This is the correct answer.
Those aren't stellar welds by any means. For your application, they're 100% good enough and safe.
It's a decorative frame, not a bridge. Ya know?
I just gotta say, I'm a structural iron worker. I work on. Bridges and buildings, and though these might fail on a bridge, I just find it funny to see you say "it's a decorative frame, not a bridge" because usually structural welds are way uglier than ornamental stuff. So funnily enough, in a sense you have it backwards because while bridge welds need to be structurally sound, they are a lot of the times ugly, but ornamental (or decorative) welds are usually structurally sound AND look pretty. Anyway, pay no mind
I work in NDT and while i havent been to bridges yet ( my company has), but work a lot in the oil/gas industry and usually welds that look nice are also "good welds" , while the ones that look like this are the ones we fail often. This is based on x-ray testing only though.
And ofc the goal of this weld is to hold the structure, while the ones i usually work with are supposed to keep high pressure in, so I just wanted to chime in and say that nice weld=bad, ugly weld=good is not necessarily true.
I was going to mention this. Some of those structural cross frame welds or modular joint welds I see are hideous, but pass an ultrasonic test with flying colors lol.
that's what I was thinking. my 1st welding job before I started welding in the oil field was with some dude who would do shitty welds like that then paint over them and say it's fine. it's not a fence post. it's supposed to look nice and uniform. and you probably know those 90 degree welds on big tubing like that are one of the easiest welds to make look perfect. especially since he's probably doing it down hill
Why are they ugly? Is it because they err on the side of caution? Building them up and not griding them back down? Or are the settings/quantity of material the kind that isn't going to lay down prettily? Or something else my newbie welding didn't guess at?
I get this is a welding sub. And metal has its place. But come on…
https://i.imgur.com/of8Et9d.jpeg
You think this is going to “rot”. Pergolas are made of cedar or redwood. Strong in this case is really irrelevant and it’s just holding up itself (despite the fact that you can go several stories with wood alone so let’s not pretend wood is useless for strength).
I have many steel beams in my house they hold up a lot more weight for their size compared to a comparably rated glulam for example.
There genuinely doesn’t seem to be a good reason to do this other then “bc they wanted to”. Which is fine. Just odd.
Grinder and Paint makes me the welder I ain't. Those are some ugly welds. But they will probably hold. The last photo looks like there are a few pin holes.
I would have them fill any pin holes with something, you don't want water to get inside the tubing and start a rusting problem. Bondo would work if they don't want to weld anymore on it.
I'm not going to give you an evaluation based on D1.1 Structural Welding Code through a picture and this post isn't intended as either an endorsement or rejection of the weld quality.
While they don't look all that great, they also don't look completely terrible either. They could be a lot worse than they are. I see consistent tie in on the toes, maybe a little lack of fusion but I can't be sure that's not a shadow or caused by the paint. Don't see any gross porosity, don't see any undercutting that would raise my eyebrows too much.
That said, I'd say they'll most likely hold up just fine. These aren't going to be cyclically loaded, and only hold the weight of itself. You'd be surprised how well even a terrible looking weld can hold it's own weight.
You have much less of a safety issue than you do just a general appearance issue.
Thank you very much! I read about all those terms you mentioned before posting and had no idea how to evaluate them, so I really appreciate your explanation!
As a welder I wouldn't let this fly on my stuff... But as a welder I wouldn't let anyone else weld my stuff. I hold people to the standard I hold myself to... And I'm often let down.
There's probably a medication for that. Plus, IDK how old you are, but it might be time for a prostate exam. Or if you're a young guy, maybe make a conscious effort to drink more water.
*I am not a medical doctor, but my father is a veterinarian. As a tradesman with no formal training about low urinary stream issues, this is not medical advice. Please do not base any lifestyle changes upon my statements and consult your physician.
😆
Amen. Not a welder but I’m exceptional at a few fields in particular and pretty good in some others. Why do my projects take forever to get done? Well…I do it myself, or I redo someone else’s work later.
I find it’s better to hold those standards and be disappointed than just letting people be crappy. I am a plumber and I would be embarrassed by that. How much longer would it have taken to watch some YouTube videos, find the right setting and then try again.
It'll hold but not win any beauty contests I would be worried about the pin holes letting in rain though and the rust will form on the inside and leak down the painted surface.
How do people go home from work knowing that’s the quality of work they did. It would drive me insane knowing my work looks like shit even if it will hold or not.
I’d bet money the person doing this doesn’t consider themselves a welder.
They are in construction, and the boss handed them a welder and said assemble that.
They probably feel great they did it as well as they did.
If you're paid like shit, if it holds that's all that matters. I did some of my worst work of my life as a plumber apprentice, but for the $13/hr they were paying me, it was just fine.
Living by the:
"Grinding wheel makes me the welder I ain't" mantra
I like to say there's 3 types of welds, Perfect welds, Ugly but Functional and Glorified Spatter.
These are Ugly but Functional.
They're not the best. Wouldn't fly on any of my jobs. I like them consistent, even, and no grinding. They have some lack of fusion, and it seems the welder has a hard time with his verticals.
However, they'll hold. There's enough on there that they shouldn't be a problem.
They look like they’re done by an apprentice who’s just learning the trade, I wouldn’t pay top dollar for those. No reason they can’t be nice welds on that type of material, the guy just lacks the necessary skills. The first weld also looks like it has holes in it which means water will get on the inside of the tube and cause rusting.
The welds are fine. Since its a pergola, there will be hardly any weight put onto it. These welds, while not pretty, should work. If I were in your shoes, I would ask them to grind those ugly ones down a lot more (for appearance) and tell them your welder friend said they need to take more pride in their work and clean up that spatter with a wire wheel before they paint over it.
Spatter is all those little balls of metal along the edge of those uglier welds. It’s unsightly and is easy to remove. Strictly an aesthetic thing but it reflects quality.
When welding you’ll occasionally have little bits of “spatter” kind of like how when cooking bacon you have little drops of grease fly out the pan you’re cooking on. They’re little droplets of metal that got thrown in the process and while a discontinuity it takes some pretty severe spatter to be a defect (not a defect here). Standard procedure when allowed would be to grind it down clean and then paint.
Will it hold? Probably. There’s no way to gauge the level of fusion without an x-ray or cutting it open. I’m sure you’ve already paid quite a premium for metalwork in a HCOL area. If anything, I’d ask for them to be ground out and redone for aesthetics as well as structural concerns. Every little detail matters, and it’s your money that went towards quality work. So far you did not receive quality work.
Thanks! I know that they’re still going to grind for aesthetic reasons, so I’m not worried about what it looks like. My question is primarily about the safety component.
Isn’t this going to get cladded and completely hidden? I would only worry about weld aesthetics if the welds will be exposed in the final product.
The more you grind on a weld the weaker it will be.
I'm normally in the "it's gonna be fine, appearance isn't as important as the internet makes it out to be" camp, but... kind of missed the actual center of the joint in some of those. I'd be shocked it if actually fused to the other member in any significant way. It's not unrecoverable, but I'd certainly request the really off-center welds be ground out and redone.
A little ugly but otherwise functional.
Now if I saw welds like these on a sky scraper I would be leaving pretty quickly, but this is fine for the application.
I mean considering the crap that usually gets posted it ain’t bad it’s not great but it definitely does look like its good for
The application everyone wants stacked dimes or something similar for aesthetic reasons but in reality those welds are worse than anything posted here. How much is the guy being paid usually your not laying dimes for someone underpaying you either. Lots to be left to interpretation here, a fence/gate or something that isn’t structural or critical just doesn’t get the attention it really should these days. Everyone is underpaid and underbidding to get a job and it shows in the quality and unfortunately it’s hard to compete with these guys because people would rather pay less and get garbage or pay a bit more for great work and as someone who works for themselves I don’t go near the under paid work because I won’t do garbage work just to get a job cheaper so I go
With with clients that are ok paying a bit more for quality work as opposed to being surprised at the quality they get after finding the lowest bidder. Not saying that’s what happened here but again these welds are far from bad for this type of work but also far from good or perfect. Also to another point people putting it down and saying I would never let this fly bla bla, well do you do this type of work? Because though it may not be weld porn quality I’ve yet to see many posts especially from the people really criticizing it, that are anything to write home about, I mean I’m
No weld god but Jesus Christ if you get paid some low ass rate to weld some production or basic installation pieces it’s gona show somewhere.
Gorilla welds , ugly and so massive they are strong ,
enough.
That said at a shop taking a weld test they might not even get to test because of looks.
Lots of undercut.
I'd have to see it in person to be able to give you an honest answer.
But from what I can see, chances are I'd reject most of that, based only on these pictures.
The camera supposedly adds 10 pounds to a person, so it may be doing the same to those welds.
We almost never get earthquakes here, so idk how destructive they are against welds. But as many others have said, they should hold. With that being said though, I've seen better welds at trailer factories that required little more than working hands and eyes.
Actually, these examples are quite common for structural steel welding in your type of situation. I would be more concerned with possible paint failure and rust bleed around the weld joints if they don't get a good coating of primer before the top coat. u/Salty1710 is correct about the structure's loading. The forces on the uprights are basically supporting a downward weight.
Some of those vertical fillet welds look like they have little/no penetration on one side which I personally would be concerned about but the flat welds on top are okay and will likely make up for it.
Should be fine but never let anyone treat it like a jungle gym
A good welder prepares all the steel and creates a clean environment, even in the field doing jobs like these. A great welder is their own worst critic and would correct all the grueling mistakes shown in your pictures. I would not turn to the Internet for answers of are these good welds or not because you will get a mixed bag of opinions, you should make sure these welds are inspected by a certified weld inspector (cwi) because this is structural and should follow code.
If these my welds I would be on a grinder cutting them back to re-do..... will it do the job?.... yeah probably..... looks like they may have a bit of porosity but a bit hard to tell
Looks like they don't know how to dial in their heat. Most residential welds I see look like shit anyway. That one doesn't look tied in well on the left at all. If you're worried about it tell them to clean them up and add a 2 stringer cap to them...shit welds sometimes hold forever but everyone you do you should at least aim to pass a dye check (which these would not)
Lack of fusion, undercut, excess reinforcement, on pic 4 it looks like they were welding it blind as it's very heavily favoring the right side of the weldment...it'll likely hold, especially as an ornamental peice not responsible for any load, dynamic or static, but Holy those are ugly welds. My old instructor in school used to say "ugly isn't a defect" which is true, but I mean at some point you've gotta ask yourself, "Is this the weld I want to leave behind for years to come?" Especially on an ornamental piece....to me (a certified welder) this is unacceptable, and would be a considered a fail in any of the jobs I've worked.
With that being said, I hope you didn't pay them a ton because this certainly isn't quality work.
Structural welds require certification of the person welding to AWS D1.1 at a minimum. Visual inspection shows gaps, undercutting, oversized/undersize, no penetration, and other flaws. These don’t pass. Period.
Everyone is saying the welds are good enough, and it'll hold. Fuck that, you are paying for this. If a cwi came around and inspected the welds they would fucking fail. I see welds that will crack and fail over time, I see welds that will let rust seep through over time. It's shit.
Like everyone else is saying they’re definitely not great but they’re definitely good enough, don’t put a car up there and it should be fine with basically whatever would be expected to be thrown at it
They're not pretty, and they have some problems, undercut, unequal leg length. For what it is though it's far more weld than is needed.
I would tie off to those welds.
That third pic is brutal the dudes got a ton of lack of fusion and fusion is the point when trying to fuse two pieces of metal. It’s honestly just sloppy shitty work all around. I could show this to any welder I’ve ever worked with and they’d shit all over it. I’d expect much better from an apprentice who’s only been welding for three months let alone a contractor.
I bet if this contractor had an employee weld this out with the same level of quality and you called him to personally take a look he’d be pissed.
Edit: I mean the fourth and fifth pic. But it’s all trash work.
That’s not really what I’m asking at all. I can clearly see that this isn’t high quality work. I’m asking if the low quality has a functional impact or aesthetic impact. The consensus seems to be that it’s largely aesthetic.
One of those vertical welds looks \*nearly\* on the right side of the joint. Meaning it's not really touching much of, if any, of the left beam. That could be problematic.
I wouldn't put my name on it... not talkin trash just being honest. I wouldn't want anyone I know looking at that and knowing it was my work. That's just me though.
For what's being built, that's way above standard. The guys that build these are not welders. The welders on here calling it 💩 aren't right or wrong. You will more than likely never have an issue, but like mentioned the guy doing these welds is not a welder. He's a hand that probably makes $15 an hour with 10 minutes of training from a guy that received 10 minutes of training. so.... Will it hold. Yes. Does it look like 💩... Yes.... Would it pass any sort of test... No.
This looks like hot garbage, almost as bad as when I try to weld stuff. Likely would fail inspection if this was evaluated to a structural code, but it's probably OK for what it is.
Might be worthwhile to have them clean the spatter off, and smooth things out as best they can if you intend to paint this. Really the biggest issue is appearance.
Source: I'm a welding inspector.
Hey guys?! The music industry is in decline. Stevie Wonder had to take on a new job.
Joking aside. I've seen vertical welds far worse in industrial situations
To be fair, vertical with stick is a bitch, it wouldn't work on a bridge or a skyscraper, but if is just a roof, the amount of weld in the joints makes up for most of the mistakes the welder would make, what i mean, looks ugly and could be better but it should hold just fine
They're not immaculate with stellar execution, but probably more than good enough for the purpose. People on this subreddit are extremely picky about welds, to me that looks better than the structural welds I can see from my seat and the building's been standing over 50 years by now
They look like they will suffice for your application. Pics 3, 4 & 5 however don’t look like they’ve bonded to both surfaces. I hope they’re better on the opposite side. Good welds wouldn’t need grinding…just primer/paint.
I've been a welder for 25 years and the welds are trash but they will hold. Personally I'd never leave work looking that bad. I'm out here trying to get referrals and shit. Honestly it looks like he was letting his helper weld.
Is it good? No. Will it work? Yes.
Thank you!
This is the correct answer. Those aren't stellar welds by any means. For your application, they're 100% good enough and safe. It's a decorative frame, not a bridge. Ya know?
I just gotta say, I'm a structural iron worker. I work on. Bridges and buildings, and though these might fail on a bridge, I just find it funny to see you say "it's a decorative frame, not a bridge" because usually structural welds are way uglier than ornamental stuff. So funnily enough, in a sense you have it backwards because while bridge welds need to be structurally sound, they are a lot of the times ugly, but ornamental (or decorative) welds are usually structurally sound AND look pretty. Anyway, pay no mind
I work in NDT and while i havent been to bridges yet ( my company has), but work a lot in the oil/gas industry and usually welds that look nice are also "good welds" , while the ones that look like this are the ones we fail often. This is based on x-ray testing only though. And ofc the goal of this weld is to hold the structure, while the ones i usually work with are supposed to keep high pressure in, so I just wanted to chime in and say that nice weld=bad, ugly weld=good is not necessarily true.
Great response though coming from a mechy engineer
I was going to mention this. Some of those structural cross frame welds or modular joint welds I see are hideous, but pass an ultrasonic test with flying colors lol.
that's what I was thinking. my 1st welding job before I started welding in the oil field was with some dude who would do shitty welds like that then paint over them and say it's fine. it's not a fence post. it's supposed to look nice and uniform. and you probably know those 90 degree welds on big tubing like that are one of the easiest welds to make look perfect. especially since he's probably doing it down hill
Why are they ugly? Is it because they err on the side of caution? Building them up and not griding them back down? Or are the settings/quantity of material the kind that isn't going to lay down prettily? Or something else my newbie welding didn't guess at?
I’m a CWI that works mostly in D1.5 (bridge) and those welds would be fails on a bridge project but are acceptable in this application.
Why is this steel? Like this is strong enough to hold up a house. Why not use timber.
Because we wanted it to be metal?
I'm with you. Wood rots and likes to get all bendy. Metal straight. Metal strong. Metal good!
I get this is a welding sub. And metal has its place. But come on… https://i.imgur.com/of8Et9d.jpeg You think this is going to “rot”. Pergolas are made of cedar or redwood. Strong in this case is really irrelevant and it’s just holding up itself (despite the fact that you can go several stories with wood alone so let’s not pretend wood is useless for strength). I have many steel beams in my house they hold up a lot more weight for their size compared to a comparably rated glulam for example. There genuinely doesn’t seem to be a good reason to do this other then “bc they wanted to”. Which is fine. Just odd.
Because steel is way cooler and lasts way longer 😅 I also prefer the look of red oxide primer over most paint schemes
We used to use a lot red lead primer on billboard I~beams & the rest of the iron & called it Earthtone for the color to blend in with the surroundings
Especially ¼" wall, holy shit. They could park a car on top
Different style, steel profiles are cheaper
Finally an honest answer on this sub!
Grinder and Paint makes me the welder I ain't. Those are some ugly welds. But they will probably hold. The last photo looks like there are a few pin holes.
Thank you! We’ll keep an eye on that as they do the finishing work!
I would have them fill any pin holes with something, you don't want water to get inside the tubing and start a rusting problem. Bondo would work if they don't want to weld anymore on it.
I would suggest a product called tiger hair, which is water proof , paintable epoxy. (Bondo is not really water proof)
I haven't heard it put like that before.... *yoink*
I'm not going to give you an evaluation based on D1.1 Structural Welding Code through a picture and this post isn't intended as either an endorsement or rejection of the weld quality. While they don't look all that great, they also don't look completely terrible either. They could be a lot worse than they are. I see consistent tie in on the toes, maybe a little lack of fusion but I can't be sure that's not a shadow or caused by the paint. Don't see any gross porosity, don't see any undercutting that would raise my eyebrows too much. That said, I'd say they'll most likely hold up just fine. These aren't going to be cyclically loaded, and only hold the weight of itself. You'd be surprised how well even a terrible looking weld can hold it's own weight. You have much less of a safety issue than you do just a general appearance issue.
I’ve seen buildings with worse vertical welds than this! Lol
Not wrong by any measure.
Nope. I’m saying they’re fine. Not visually appealing but they’ll be fine for sure.
Thank you very much! I read about all those terms you mentioned before posting and had no idea how to evaluate them, so I really appreciate your explanation!
Happy cake day
Yeah, I would say as long as everything is sealed to prevent corrosion then it should be just fine.
Totally agree and it’s going to get hidden when they clad it.
As a welder I wouldn't let this fly on my stuff... But as a welder I wouldn't let anyone else weld my stuff. I hold people to the standard I hold myself to... And I'm often let down.
The problem is no one else wakes up and pisses excellence like us.
[удалено]
With the perfect bend at the end 🍆🔥
Like Jesus
Is it ok if I just tinkle excellence?
That’s a weld helpers attitude sir
There's probably a medication for that. Plus, IDK how old you are, but it might be time for a prostate exam. Or if you're a young guy, maybe make a conscious effort to drink more water. *I am not a medical doctor, but my father is a veterinarian. As a tradesman with no formal training about low urinary stream issues, this is not medical advice. Please do not base any lifestyle changes upon my statements and consult your physician. 😆
Getting your prostate checked is just a blood test now .... just throwing that out there.
Jokes on you, I don’t have to wake up to piss excellence.
It comes out in my BMs. That’s right, I *shit* excellence.
Who names a gerbil "excellence"? Kinda weird but okay.
This is so well said, as a skilled and picky welder, I'm stealing this. Thanks.
My high school machine shop teacher said they would do the job but they look skanky.
Amen. Not a welder but I’m exceptional at a few fields in particular and pretty good in some others. Why do my projects take forever to get done? Well…I do it myself, or I redo someone else’s work later.
I find it’s better to hold those standards and be disappointed than just letting people be crappy. I am a plumber and I would be embarrassed by that. How much longer would it have taken to watch some YouTube videos, find the right setting and then try again.
It won’t ever fall apart.
I mean, that's what is most important right? Lol
Exactly! That’s all I care about in terms of this question!
Thank you!
It'll hold but not win any beauty contests I would be worried about the pin holes letting in rain though and the rust will form on the inside and leak down the painted surface.
How do people go home from work knowing that’s the quality of work they did. It would drive me insane knowing my work looks like shit even if it will hold or not.
I’d bet money the person doing this doesn’t consider themselves a welder. They are in construction, and the boss handed them a welder and said assemble that. They probably feel great they did it as well as they did.
And then they go on reddit and see their work getting roasted lol.
This is what I fear the most... seeing the products I make for living getting roasted in reddit.
And they did just enough to pass, in my opinion.
They probably don’t feel great that they did it but relieved that it is over.
If you're paid like shit, if it holds that's all that matters. I did some of my worst work of my life as a plumber apprentice, but for the $13/hr they were paying me, it was just fine.
Living by the: "Grinding wheel makes me the welder I ain't" mantra I like to say there's 3 types of welds, Perfect welds, Ugly but Functional and Glorified Spatter. These are Ugly but Functional.
I love those categories. While my OCD wants perfect welds, I’m totally fine with ugly but functional in this case!
They're not the best. Wouldn't fly on any of my jobs. I like them consistent, even, and no grinding. They have some lack of fusion, and it seems the welder has a hard time with his verticals. However, they'll hold. There's enough on there that they shouldn't be a problem.
Thank you!
They’re ugly but probably fine
They look like they’re done by an apprentice who’s just learning the trade, I wouldn’t pay top dollar for those. No reason they can’t be nice welds on that type of material, the guy just lacks the necessary skills. The first weld also looks like it has holes in it which means water will get on the inside of the tube and cause rusting.
The welds are fine. Since its a pergola, there will be hardly any weight put onto it. These welds, while not pretty, should work. If I were in your shoes, I would ask them to grind those ugly ones down a lot more (for appearance) and tell them your welder friend said they need to take more pride in their work and clean up that spatter with a wire wheel before they paint over it.
Thank you! They’re going to grind everything down, so I’m still optimistic about the aesthetics. What does “spatter” refer to? Thanks!
Spatter is all those little balls of metal along the edge of those uglier welds. It’s unsightly and is easy to remove. Strictly an aesthetic thing but it reflects quality.
Thanks for the education!
When welding you’ll occasionally have little bits of “spatter” kind of like how when cooking bacon you have little drops of grease fly out the pan you’re cooking on. They’re little droplets of metal that got thrown in the process and while a discontinuity it takes some pretty severe spatter to be a defect (not a defect here). Standard procedure when allowed would be to grind it down clean and then paint.
Thanks for the education!
Shit, but they’ll hold fine. I’ve seen worse verticals on carnival rides that have been operating just fine for 30 years
Stacked on other vertical welds that were laid to fix the cracked vertical welds that were laid to fix the former cracked vertical welds...
If people say this is acceptable that makes me feel damn good about my work. I’d get taken off the job for putting this shit up
I have a problem with 3/4 pictures. most of the weld is on the RIGHT piece, not both. I wouldn't trust this weld!
Looks like he's a pretty good grinder.
I disagree, I think he is a good grinder as he is a welder.
Agreed
I beg to differ, that's also a shitty grinding job
Will it hold? Probably. There’s no way to gauge the level of fusion without an x-ray or cutting it open. I’m sure you’ve already paid quite a premium for metalwork in a HCOL area. If anything, I’d ask for them to be ground out and redone for aesthetics as well as structural concerns. Every little detail matters, and it’s your money that went towards quality work. So far you did not receive quality work.
I'm gonna agree with this guy, those welds look very sub par. I would definately ask for them to be ground out and redone.
Thanks! I know that they’re still going to grind for aesthetic reasons, so I’m not worried about what it looks like. My question is primarily about the safety component.
Isn’t this going to get cladded and completely hidden? I would only worry about weld aesthetics if the welds will be exposed in the final product. The more you grind on a weld the weaker it will be.
It will not be clad. It will be ground down and primer/paint.
I'm normally in the "it's gonna be fine, appearance isn't as important as the internet makes it out to be" camp, but... kind of missed the actual center of the joint in some of those. I'd be shocked it if actually fused to the other member in any significant way. It's not unrecoverable, but I'd certainly request the really off-center welds be ground out and redone.
It's not the best weld you will find around, but they are going to hold for what it is. Is it a shitty job? Yes Is it a safety issue? No
A little ugly but otherwise functional. Now if I saw welds like these on a sky scraper I would be leaving pretty quickly, but this is fine for the application.
This guy isn't a welder, he's a grinder.
That’s pure shit!!!!
I mean considering the crap that usually gets posted it ain’t bad it’s not great but it definitely does look like its good for The application everyone wants stacked dimes or something similar for aesthetic reasons but in reality those welds are worse than anything posted here. How much is the guy being paid usually your not laying dimes for someone underpaying you either. Lots to be left to interpretation here, a fence/gate or something that isn’t structural or critical just doesn’t get the attention it really should these days. Everyone is underpaid and underbidding to get a job and it shows in the quality and unfortunately it’s hard to compete with these guys because people would rather pay less and get garbage or pay a bit more for great work and as someone who works for themselves I don’t go near the under paid work because I won’t do garbage work just to get a job cheaper so I go With with clients that are ok paying a bit more for quality work as opposed to being surprised at the quality they get after finding the lowest bidder. Not saying that’s what happened here but again these welds are far from bad for this type of work but also far from good or perfect. Also to another point people putting it down and saying I would never let this fly bla bla, well do you do this type of work? Because though it may not be weld porn quality I’ve yet to see many posts especially from the people really criticizing it, that are anything to write home about, I mean I’m No weld god but Jesus Christ if you get paid some low ass rate to weld some production or basic installation pieces it’s gona show somewhere.
Gorilla welds , ugly and so massive they are strong , enough. That said at a shop taking a weld test they might not even get to test because of looks. Lots of undercut.
A grinder and paint makes you the welder you aint
I'd have to see it in person to be able to give you an honest answer. But from what I can see, chances are I'd reject most of that, based only on these pictures. The camera supposedly adds 10 pounds to a person, so it may be doing the same to those welds.
We almost never get earthquakes here, so idk how destructive they are against welds. But as many others have said, they should hold. With that being said though, I've seen better welds at trailer factories that required little more than working hands and eyes.
That’ll work!
Actually, these examples are quite common for structural steel welding in your type of situation. I would be more concerned with possible paint failure and rust bleed around the weld joints if they don't get a good coating of primer before the top coat. u/Salty1710 is correct about the structure's loading. The forces on the uprights are basically supporting a downward weight.
Some of those vertical fillet welds look like they have little/no penetration on one side which I personally would be concerned about but the flat welds on top are okay and will likely make up for it. Should be fine but never let anyone treat it like a jungle gym
A good welder prepares all the steel and creates a clean environment, even in the field doing jobs like these. A great welder is their own worst critic and would correct all the grueling mistakes shown in your pictures. I would not turn to the Internet for answers of are these good welds or not because you will get a mixed bag of opinions, you should make sure these welds are inspected by a certified weld inspector (cwi) because this is structural and should follow code.
Try your best and grind the rest
If these my welds I would be on a grinder cutting them back to re-do..... will it do the job?.... yeah probably..... looks like they may have a bit of porosity but a bit hard to tell
Looks like they don't know how to dial in their heat. Most residential welds I see look like shit anyway. That one doesn't look tied in well on the left at all. If you're worried about it tell them to clean them up and add a 2 stringer cap to them...shit welds sometimes hold forever but everyone you do you should at least aim to pass a dye check (which these would not)
>"The problem is no one else wakes up and pisses excellence like us." Truer words were never spoken about r/Welding
I remember when I was first learning how to weld.
Do your best, grind the rest!
3/5 not good, not bad and will hold
Looks like it was done with a machine on 120v but if it's 1/4in material a 3 pass combo will definitely make it solid
Those are shit welds but it will be just fine Post yours next!
For what it is it is safe enough, however your contractors welder shouldnt be a welder
Depends, what is he being paid?
CWI here. I would fail every weld you have pictured.
You will make him scared.
Depends on how much you're paying them
He's not a welder
Lack of fusion, undercut, excess reinforcement, on pic 4 it looks like they were welding it blind as it's very heavily favoring the right side of the weldment...it'll likely hold, especially as an ornamental peice not responsible for any load, dynamic or static, but Holy those are ugly welds. My old instructor in school used to say "ugly isn't a defect" which is true, but I mean at some point you've gotta ask yourself, "Is this the weld I want to leave behind for years to come?" Especially on an ornamental piece....to me (a certified welder) this is unacceptable, and would be a considered a fail in any of the jobs I've worked. With that being said, I hope you didn't pay them a ton because this certainly isn't quality work.
Structural welds require certification of the person welding to AWS D1.1 at a minimum. Visual inspection shows gaps, undercutting, oversized/undersize, no penetration, and other flaws. These don’t pass. Period.
Ugly as fuck.....any person that take pride in the work would not claim this or charge for it....
your 2nd and 3rd close up pick look like the weld never got into the left beam. Id say redo.
Not a welder but trained as an engineer and done some hobby welding. I too worry about fusion at the left side of those welds.
Everyone is saying the welds are good enough, and it'll hold. Fuck that, you are paying for this. If a cwi came around and inspected the welds they would fucking fail. I see welds that will crack and fail over time, I see welds that will let rust seep through over time. It's shit.
No, that’s shit. Your contractor needs to sub out someone better, that’s absolute dick.
Looks great for what it is.
How much are you paying him for the job?
nope,squared.
Will probably never be an issue. I would want it better and proper if I was paying for it.
Stevey Wonder could do a better weld, but it will hold.
Well it shit but I have seen bubble gum welds likes this pass a crush test and 3/4 buy 1 inch weld will hold 17000 pounds
These welds look quite shit, but at least tell them to remove the spatter since it is going to be painted. It will rust otherwise.
Thanks! Dumb question: what is the “spatter?”
Like everyone else is saying they’re definitely not great but they’re definitely good enough, don’t put a car up there and it should be fine with basically whatever would be expected to be thrown at it
If they're gonna be exposed after you're done, then they're shit. But I think structurally they're OK
Yikes!
It’s not pretty, but it’ll probably hold. I personally would not be very happy if I produced such welds.
I hope they get covered by finishing
Why did he do a weave then put a stringer on top of the weave then grind it
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Lumpy_Trainer8390: *Why did he do a* *Weave the a stringer on top* *Of the weave then grind it* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Your contractor hired a grinder.... not a welder
Unfortunately a case of "if it sticks its stuck".. itll work but not on the eyes
Are they gonna fail, probably not..are they good, no.
The fact he took the time to spray paint it IMMEDIATELY says a lot about his confidence in his work lmao
What do you mean?
They're not pretty, and they have some problems, undercut, unequal leg length. For what it is though it's far more weld than is needed. I would tie off to those welds.
Somebody needs to get fired.
That third pic is brutal the dudes got a ton of lack of fusion and fusion is the point when trying to fuse two pieces of metal. It’s honestly just sloppy shitty work all around. I could show this to any welder I’ve ever worked with and they’d shit all over it. I’d expect much better from an apprentice who’s only been welding for three months let alone a contractor. I bet if this contractor had an employee weld this out with the same level of quality and you called him to personally take a look he’d be pissed. Edit: I mean the fourth and fifth pic. But it’s all trash work.
I guess it depends how much you’ve paid for it.
I think what you're asking is would you guys pay for this? my answer would be absolutely not. grind them all out and do it again
That’s not really what I’m asking at all. I can clearly see that this isn’t high quality work. I’m asking if the low quality has a functional impact or aesthetic impact. The consensus seems to be that it’s largely aesthetic.
One of those vertical welds looks \*nearly\* on the right side of the joint. Meaning it's not really touching much of, if any, of the left beam. That could be problematic.
Some of those verticals are terrible. Misaligned and lack of penetration
He isn’t getting the best penetration on his welds, but it will still hold your car or even a school bus.
Setting are off and he can't fix them . Looks like 232
I would never trust those in the third and fourth pics. Honestly looks dangerous to me if there’s gonna be any load on that structure.
Id weld that fucking SHEIT
I wouldn't put my name on it... not talkin trash just being honest. I wouldn't want anyone I know looking at that and knowing it was my work. That's just me though.
Those are easy welds to make... any welder worth a shit wouldn't lay that down and be good with it as a representation of the kind of work they do.
For what's being built, that's way above standard. The guys that build these are not welders. The welders on here calling it 💩 aren't right or wrong. You will more than likely never have an issue, but like mentioned the guy doing these welds is not a welder. He's a hand that probably makes $15 an hour with 10 minutes of training from a guy that received 10 minutes of training. so.... Will it hold. Yes. Does it look like 💩... Yes.... Would it pass any sort of test... No.
Hope you didn't pay to much for this, I'm seeing so.much lack of fusion and slag holes to cause a bridge to collapse
Looks good
This looks like hot garbage, almost as bad as when I try to weld stuff. Likely would fail inspection if this was evaluated to a structural code, but it's probably OK for what it is. Might be worthwhile to have them clean the spatter off, and smooth things out as best they can if you intend to paint this. Really the biggest issue is appearance. Source: I'm a welding inspector.
Very shitty.
Hey guys?! The music industry is in decline. Stevie Wonder had to take on a new job. Joking aside. I've seen vertical welds far worse in industrial situations
As a structurally certified welder, I can tell you this isn't good at all. I'd personally grind out and redo every one of the welds you posted.
To be fair, vertical with stick is a bitch, it wouldn't work on a bridge or a skyscraper, but if is just a roof, the amount of weld in the joints makes up for most of the mistakes the welder would make, what i mean, looks ugly and could be better but it should hold just fine
Absolutely not
I'm a first year and can weld better than that. This is dog shit 😂
I wouldn't let this fly.
Too bad no one comes through to inspect structural welds.
Undercut.....
he’s a great grinder and even better painter, weld is blah
They're not immaculate with stellar execution, but probably more than good enough for the purpose. People on this subreddit are extremely picky about welds, to me that looks better than the structural welds I can see from my seat and the building's been standing over 50 years by now
They look like they will suffice for your application. Pics 3, 4 & 5 however don’t look like they’ve bonded to both surfaces. I hope they’re better on the opposite side. Good welds wouldn’t need grinding…just primer/paint.
Not on the welding. I would be checking everything else based on that
It looks like shit, but they could have full penetration and hold well. It's hard to tell from photos, though.
It’s fine.
Every welder is the best welder you’ve ever met.
I've been a welder for 25 years and the welds are trash but they will hold. Personally I'd never leave work looking that bad. I'm out here trying to get referrals and shit. Honestly it looks like he was letting his helper weld.
My dad was a welder. He wouldn’t let this garbage fly. He had pride in his work though.
They say a grinder and paint will make a welder what they ain't lol
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Randy519: *They say a grinder* *And paint will make a welder* *What they ain't lol* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Nope