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
8 Aug 2020 15:06
Sorry for the late response, but nothing had happened in this matter until yesterday. However, there is finally news, and from now on it gets really absurd! His approach to the repair work even surpasses his previous efforts.

This morning, I received an email from him claiming that the agreed final inspection date for his repair work was yesterday, August 7th, and that we (and our neighbors with similar issues) were not on site, so he now considers the railings free of defects. Of course, this email does not exist. I already had a pretty good idea of what to expect, so I just went to the construction site to take a look at his “work.”

Here is the before-and-after comparison:

Mehrteilige Nahaufnahme einer grauen Metallbrüstung mit Wassertröpfchen, Abplatzungen und Rost.

As mentioned before, he said he would repair the spots so well that no damage would be visible anymore.

He has already received my reply to his email. This is, of course, unacceptable. With such a ridiculous attempt to force an acceptance, he certainly won’t get far and has lost any chance that I would overlook anything. I’ll keep you updated.
H
hampshire
8 Aug 2020 16:58
Show him this as an example of the expected quality. The railing is welded and painted.

Close-up of a black metal structure with a diagonal crossbar and weld seam.
P
Pierre
8 Aug 2020 17:30
Sounds very, very exciting! I hope no one tries to pass off such welds on us...
Y
ypg
8 Aug 2020 18:22
Typ12345 schrieb:

I will not name anyone here for now,
Typ12345 schrieb:

whether I should still mention the company as a warning for future clients
Don’t even think about it. That is not legal.
11ant8 Aug 2020 18:47
Typ12345 schrieb:

As already mentioned, he said beforehand that he would repair the spots so that the damage would no longer be visible.
This reminds me of the very old joke about a tomato sauce stain on a shirt that was simply cut out with scissors, haha. From top to bottom, the picture seems to show the following: a small corrosion protection defect that apparently has grown / a weld spatter adhesion, ground off and the grinding mark painted over / a weld spatter adhesion, ground off, the grinding mark painted over, and additionally the top of the railing sanded down there. Funny (or not – depending on your sense of humor).
Typ12345 schrieb:

This morning I got an email from him claiming that the agreed final inspection of his repair work was yesterday on August 7th, and that we (and our neighbors with similar issues) were not present on site, so he now considers the railings free of complaints. Of course, this email does not exist.
So he arranged an appointment with you but never told you about it, and of course you were not there?
Typ12345 schrieb:

And with such a ridiculous attempt to force acceptance, he certainly won't get far.
Implied acceptance of defect repairs does not exist. Those who are absent cannot sign anything. Since he is standing there empty-handed, it’s actually not fair to talk about forcing acceptance. A successful scammer would have gained something from his theft.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
A
Alessandro
10 Aug 2020 07:45
A typical case of making things worse while trying to improve them. I hope you haven’t paid the full amount yet.