Subject: [Shop-talk] Repairing Wrought Iron Railing

From: Jim Stone <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2012 15:18:17 -0500 FILETIME=[EC6B3C40:01CD887E]

My wife and I are about to buy a home that we will eventually retire to.  The
plan it to rent it out until that time, which is a factor in the question I am
about to ask.  The house (like me, built in the early 50's) has wrought iron
railing around the front entry way and steps that go to a side door.  It all
needs to be repainted, but one of the vertical supports on the side steps has
cracked about an inch above the base.  It just appears to be square tube, but
it was all cast in place, meaning the tube is embedded in the concrete.  I
will eventually want to replace all of it with something more attractive, but
for now I just want it to be safe and not something that will lead to a
lawsuit from a renter.

I am thinking that I could wire brush the paint away from around the crack,
clean off any rust and then weld the crack up.  To be absolutely safe, I would
also weld some angle iron on the two corners by the crack, repaint the whole
railing and forget about it until after retirement.  For what its worth, I
don't want to lug shielding gas with me, so I was planning on just using flux
core wire in my welder.  It can be windy near the house, so that might be a
good idea anyway.

At least that is my plan, but I have never worked on wrought iron railing
before.  I know I can't weld the decorative parts of the railing, but does
anyone see any problems with this plan?  Anything special I should consider
before tackling it?

As always, thanks!

Jim
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From: Brian Kemp <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 01 Sep 2012 14:03:00 -0700

Jim,

Did it crack because of rust?  If so, it might take a bit more effort to 
go back to solid metal.  I have two suggestions I was looking at for myself.

One is to see them fix a porch railing at
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/ask-toh/video/0,,20555837,00.html

If I recall correctly, they took the railing and cut off the damaged 
bottom.  They then had new square sections with a steel rod inside. They 
used some sort of caulk/adhesive and attached the repair portion to the 
bottom of the rail.  They used a hammer drill to remove the railing post 
from the cement.  Finally, they put the railing back in place with new 
cement.

Another option is to fabricate a foot plate on a segment of square tube 
and use some concrete screws/bolts to attach it to the step.

I'll be doing one of the two with some of my iron railing that is rusted 
away at the base.  I just have not picked which one.

If there is no rust, you may be able to just weld it up, but I can't 
offer any tips there as I only welded once.  It was 3/16" steel to make 
shock brackets for my TR6, and they have held up nicely, but it did take 
some time with the grinder to get pretty.

Brian

On 9/1/2012 1:18 PM, Jim Stone wrote:
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From: "Karl Vacek" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2012 17:23:57 -0500

Just be aware, if you're welding right along the concrete, that when welding
heat hits the concrete, moisture in the concrete will quickly heat into
steam and explode pieces of the concrete out - right at you.  If the
concrete is already cracked, maybe you'd be better off to break it away for
an inch or two at least.  If the concrete is still good, perhaps inserting a
solid piece of steel down into the part of the upright that's left in the
concrete and up into the part above-grade would be safer than welding.

If you want to go for it anyway, try to shield the concrete as well as
possible, and preferably preheat the railing in that area to drive off as
much moisture as possible before you start actually welding.  And if the
railing is the current-type thin and cheap stuff, maybe slipping a tube or
solid into the upright and also welding would be helpful, since a plain butt
weld into thin and rusted steel will be weak.

Karl

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Stone
Subject: [Shop-talk] Repairing Wrought Iron Railing

My wife and I are about to buy a home that we will eventually retire to.
The plan it to rent it out until that time, which is a factor in the
question I am about to ask.  The house (like me, built in the early 50's)
has wrought iron railing around the front entry way and steps that go to a
side door.  It all needs to be repainted, but one of the vertical supports
on the side steps has cracked about an inch above the base.  It just appears
to be square tube, but it was all cast in place, meaning the tube is
embedded in the concrete.  I will eventually want to replace all of it with
something more attractive, but for now I just want it to be safe and not
something that will lead to a lawsuit from a renter.

I am thinking that I could wire brush the paint away from around the crack,
clean off any rust and then weld the crack up.  To be absolutely safe, I
would also weld some angle iron on the two corners by the crack, repaint the
whole railing and forget about it until after retirement.  For what its
worth, I don't want to lug shielding gas with me, so I was planning on just
using flux core wire in my welder.  It can be windy near the house, so that
might be a good idea anyway.

As always, thanks!

Jim

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---

From: Jim Stone <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2012 19:47:31 -0500

Thanks guys.  The house is 1000 miles away, so I can't easily go take another
look, but while the crack is rusty, I don't it cracked because of the rust.
And, because I think it is close to 60 years old, I am going to assume it is
thick enough to weld up.  That, said, the This Old House way of doing it right
is very good to know!  I will go that route if my initial patch doesn't hold
up.

As for the concrete, that is a very important point, one I hadn't thought of.
I will bring a gas torch with me to pre-heat the area, and a welding blanket
to lay down around it, just for additional protection.  The concrete is
already cracked, but that is the second question I was going to ask.  I will
ask that one separately, so that the information will be easier for someone
else to retrieve if they are ever looking.

Thanks again!  Exactly the advice I needed.

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> Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2012 17:23:57 -0500
> Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] Repairing Wrought Iron Railing
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