01 More Trades · Welding & metal fabrication
Welding & metal fabrication, paid on approval.
Metalwork in a coastal or humid climate fails from the bottom up, quietly, and the repair everyone delays costs a fraction of the replacement everyone eventually pays for.
02 What the job involves
What you are actually paying for
Gates, railings, staircases, canopies and custom metalwork.
Also asked for as: welder · metal fabrication
- Measuring and templating on site rather than building to a standard size
- Fabricating in the workshop, then fitting and adjusting on site
- Grinding back existing corrosion to sound metal where repairing
- Priming with a rust-inhibiting primer before any topcoat
- Finishing, and hanging or fixing with the right ironmongery
03 What moves the price
Why two quotes differ
Quotes arrive sorted by total, which makes comparison easy and misleading in equal measure. These are the variables worth checking before you decide one is cheaper.
- 01
Steel section and gauge — thin sections are cheaper and fail sooner
- 02
Design complexity and how much ornamental work is involved
- 03
Whether the finish is brush-applied or sprayed
- 04
Site access, and whether fitting needs lifting equipment
04 Questions
Worth asking first
- 01
How do I stop my gate rusting so fast?
- Treat the base, because that is where it starts — water sits there and, near the coast, salt accelerates it. Ask for corrosion to be ground back to sound metal and primed with a rust-inhibiting primer. A topcoat straight over existing rust looks right for one season and then blisters.
- 02
What gauge of steel should I ask for?
- Ask for it to be stated in the quote, whatever it is. Two quotes for "a gate" can use quite different sections, and the cheaper one is usually cheaper because it is thinner. Once you know the gauge you can compare honestly.
05 Related
More more trades work
Local rates
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