ᐅ Welds on Painted Handrail – Assessment?

Created on: 15 Jul 2020 18:07
T
Typ12345
Hello everyone,
we are currently building, and I think most people know that this can be quite a stressful process. You sometimes have to overlook minor defects, but when it comes to the welds on our new railing, I’m not sure if these can still be considered small cosmetic flaws or if they are already major visual or even structural defects.

Close-up of a black metal railing with a visible weld at the joint, blue sky.


Here, of course, I deliberately chose one of the worse welds.
There are also paint damages that are so obvious that, in my opinion, any reputable tradesperson should have fixed them before final acceptance.

Close-up of a gray metal edge with water droplets and chipped paint.


Friends with welding experience who have seen this say such work is unacceptable. Unfortunately, I’m not an expert myself, but this is the response I received from our construction supervisor via the contractor:
“The welds are flawless!
I don’t know what expertise the owner has to claim that the welds would not hold...
The two ‘paint damages’ probably occurred when lifting the 180 kg (400 lb) railing.
We will retouch these with a paint pen so they are no longer visible.
Corrosion protection is fully ensured anyway, because the entire railing beneath the paint layer is hot-dip galvanized.”

What do the welding experts here think about this? And do you know what options I have? Are there special expert inspectors to whom I should turn?

Thanks in advance!
T
Typ12345
16 Jul 2020 10:30
He marks it with the touch-up pen in a way that you can’t see it.

My wife hasn’t been on site yet, so she doesn’t know where the damages are. We will be able to easily check later whether the damage can no longer be seen at all, only noticeable if you look closely knowing where it was, or if it’s visible immediately.

As mentioned above, I have to give him the option to make corrections and am willing to trust that he can do it properly. Whether there will still be a visible defect afterwards remains to be seen. Based on his previous work, I’m unfortunately not very optimistic.

Well, I will find out in two weeks, after his vacation.
C
cschiko
16 Jul 2020 10:41
Touch-up paint pen? I don't think that's really the right approach, but it is possible to retouch damage on powder coatings. However, I wouldn't have too high hopes for a paint pen at first.

The weld seams are quite rough, but they should hold. So overall, they are just not visually perfect.
G
guckuck2
16 Jul 2020 10:50
I wouldn’t doubt the durability of the welds either; they just haven’t been ground smooth. Visually, it’s not very appealing, and unground welds are more prone to corrosion because there are many small notches that can potentially expose bare material. But if it’s galvanized, it’s probably not a big issue.

We also have two unground weld spots on the railing (inside) because it was simply very hard to reach those areas. But in this example, it’s clearly just cheapness.
11ant16 Jul 2020 14:15
Typ12345 schrieb:

He still believes in his welds, [...] The issue with the paint damage will be handled as already discussed here. He says he will retouch it so that the damage is no longer visible

This is all nonsense. Whether with a touch-up pen or anything else, excess paint cannot be eliminated by applying more paint. There is no paint damage here at all. The client was too stingy to have the – technically, in my opinion, flawless! – welds ground and polished before the coating was applied. This process would have also removed weld spatter, which instead was galvanized and coated, in my opinion a fair consequence for the cheapness. I believe this is the sole initial cause of all visible coating thickness defects here, which also affect the quality of the galvanizing. In fact, the client’s name should be engraved on the monument that resulted!
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
A
Alessandro
23 Jul 2020 13:37
I don’t know where you see paint chips here?! I see a cracked edge in the second picture! That can’t be repaired.
11ant23 Jul 2020 13:55
Alessandro schrieb:

I don’t know where you see paint chips here?!
In the second picture, I see a torn edge!
There are neither chips nor a torn edge; it is a coated adhesion.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/