Who welds their fence pickets solid vs leaving one side open or leaving a weep hole?

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Hi all,Been a shop welder / fabricator for a long time. Now I do CAD design work. I have started doing side work that requires me to do outdoor fences and gates, which I have never done at my day job. Do you guys leave vent holes on outdoor items like fence panels / gates etc.? I have heard conflicting info. I would leave a weep hole at the bottom of pickets but am concerned about rust bleed. I've had welders that put fence up tell me they just weld 2 sides at the bottom of fence pickets. I am aware you must put drain holes in items that are hot dip galvanized for venting purposes but not sure on painted or powder coated items.What is your experience?Thanks,PaulNorth Texas area
Reply:personally, I leave some kind of weep hole.  I do aluminum (mostly) and was told by an older aluminum builder that I should leave the hole.  Water gets into aluminum and here in PA it gets cold in the winter and the water will freeze and tear the aluminum.  Perhaps mr spider makes his way into the hole and plugs it, I haven't had that issue ... YET.
Reply:if i was doing it for myself or someone that i knew, id seal it up.      in my area, its common practice that fenceing contracors dont weld the panels underside of the bottom rail, and  its usually  noted camoflauged in there contract that they dont weld it.     i dont think alot of customers dont even realize it.     then i/welder comes along yrs later, to fix the rusted out area, especially panels in grasss w/ sprinkl;ers/pool fences.Last edited by 123weld; 1 Day Ago at 09:02 PM.
Reply:If your doing railings, then everything should be solid. If your doing fencing, everything should be hollow and straight through runs so there shouldn't be any issue anyways.If your doing steel fencing, well that just plain sucks because you cant leave it open, unless you primer the inside.Sealed, hollow metal outside will generate water over time. Spring and fall condensation is a bitch here in NJ. If your in Florida, not ever a problem.Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
Reply:Just out of curiosity,,, if its sealed how does water get in?
Reply:Most will leave the bottom open or crimp and cap top to keep out rain or snow. Now if it is near the ocean or salt then seal bottom  too. A drain hole is not need.In building steel columns you weld both ends no drain hole.This to stop inside rust only outside rust  so can repair the rust damage. Some a vent hole is drill for welding then sealed. Dave

Originally Posted by atomicsteelworks

Hi all,Been a shop welder / fabricator for a long time. Now I do CAD design work. I have started doing side work that requires me to do outdoor fences and gates, which I have never done at my day job. Do you guys leave vent holes on outdoor items like fence panels / gates etc.? I have heard conflicting info. I would leave a weep hole at the bottom of pickets but am concerned about rust bleed. I've had welders that put fence up tell me they just weld 2 sides at the bottom of fence pickets. I am aware you must put drain holes in items that are hot dip galvanized for venting purposes but not sure on painted or powder coated items.What is your experience?Thanks,PaulNorth Texas area
Reply:I think if you learn to religiously wrap your corners, you don't need a weep hole.  I had a piece of tubing burst from water intrusion, and freezing.  I looked at it carefully, and I'd made a mistake..............didn't close off the corners.  This was years ago, many years ago.  I learned real quick.You can also encounter a problem with combustible gas forming in a closed piece of tubing.  Moisture gets in, and reacts with metal.  I forget what type of gas it is, but it can cause problems down the road when you have to drill/cut the tubing in the future.  Learn to keep the water out.