Making your steel stage as smooth as possible.
Measures and timing.
Structural steel provides tremendous design flexibility for large spans, cantilevers, and windows - but is an inflexible, expensive and time consuming material to modify on site. We therefore aim to site measure all jobs to ensure the fabricated steel matches perfectly with the actual build conditions. This may include slab and footings, timber walls and masonry interfaces.
Please plan into your project timing approximately 2 weeks from measurement to steel erection, particularly if galvanising is required.
“Working off the plan” can be very risky because plans are not highly detailed leaving many decisions to the builder’s, or prefabricator’s discretion. Without knowing a seeming minor build decision may have a major impact on the steel design. Also builds are regularly adapted to better suit materials. For example actual wall/ceiling heights are often tweaked to suit plaster or ‘work bricks’. By site measuring we can allow for such amendments.
We also ask that slabs are marked out so that any discrepancies and subsequent changes are identified that may impact the steel design.
Best results are achieved when both the supervisor and/or lead carpenter are available at the site measure.
Please be prepared to discuss the following;
• What timber you need to attach to the steel beams as this will define what drilling is required.
• What heights the steel beams are required, i.e. where they are located in the floor or roof space. This will set column heights and influence connection types.
• What locations and heights are required for timber beam cleats.
Straightness / Plumbness
Structural steel sections are hot-rolled and never perfectly straight. Additionally hot processes such as welding and galvanising unavoidably result in further distortion. We endeavour to provide beam straightness within 1mm per meter length but this is not always practical. Please discuss if you have special requirements. Columns with offset hold-down bolts cannot always be plumbed perfectly and may rely on surrounding structure to set their position. Please double check columns before you fix to them and adjust as necessary.
Erection
Steel members can be deceptively heavy and cranes are usually required for safe and quick erection. Clear site access is very important. We regularly plan truck and crane access to a site only to find on the day sand, bricks, windows, bins, walls, and joists block our path. We understand these materials are necessary but ask that you delay major delivers until after your steel stage.
It is best if a carpenter is on site at the time of steel erection. Often there is timber that needs to be cut away to allow for steel columns. There is also a chance to bolt timber to the steel before it is all lifted to place.
Delays
Poor weather can cause delays to site erection as handling and craning steel in wet or windy conditions could become dangerous. Welding is also unsuited to exposed wet conditions. Please understand that an accident and subsequent investigation would delay your project much more than a day or two for the weather to clear.