Urgent advice needed: Structural welds on residential steelwork

[spirals413]

Hi guys, just joined the forum because I'm in need of some urgent advice. Having some building work done which involves a steel goal post for some bifold doors. The beam is a 6m long box section (200x100x10mm) which connects to the posts which are 150x100x5mm. A 80x160mm box section was welded to the posts and the large box section slots into that, and originally hollo bolts were going to be used to connect the 2 steels together. However, the decision was made to weld it onsite instead with a section removed from the bottom so it can be slotted in from abov e and then welded afterwards.

Now the builder has been good otherwise on all aspects of the build, but on this part he brought in a welder which I think clearly lacks experience. I was hoping for some confirmation that the welding done is not up to standard.

Please see attached pictures. I have a little knowledge of welding, and the welds look absolutely terrible. He used a small arc welder, didn't clean the metal before welding. He didn't even bother knocking off the slag, so i did and it looks like there is porosity in the weld bead, it looks inconsistent, it's undercutting in parts, it's definitely not penetrating fully and he hasn't even gone all the way round.

I'll attach a few photos to this post, but here is a link to the full set (mods please remove the link if its not allowed):
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aYt1LhmVwftcxLeJeQKJvC5vMAhuXHDm?usp=sharing

Comments welcome, I should get this redone right? It's supposed to be a structural weld!

If there are any good welders in the west midlands, please get in touch!

 

[Welderpaul]

Yeah. That's seriously bad. I think you'll find the confirmation you are looking for here.

A simple end plate on the beam and mating tag plates with a 3x M16 or M20 bolt connection would have been simple meaning no site work.

 

[Barking Mat]

Seriously amateur at best.

Not good.

 

[Munkul]

Looks like my dad* has went pro

I'd be kicking butt and getting him to get someone else in to grind out and re-weld, because it doesn't pass visual, not even by stevie wonder.


*not a good welder

 

[bletchmonster]

The small welder was the only bit that wasn't the problem!

 

[Morrisman]

That is horrendous, done by someone who seriously cannot weld. Refuse to go any further until it is properly done.

 

[mike os]

That is not welded it's stuck together with pigeon poo, you can't build on that

 

[8ob]

Whats done is done, for someone that knows what he/she is doing I can't see that talking more than half a day to sort out

Bob

 

[highseas]

this is a prime case of " i have a mate who can weld" cue "dave" with his lidle welder and a box of mouldy rods.... 2 hours and £50 in beer tokens and you have this modern art masterpiece!

if i was you i would be getting my own man in a proper mobile welder and get that fixed and the square the ££ up with the builder some other way.
if i was me you would be looking at £40 a hour from the moment the key goes in the van with a 2 hour job min. but it would be done right

 

[Bornfree]

I cannot believe anyone would walk away and leave it like that.

 

[brightspark]

have you got a good 9 inch angle grinder / nuff said

 

[Welderpaul]

The 'shop' weld isn't too good either. Fails a visual anyway.

 

[roofman]

Wow..i would get a couple of acrows under that until its sorted..if that came out and down its fatal

 

[Paul.]

That really wants taking down, all the weld (for want of a better description) grinding off and re doing using stick and some decent low hydrogen rods, I wouldn't touch it unless it could be done properly right from the off.

 

[spirals413]

Thanks for chiming in so quickly guys, it gives me the confirmation I was after. The connection detail was designed by a structural engineer, the builder twisted my arm and said he can cut it, slot it in from the top and then weld it in, so hesitantly I said yes to it as long as he is 100% confident he can get it welded properly. Shouldn't have done that in retrospect!
He wanted to set the columns in place first so he could build up the rest around it. My idea was that he bolts the post together on the ground and then lifts it in place with a crane, but he rejected that idea probably because it would cost extra to hire a crane or a lift and also slow him down! (Rough calc would put the column and beam weight at around 400kg i think)

Anyway, I will get a proper mobile welder in ASAP and have it done correctly. Luckily haven't paid him much yet, so like highseas said, can square the ££ up with him later. He seems reasonable enough, so I hope he doesn't fight back on it. As long as its fixable- thats the main thing for me.

 

[mike os]

a good welder will sort it for you,

 

[northwest]

I am not really into knocking others work. Mainly because I wasn't there and I don't know the circumstances.
In this case, it doesn't matter, that is shocking.

 

[gaz1]

some newbies on here do better than those welds

 

[Memmeddu]

some newbies on here do better than those welds

I can and I did weld out of position with better results , expecially with those thicknesses 10mm would be a pleasure to weld using 3.2 or even 4mm 7018
As you know I'm not a professional welder

 

[spirals413]

some newbies on here do better than those welds

I could have done it better myself and I'm a very occasional weekend stick welder!