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I am builidng a fire escape platform. The bracket is 3"x3"x1/4" angle iron which extends out about 24" inches from the house. Going across that is about 10 peices of 2" flat stock with 1/2" space in between.My issue (which is sorta a welding quesiton/sorta a painting question) is when do I paint the top of the bracket? If I wait until after I weld then there will be an unpainted area where the bracket and the flat stock cross. Since gravity is helping me out I was only planning on welding the flat stock to the bracket from the bottom which would leave two seams/joints unwelded. Will that seam be an area that will allow water to get to the unpainted metal? My first thought was the paint would seal them together but I was a little worried that if there was any flex the paint would crack there. If I prepaint the bracket I would then need to sand it down in the weld area before welding which would add a lot of time. Is there a better way to handle this? Am I worrying about nothing, will the paint just seal it up? One other thought I had was black silcone caulk the not welded seams and then paint that. I was wondering if that was necessary though
Reply:Metal fire escapes generally last a very long time. Build it so when it's 50 or more years old, it will still be safe. Weld the seams so they can't admit water.
Reply:We had a steel staircaase from the 2nd floor porch to the back yard of the apartment that was put in when I was a kid. Never rusted at any joints over the years to my memory. The welds were partial, and it was painted with a good strong coat of black paint, probably at the time an oil based and 2 coats. We never painted it since. Look to get yourself one of those 20 year epoxy paints I've been hearing so much about if you are that concerned with rusting. Besides, who wants to climb up there and paint it again in a few years? Welding the entire joint is one approach, but adds no strength to the joint in your application and doesn't answer you rust concern. Also building it a little overguage for added lifespan isn't a bad idea, just watch your weight if this is going to be lag bolted to the side of the house. Too heavy and you could run into trouble with the side of the house having exaggerated flex summer to winter, cracking in nearby sheetrock, binding a window or 2, etc. Good luck!Last edited by Clanweld; 11-29-2006 at 03:25 PM.If you don't have the time to do it right, then you definitely don't have the time to do it over.
Reply:Wled the joints solid and they will by water tight. |
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发表于 2021-9-1 00:58:53