How to bid on welding steel decking for concrete slab

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Got a call from a good customer and he wants me to work up a price to puddle weld some steel decking that they pour the concrete on. Any one have experience with welding this stuff down and what kind of rates do you charge he said it will be a 60' by 120' area. Just looking for any experience out there and heads up I  need to look out for?Sent from my C811 4G using TapatalkVantage 300 kubota ,miller 304 xmt ,lincoln ln 25 pro , ranger 305 G, plenty of other tools of the trade to make the sparks fly.
Reply:What is the weld pattern?   36 - 4 or 36-6 ?   What about weld washers?   Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:I know that you said that they want to puddle weld it down, but more and more outfits are shooting them down with pins. As to pricing the puddle welding: don't forget that you may be required to qualify yourself or your welders for puddle welding. There are certifications that are required for most decking jobs such as the one you are describing so don't forget to get all of the details. It's been so long since I have done that sort of work that I don't have a good feel for what sort of hours are generally associated with the process. One other detail: are you going to be required to crimp/button punch the seams/overlaps as well? That either requires a manually operated machine or a pneumatic one. Good luck and regards, Allanaevald


Reply:You gotta lay it before hand, or just weld it down? Like said before you need to know specs on what's expected, weld spacing, end closures, etc. Is it a safety nazi site where you have to be tied off at all times? Lot of variables. I've earned many a day's wages puddle welding with 6022.


Reply:Yeah i got to find out more about it I don't know anything about deck welding I just had a very good customer ask me if I would weld the deck if he got the job. I said I would if he got all the info for it and we could figure it out together. Sent from my C811 4G using TapatalkVantage 300 kubota ,miller 304 xmt ,lincoln ln 25 pro , ranger 305 G, plenty of other tools of the trade to make the sparks fly.
Reply:What about the pour stop , column closers that is all part of the job .Will it be detailed by the supplier ? What about bar joists and bridging. You will need 100 ' light lead light stinger with a broom stick taped on to save your back.Washers suck and screw downs are slow. You better be doing 10 welds a min to make money.
Reply:sub it out to a decking contractor and take your's off the top while you're making money doing what you know.Last edited by docwelder; 06-19-2016 at 09:52 AM.i.u.o.e. # 15queens, ny and sunny fla
Reply:For flooring now they sometimes use three inch high deck, so you can be welding three inches below grade. They use less I-beams and deeper decking. That stuff is heavy, and usually 3 x 24 feet long. You have to have it boomed to the job site if it is not a ground floor. Which most suppliers do for you. But you may want to consider the weight of said material and where you are going to store it, so you do not have to jockey it around on the bare trusses by hand. While walking on makeshift planking or supports laid across those trusses. If it is a roof, and there is a roof next door and you can get permission sometimes that works best. Sometimes one landlord owns both adjacent buildings and it is cool to do so.As far as welding it, they just put a foot on it and create what they used to call a rosebud weld. The problem is rust, after about five or ten years, from condensation, the area around the weld rusts out. And you can just lift it off, of that I am sure. But I live on an island surrounded by salt water. Sincerely, William McCormick.If I wasn't so.....crazy, I wouldn't try to act normal, and you would be afraid.
Reply:Look close at the specs, all the metal decking I worked on had plain round like 5/8'' or 3/4'' stock with a mushroom type head welded to the deck. These guys had a gun type device that would fit over the entire pin. Attachment 1453831
Reply:

Originally Posted by BD1

Look close at the specs, all the metal decking I worked on had plain round like 5/8'' or 3/4'' stock with a mushroom type head welded to the deck. These guys had a gun type device that would fit over the entire pin. Attachment 1453831
Reply:also find out decking guage ( 16ga, etc) , size puddle ( 1/2, 5/8, etc.), and what guage or thickess of what is underneath that your welding to.    also, try to do it before they crimp the side by side sheets together, cuz its easier.    i like 7010, and if you can (allowed), run it dcen, yeah, you can really crank up the amps and get some production going.   also a bottle of sunscreen  for your ears and back of neck, absorbine jr for your back, and a slim belly is helpful.