What is a goalpost frame, and when does your opening need one?

The name says it all

A goalpost frame is exactly what it sounds like: two vertical steel columns with a horizontal beam across the top, bolted into a rigid frame. It is used where a wall is removed all the way down to floor level — most often a wide opening into a rear extension — so there is no masonry left at the sides to carry the beam.

Why not just a beam?

A plain beam needs solid masonry at each end to bear onto. Open a wall right across and down to the floor, and those bearings disappear. The columns of a goalpost take the beam's load straight down to pad foundations below the floor, so the whole opening stays clear.

• Full-width rear openings for bifold or sliding doors
• Knocking two rooms together with no pier left between
• Openings into single-storey and wrap-around extensions
• Anywhere the load has nowhere solid to bear at the sides

What the job involves

Pad foundations are dug and poured under each column position, sized by the engineer for the ground and the load. The columns are set and bolted to base plates, the beam is lifted on and connected with end plates and cleats, and the frame is packed tight to the structure above.

Because it carries more and reaches the foundations, a goalpost job runs longer than a single beam — usually a few days on site plus curing time for the pads.