[Shop-talk] Repairing Wrought Iron Railing

[Brian Kemp]

Jim,

Did it crack because of rust?  If so, it might take a bit more effort to 
go back to solid metal.  I have two suggestions I was looking at for myself.

One is to see them fix a porch railing at
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/ask-toh/video/0,,20555837,00.html

If I recall correctly, they took the railing and cut off the damaged 
bottom.  They then had new square sections with a steel rod inside. They 
used some sort of caulk/adhesive and attached the repair portion to the 
bottom of the rail.  They used a hammer drill to remove the railing post 
from the cement.  Finally, they put the railing back in place with new 
cement.

Another option is to fabricate a foot plate on a segment of square tube 
and use some concrete screws/bolts to attach it to the step.

I'll be doing one of the two with some of my iron railing that is rusted 
away at the base.  I just have not picked which one.

If there is no rust, you may be able to just weld it up, but I can't 
offer any tips there as I only welded once.  It was 3/16" steel to make 
shock brackets for my TR6, and they have held up nicely, but it did take 
some time with the grinder to get pretty.

Brian

On 9/1/2012 1:18 PM, Jim Stone wrote:
> My wife and I are about to buy a home that we will eventually retire to.  The
> plan it to rent it out until that time, which is a factor in the question I am
> about to ask.  The house (like me, built in the early 50's) has wrought iron
> railing around the front entry way and steps that go to a side door.  It all
> needs to be repainted, but one of the vertical supports on the side steps has
> cracked about an inch above the base.  It just appears to be square tube, but
> it was all cast in place, meaning the tube is embedded in the concrete.  I
> will eventually want to replace all of it with something more attractive, but
> for now I just want it to be safe and not something that will lead to a
> lawsuit from a renter.
>
> I am thinking that I could wire brush the paint away from around the crack,
> clean off any rust and then weld the crack up.  To be absolutely safe, I would
> also weld some angle iron on the two corners by the crack, repaint the whole
> railing and forget about it until after retirement.  For what its worth, I
> don't want to lug shielding gas with me, so I was planning on just using flux
> core wire in my welder.  It can be windy near the house, so that might be a
> good idea anyway.
>
> At least that is my plan, but I have never worked on wrought iron railing
> before.  I know I can't weld the decorative parts of the railing, but does
> anyone see any problems with this plan?  Anything special I should consider
> before tackling it?
>
> As always, thanks!
>
> Jim
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