poured on, in order to form the new floor. Finally, we will form new openings in the existing steel structure below to allow installation of new lifts and escalators. Building Design Consultants of Billericay designed the structural connections for the new beams for us.
We’re pleased with how this project is unfolding! What do you think of it?
Are you looking for structural steel work?
We are open for commercial structural steel projects! You can contact the team here, or email us via info@lsjeng.co.uk. Alternatively, phone us on 01702 290 585. You can find other structural steelwork projects here. We look forward to hearing from you.
Due to cracks found in a concrete floor slab at the Atria shopping centre, T&B appointed our team to erect 11 strengthening beams to the underside of the concrete. These beams were delivered at night and weighed nearly 800kgs each. Due to their size and weight, the beams were lifted with specialist floor cranes. You can see before-and-after photos below.
Note: you can click on the images to enlarge them.
The works were completed in less than 2 weeks, which is well within critical timescales. Working to a timescale is extremely important when ensuring concrete is structurally safe! We’re glad we could help, erect the strengthening beams and turn this job around quickly so the Atria shopping centre can continue operating and welcoming visitors.
Are you looking for structural steel work?
We are open for commercial structural steel projects! Contact the team here, or email us via info@lsjeng.co.uk. Alternatively, you can phone us via 01702 290 585. You can browse other structural steelwork projects here. We look forward to hearing from you and discussing your project.
In late 2021, LSJ Engineering won the steelwork contract at 30 Golden Square, in London’s busy Soho area. This was a job for a new client, Structure Tone, with a contract of over £350,000. The job was logistically quite a challenge as the steelwork requirements were fairly substantial… and because Golden Square is quite busy to say the least!
A six-storey office building undergoing a refit, this property was completely stripped back to its bare structure of part-concrete, part-steel work. We added extensions to the rear of the building, from the basement to level six. Additionally, we added front elevation from levels five to six, in order to provide more floor space. Quite a tall order (pun intended!) but we enjoy jobs that require our expertise.
Needless to say, this job was a logistical challenge due to its many components. Our steel frames were delivered by HIAB lorry and wheeled into the building on trolleys, then lifted to each floor level via an internal hoist, which was provided by Structure Tone. Once the frames were at floor level, we erected them with chain hoists from scaffold lifting beams, which were set at agreed points. With the frames erected, our team added a whole new level seven and level eight to the existing roof. We also added a plant deck.
Cellbeams formed the main roof beams, supplied by Westok. Cellbeams are a specialist, relatively lightweight, beam with pre-cut service access holes known as cells. Cranked columns supported these cells at each end to from the new roof’s shape.
Here is some of the work in action! (Please note you can click on the images to make them larger.)
The Roof Extension
Now for the next part of the job: the roof extension. The new roof was lifted and erected using a 90-tonne mobile tower crane, which was sited in Golden Square at weekends.
Once we booked road closures and crane dates, our steel frames needed to be ready for lifting into place. If we didn’t prepare sufficiantly, the job could be delayed by weeks! Our professional, experienced team hit every date required and the job proceeded smoothly. Anything not erected by crane was lifted manually during the week using Genie lifts. This weekday work kept the job flowing, which is really important in a construction job.
Strengthening Works
The extra weight of the new floor, roof frame and RC roof slab meant the existing steel structure needed considerable strengthening for safety. We added some new steel to the floor below to support columns. This included a two tonne Cellbeam, hoisted and erected by hand using chain hoists.
Here is some of the team in action (with high-vis and hard hats, of course!):
The strengthening works involved welding 20mm and 40mm thick steel plates to the flanges of some of the existing Cellbeams for their entire 10m length. It also required infilling some cell holes at critical points. This site welding alone took a gang of welders over two weeks to complete! We subcontracted the welding to City Arc Group, who did a very professional job, with no failures when tested.
We’re pleased that the works are mainly complete, with a few secondary steelwork areas awaiting completion.
LSJ Engineering was also awarded the architectural balustrading package of over £100,000, to begin shortly. We’ll update you when it’s underway…
We’re very pleased with the outcome of this project. It was quite the job, but our team rose to the challenge brilliantly, as always, and we worked with some very professional industry colleagues throughout the process.
Are you looking for structural steel work?
We are open for commercial steel projects! Contact the team here, or email us via info@lsjeng.co.uk. Alternatively, you can phone us 01702 290 585. You can browse other structural steelwork projects here. We look forward to hearing from you and discussing your project.
Last summer we shared the start of a project at Mortimer St, in Mayfair in London. That job – part of a building refurbishment – was a vertical extension. Here is the second part of the project: an unusual featured staircase!
GPF Lewis awarded the LSJ Engineering team the contract to complete the design, then build, a feature staircase at their Mortimer St refurbishment.
Barr Gazetas provided the original staircase design. It showed slim stringers, cut to follow the shape of the treads. The plan included a half landing, supported by hanging it from the floor slab above on four 20mm diameter rods, with a balustrade fixed to the stringers. It runs up through the void in the floor to form the balustrade around to void at that level.
Note: you can click on the images to enlarge them.
Not a standard design! We carried out a lot of structural design checks to make sure the stair didn’t sway when used. Draft SD carried out the drawings and modelling work.
We’re delighted that we achieved a close match to our design brief. The stringers were laser cut from 25mm solid plate to ensure clean lines, and we built the balustrades in the workshop for maximum accuracy before dismantling them for their powder coated finishes, as well as the delivery to the fourth floor of the building.
What do you think of the finished product? We’re very pleased with the featured staircase, and we’re chuffed to have finished our work at Mortimer St on a high. It was especially satisfying to include two slightly different elements of our trade on one project.
Do you require a feature staircase for your commercial building?
We are open for commercial steel projects, including staircases. Contact the team here, or email us via info@lsjeng.co.uk. Alternatively, phone 01702 290 585. Browse write ups of our other staircase projects here. We look forward to hearing from you.
Our client commissioned us to design, supply and fit balustrades to three levels of balconies, plus the perimeter of the fourth floor roof. In total the project required over 90 linear metres of balustrades.
We also supplied privacy screens to go between the different flats. There are 27 apartments in total (23 in the main block, plus 4 penthouses on the fourth floor). As you can imagine, this was quite a lot of work for our team – but we love jobs we can get our teeth into! Feel free to click on the images to enlarge them and get a better view of the screens and balustrades.
Finally, we supplied stainless steel wall-fixed handrails for the main staircase, as well as gates for the main entrance. (We also supply steel staircases for commercial properties if you’re interested!)
What do you think of the finished job? We’re really pleased with it, and we hope Merton Road’s new residents love their homes.
Are you interested in commissioning architectural steel work from LSJ Engineering?
We’re available for architectural steel work! Contact the team here, email info@lsjeng.co.uk or phone 01702 290 585. You can read about our other architectural steel work here. We look forward to hearing from you!
