Here’s why you don’t want to use regular steel for exterior applications: it’ll fail. Yes, you can zinc or red oxide prime it, then powder-coat it, etc., and sure it’ll last for a while, but ultimately, it’ll fail. Any tiny little scratch will end up being a disaster. And yes, you can hot-dip galvanize the steel after fabricating and prior to powder-coating, but by the time you’ve paid for that whole cumbersome process, you may as well use a base material that will never fail and won’t have a ridiculous weight to it. Outdoor structures like pergolas should not be made from hot-dipped steel. We won’t do it anymore. It makes those structures prohibitively heavy, difficult to maneuver and install, and quite frankly, they don’t coat as well with the industrial paint. Aluminum is a far better material to use for this. And for items going into the ground or sitting on top of it (planters, edgings, retaining walls), Corten steel (weathering steel), stainless, aluminum, brass are all ideal materials. Definitely DO NOT use regular steel. Why? It’ll fail.
The new Provincial Ford government has announced it will be entirely scrapping the Ontario College of Trades (OCOT) in favour of something new, while moving some responsibilities back over to the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities (MCTU).
The OCOT was initially created in 2009 to promote regulate skilled trade apprentices, enforce licensing requirements, and eliminate poor workmanship. However, our perception is that the organisation has proven severely lacking in it’s ability to just that. While it’s widely agreed among the skilled trades that a governing body does need to be in place to enforce all those issues, the OCOT seemed to continually fall short. It was seen as an annual cash-grab for already licenced, and it truly did very little else that was notable to promote the skilled trades or protect people from poor workmanship. In fact, it could be argued from an already licensed standpoint, that the OCOT simply assumed the exact same responsibilities as were previously administered by the MCTU. For the Sheet Metal Worker designation in particular, there is no decent rationale provided why a licensed worker can only apprentice one person at a time (this is a 4 year endeavour). From our perspective, we have a lot more to offer, and could certainly take on two or even three apprentices at a time without compromising learning and transfer of skill. The 1:1 ratio is killing certain trades – we would know, we’ve had a difficult time hiring skilled or licensed people. They just honestly aren’t readily available. People are not being trained and apprenticed at the rate they are needed to fill Ontario jobs. We are well aware that the Ford Government’s proposal will keep the ratio at 1:1, which is exactly what has us sceptical. All trades are not equal. The designations ought to be examined individually to determine a reasonable ratio for training in each field. This will also create more licensed people to fill the numerous jobs that are currently sitting unfilled or underskilled. This is not likely to happen. It remains to be seen exactly what will happen. No real details have been provided. While it is our opinion that the OCOT certainly needed an overhaul and some governmental supervision, we aren’t convinced that eliminating it altogether is the answer. Here’s to hoping the glaziers, masons, structural metalworkers, etc. have some learning standards maintained. I just hate it when the glass falls off the skyscrapers downtown, don’t you? This post is to give you an understanding and appreciation for the logistics behind many of our projects, which I suppose you’d really only care about if a) you’re a customer, or b) you can relate as a business owner. Reader, you’ll soon understand why we try to keep absolutely every step of our fabrication process in-house. Sometimes though, there are some aspects of a project we are just not equipped to handle. Powder-coating, for example, has been a major pain-point. Until recently, we have been let down time and time again, after trying every single powder and industrial coating operation within close proximity to the city. Some, for a time, will work out fine, and then lo and behold, something goes tits up somewhere along the line. Without fail. We’ve had deadline issues, discoloration problems, delivery fuck-ups, finishes marred, inability to obtain specific colours, colour-match faux-pas, flaking, to name but a few powder-coating problems.
Outsourcing waterjet or laser cutting, same thing: unreliable quoting, questionable quality cutting, missing deadlines, miscalculated measurements, screwed-up design, etc. Typically the things we have to outsource are: hot-dip galvanizing (we don’t do much of this because it’s a paint in the ass and we prefer to just use aluminum where possible), powder-coating (we do LOTS of this), onsite industrial coating, waterjet and laser cutting, white glove delivery, and heavy plate roll-forming. All other fabrication components are kept in-house, and that’s the way we like it. When you outsource, you are at the mercy of, and only as good as, your provider. Over the years, for the most part, we have established very strong relationships with our network, but it’s taken a long time and plenty of trial-and-error. We find it preferable to control most process steps in-house as much as possible. We do all of our own design, layout, brakeforming, welding, rolling, which ultimately saves our clients money and saves us a ton of time and hassle. Have you ever had a piece of "stainless steel" rust up on you or start to oxidize into a spotty mess? WTF, right? It’s supposed to be STAINLESS. Truthfully a more accurate name for it is “rust resistant steel”, and not all is made equal. There are numerous grades of stainless, some made for various purposes, and some that’s just plain cheap crap. Now, for a backsplash, for example, you wouldn’t need seriously thick steel (the ‘gauge’), but you would want it to be water resistant and not oxidize with prolonged exposure to H2O. And for cladding, you’d need a certain grade and a thicker gauge so it doesn’t look all wavy once installed. Without getting into the extremely dull chemical composition of it all, there are a couple of things to consider when selecting the right stainless steel material: gauge AND grade.
Generally speaking, we use grade 304 stainless steel with a #4 finish (a brushed consistency) or a mirrored finish (for specific aesthetic applications). It’s the most common grade of stainless, and arguably the most versatile, with a sufficient tolerance and tensile strength for most of our applications. It can be fairly easily manipulated for forming and welding, and is excellent in kitchen and outdoor areas, whereas some other grades are more brittle and not as easily used for fabrication. Also, you’ll never see corrosion near the weld joints with 304 (this is, of course, assuming the welding is done properly). The grade and gauge are both important considerations when commissioning a stainless steel piece, and your fabricator should be able to recommend something appropriate. However, if you’re not terribly averse to learning about steel composition you can always do some educational reading on the Stainless Steel Corporation website where they have some helpful info.: http://www.stainlesssales.com/stainless-steel-grades.html |
The Tin BloggerMetal Fab Blog Archives
August 2024
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