Can anyone help me with their own examples of costings for the removal of a ground floor load bearing wall and replacement with a universal beam so that I can have some idea of a ball park figure. If you could detail length of opening, beam dimensions, the type of construction above, whether a builder did all the work, how much structural engineers fees were, how long the job took etc
Many thanks

I did one late last year and charged £714+VAT for supporting, removing (very tenacious) wall, 300 x 112 x c4.3m RSJ. Struct eng charged about £200. The job was part of a bigger one, but that bit took about 2-3 days. In retrospect I think I should have charged more!

As well as an RSJ, you should consider using a standard steel box lintel available from any builders merchants (might have to be ordered for a longish span). If the loading conditions are fairly standard you won't need engineers calculations so even though the lintel will cost more than the steel, the job might cost less overall and will be easier to organise. You can also dab plasterboard or even render directly onto a steel lintel whereas an RSJ will require some boxing in. The lintel manufacturers will advise on suitable products and end bearings etc. I always go for a lintel rather than a RSJ where I can (they are lighter for starters...).

I recently bought a lintel for that span from the Builder Center (is was for 9" solid wall) and it came to less than £200 which surprised me (I had thought it would be more). I guess as the cost of steel rises the differential between RSJs and lintels might narrow as lintels are lighter and therefore must have less metal in them.

Plenty of the time the wall you are thinking of having down is a non load bearing one ( no floor load on it and no wall above it at all ).

If this is the case then it will be relatively cheap and no engineer needed or building control. Make very sure first though!