JW Portable Welding delivers steel beams – wide flange, structural tubing and heavy angle iron to your house remodeling project. We deliver these heavy structural elements to downtown in London Ontario using our custom made heavy built trailer.
In view of difficulties delivering of wide flange steel beams, structural tubing and heavy angle iron, we have custom fabricated a medium size trailer that handles these heavy structural elements very well. In fact many general contractors remodeling old houses face difficulties with deliveries of heavy structural elements due to following reasons:
As you can see the lack of space, heavy weight, and relatively small order complicate the situation for the general contractor.
On one hand the 14 feet length does not seem very impressive since these steel beams come in 20 feet lengths. However, on the other hand we have to consider the weight of these elements since they have to transported manually inside the house. Here are some examples
As you can see we are talking about significant weights here and still we have not reached W14s and bigger.
Knowing the weight of the steel beam is a key to the success.
Equally important is not only the specifics of the wide flange beam but also its length. We understand very well that the length of the beam plays an important role therefore we check the beam specifics and its length prior each delivery.
Once on site our trailer makes the magic. When faced with very narrow roads in downtown of London where backing up is simply impossible, we disconnect our trailer from the pickup truck and push it manually to your driveway. In this way we control the whole backing maneuver more precisely without any risks of hitting the car that is parked close by.
Our trailer’s elevation is much lower than the elevation of truck’s deck and therefore the unloading process does not take much effort. The unloading process takes place to the back of the trailer, with final moves supported by simple rigging. The elements land on the timber on your driveway in close proximity of the house entrence.
Due to significant weight of some steel beams we also recommend to blow holes through the web in order to position some handles that will help you to bring the beam to the house. These holes will also allow you to transfer electrical leads and copper tubing across the beam if necessary. With this in mind we can blow these holes for you using our torches.
Once you place the beam on temporary jack posts, then is the time to place it on permanent posts or teleposts. In general, we recommend our teleposts / jack posts that hold up to 30,000 lbs and could be encased with drywall. The traditional posts do always require some shimming that could be problematic in many situations. Moreover, most teleposts should be welded to the steel beams, therefore shims placed on top of the posts will have to be joined together prior welding. Placing shims under the post will also make welding them impossible.
Please contact us here for delivery of your steel beams
First thing to remember is that major steel distributors face challenges with their supply of wide flange beams, some heavy structural tubing and with some heavy irregular angle iron. Therefore even though they can have other wide flange beams they could be missing your particular one. Additionally, your small order and custom cuts signify additional cost to them. The small general contractor has to realize that these large distributors make a living from large orders issued by large welding shops and large builders involved in construction of apartment buildings. These clients order large quantities of steel, pay regularly for their orders and unload their steel themselves.
The small general contractor asks for trouble when the order is small and has to be delivered to address on narrow street with cars parking on one side of the road. In such situation, the driver is not able to back up to the driveway and many of these trucks do not have a crane to help with unloading of steel. Due to the weight of the steel beam, the manual unloading from the elevation of the truck’s deck is extremely difficult and rather risky.
Another key point is that even if these steel delivery trucks do have a crane the wide flange steel beams are very heavy and their weight restricts the reach of the truck’s crane. Therefore this way or the other way the wide flange beams land on the front yard. ….Then from the front yard the general contractor transport this structural element to the driveway and then puts it inside the house. Live is not easy for the general contractor. Fortunately, for many small general contractors we make the whole task much easier.
Most of serious remodeling projects involve some kind of open concept. In fact, majority of older housing in London goes through some kind of open concept renovation that involves removing a few walls and creating a large living space. In this way this old house meets the modern style of younger and more affluent generation. Unfortunately, majority of open concepts involve installation of precisely cut wide flange beams strategically carrying the load as well as a few jack posts or teleposts for steel beams support.
It is important to realize that general contractor can not finish drywalling, finish electrical or plumbing going across the beam and can not start doing flooring without securing the steel beams in place. And getting this approved by the inspector. That is why the general contractor needs the specific wide flange and structural tubing on time and unloaded on the driveway as quickly as possible.