Welding a Handrail for Your Front Porch: Metal Comparisons
Admin • May 25, 2017
A great way to give your front porch aesthetic appeal and added safety is by adding a metal handrail to its steps. This project can be completed by welding durable metal pieces together for a streamlined, contemporary finish. Before beginning your welding project, it's important to choose a welding company you trust to complete the work for you so it's done accurately and safely.
One of the decisions you will have to make prior to welding your new handrail is the type of metal you should use. Here is a comparison guide including common welding metals so you can decide which one will work best for your welding project.
Carbon Steel
Carbon steel is known for its extreme durability. It's created by mixing carbon and iron together for a nearly indestructible finished product. This is not a decorative metal, but it gets the job done if you are wanting a porch railing that will last and require little to no maintenance. If you are designing an industrial front porch for a shed or other outbuilding or you simply need a railing for safety reasons at your home, carbon steel can be an excellent choice.
Aluminum
Lightweight, cost-effective, and easy to customize in a variety of designs and colors, aluminum is a great medium to use when creating a decorative porch railing. It is resistant to rusting and is very durable. You can have aluminum powder-coated for added strength and visual appeal in popular textures and finishes, such as metallic, satin, speckled, or even matte. For a quicker welding project you can order pre-fabricated aluminum railings that your welder can install for you when they arrive.
Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is perhaps the most popular welding metal for handrails. Its versatile application, natural beauty, and cheaper costs all come into play when choosing this material for a railing project. You can have steel finished in a metallic sheen or a high gloss to give your front porch a luxurious appeal, or you can have it finished in a darker hue for a dramatic effect.
Stainless steel comes in a variety of designs, from popular twisted metal to rounded posts or even squared railing styles. You can also have wire cables or glass inserted into your railing for added attraction. Talk to your welding contractor about the many options you have when working with stainless steel for a customized railing you will love.
Copper
If you want your porch railing to have more of a natural, artistic appeal, then copper may be the material you want to weld with. Copper naturally oxidizes, turning from a vibrant penny-colored hue to a bluish or greenish black. This patina can give your railing a unique appearance that is attractive against a natural stone porch.
Copper tubing is often used in this type of welding project, and since copper is a pliable metal, you will want to talk to your welder about adding other durable materials like aluminum or steel, to your railing's foundation to make it sturdier. Rigid copper tubing will most likely be used over soft copper, unless you are adding copper to your railing for visual effect only and are using other metals for the main part of your project.
Whether you want a railing for simple attraction or for heavy-duty use, the right metal can give you the long-lasting appeal you are hoping for. No welding project is too large or too small for Sam's Welding Incorporated , and we can even come to your home or business to perform welding repairs for you. Call us to discuss your welding project so we can design the best concept for your needs.
Most Popular Types of Welding
Are you hiring a welder to get something fabricated or repaired? Sam's Welding Inc. offers the following types of welding in El Cajon: Gas metal arc welding. Perhaps the most popular of them all, this method is also known by its abbreviations GMAW or MIG, for metal inert gas. It’s an average of five times faster than electrical arc methods and includes four material transfer options: spray, pulsed spray, globular and short circuiting. Shielded metal arc welding. A form of stick welding commonly known as SMAW, this process uses electrical current to form an arc between the rod and metals in production. Uses include industrial fabrication such as the construction of iron and steel structures. Gas tungsten arc welding. This method is known as TIG or GTAW and requires the most skill, as heat is continuously regulated by means of a foot pedal. If amperage is set too high, you can end up burning holes in the metal. If it’s too low, the weld won’t flow properly. It’s especially useful for combining thick pieces of stainless steel and ironless metals. Flux-cored arc welding. Unlike MIG and TIG, FCAW keeps contamination out by means of a flux. This process doesn’t require a shielding gas, can be done outdoors and is quite efficient. Working with different positions such as horizontal, vertical and tee joints requires different machine configurations. Serving San Diego, CA Whether you need several hundred pieces or just one, we’re happy to take on the project for you. We are combat veteran owned and have more than two decades of experience handling military projects with success. We serve El Cajon, La Mesa, Santee, and the entire county. We have expertise with the design and fabrication of gates and fences. You’re welcome to walk into our San Diego shop or call us anytime at 619-281-2709 .
Whether you have some new projects lined up to modify and enhance your home or there are some significant repairs that need to be done to some of the metalwork, you want to have a professional metal welder on the job. There are numerous specific instances in which having welding done by a certified military group such as Sam’s Welding Inc. in El Cajon is worth your investment. Perhaps you need a car welder to perform some precise car part welding or you need to ensure the safety of a premises with some security door welding . Of course, not everything that involves metal fabrication or repair is on a large scale. More often than not, welding is needed for smaller things that see use on a daily basis, such as: Staircases Hand railings Gates Fences As far as stairs are concerned, our professionals can help with anything from a new hand railing to a completely new and complex spiral staircase. Even if the work needs to be done outside on fences and gates where the materials need to be more durable, our nearly four decades of experience in the field have given us the knowledge of how to complete jobs in a way that is both aesthetically pleasing and keeps you and your loved ones safe. Serving El Cajon, La Mesa and Santee Metalwork, whether it is basic framing or a more elaborate fence job, has a large impact on our lives every day. Therefore, when the time comes in which you decide to invest in modifications, fabrications, or repairs, you’d better be sure that you have qualified people doing the work. That’s what you’ll get when you call Sam’s Welding at 619-281-2709 . If you live in El Cajon, La Mesa or Santee, ask about our walk-in and mobile services to maximize our availability to you.
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