[Shop-talk] Repairing Wrought Iron Railing

[Karl Vacek]

Just be aware, if you're welding right along the concrete, that when welding
heat hits the concrete, moisture in the concrete will quickly heat into
steam and explode pieces of the concrete out - right at you.  If the
concrete is already cracked, maybe you'd be better off to break it away for
an inch or two at least.  If the concrete is still good, perhaps inserting a
solid piece of steel down into the part of the upright that's left in the
concrete and up into the part above-grade would be safer than welding.

If you want to go for it anyway, try to shield the concrete as well as
possible, and preferably preheat the railing in that area to drive off as
much moisture as possible before you start actually welding.  And if the
railing is the current-type thin and cheap stuff, maybe slipping a tube or
solid into the upright and also welding would be helpful, since a plain butt
weld into thin and rusted steel will be weak.

Karl


-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Stone
Subject: [Shop-talk] Repairing Wrought Iron Railing

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