What Is a Goalpost Frame? Wall Removals & Extensions

If you're opening up the back of a house for an extension or a big knock-through, your engineer may specify a goalpost frame. The name gives it away — it looks like a goalpost.

What a goalpost frame is

A goalpost frame is a beam supported on two steel posts (columns), forming an upside-down U — like a football goal. It's used where you're removing a wide section of load-bearing wall and there isn't enough solid masonry either side to carry the beam on padstones alone.

The beam takes the load from above; the posts carry it down to proper foundations. Together they hold the structure safely over a much wider opening than a single beam bearing onto brickwork could manage.

Goalpost frame, goal post frame, steel goal post frame — same thing?

Yes. You will see this written as a goalpost frame, a goal post frame and a steel goal post frame, and on drawings sometimes as a structural steel goal post frame or a goal post steel frame. They all describe the same arrangement: two vertical steel posts carrying a horizontal steel beam across the opening, so the load from above travels down through the posts and into the foundations instead of through the wall you are taking out.

The wording tends to follow who is speaking. Builders and homeowners usually say goalpost frame, because that is what it looks like. Engineers and building control are more likely to write structural steel goal post frame on a drawing, to distinguish it from a single beam that bears onto the existing masonry at each end.

The distinction that actually matters is not the name but whether the design is a frame or a beam. A goal post steel frame is used where there is nothing either side strong enough to carry the beam — so the posts take the load instead. That is a decision for your structural engineer, and it changes both the foundations and the cost.

When you need one

• Wide rear openings for kitchen and open-plan extensions, especially bi-fold or sliding doors
• Removing a wall near the end of a building, where there's little masonry to bear onto
• Two-storey loads over a large opening
• Anywhere the engineer's calculations show the bearings need dedicated posts rather than padstones

Your structural engineer decides whether a goalpost is needed and specifies the beam, posts, base plates and connections.

How it goes together

The beam and posts are fabricated as a set, with the posts drilled and plated to bolt to the beam and to base plates at the bottom. The posts sit on foundations, are lined up plumb, and the beam is fixed on top. It's usually delivered primed, ready for the builder to install with temporary props in place until it's fixed.

We fabricate the whole frame to your engineer's drawing — see steel beams for extensions and steel columns & posts.

Frequently asked questions

Is a goalpost frame the same as an RSJ? No — an RSJ (or universal beam) is just the horizontal beam. A goalpost adds two posts to carry the beam where the walls can't. Read RSJ vs universal beam.

Do goalpost frames need building regs? Yes — like any structural steel, they need building regulations approval and an engineer's design. See do I need building regs for a steel beam?

Can you make one to my engineer's drawing? Yes, that's exactly what we do. Send us the drawing for a quote.