Steel cutting and removal in Manchester, NH, for old steel that's in the way of new steel. We cut it on site with oxy-fuel and carbon arc. The same crew then welds the new steel in, so you bring in one sub instead of two. Call (603) 660-2011, or send a photo of the steel in the way.
Carbon arc gouging melts steel with an electric arc from a carbon rod. A jet of compressed air then blows the melted metal away. So it's the quick way to take out an old weld, or to open a joint for a new one.
On a renovation, new steel often can't go in until old steel comes out. Sometimes it's an old stair. Or a bracket nobody uses, a damaged section, or a beam where a new opening goes.
On one store job, the general contractor brought us in for both halves of a stair. So the old stair came out and the new stairs and railings went in with no hand-off between subs. The page on steel stairs tells that job in full.
The order matters, because the cut decides what comes next. First the old steel comes out. Then we clean up the connection points, so the new steel gets set and welded to clean metal.
Steel cut loose overhead has to be rigged, so it comes down under control. Our training covers rigging and signalling, and we bring forklifts or lifts when the job needs them.
“Professional and efficient.”
Oxy-fuel is the torch. A preheat flame brings carbon steel up to temperature, then a jet of oxygen burns through it. That's why it handles thick structural sections well. It runs on gas cylinders, so it needs no power on site and goes wherever the hoses reach.
Carbon arc gouging does a different job. It takes out old welds and opens joints for rewelding. So when a connection has to come apart cleanly, that's the tool. The page on weld repair shows it at work on welds that failed inspection.
Between the two, almost any old carbon steel on a job can be cut free where it stands. Cutting is usually just the first half, which is why it sits with our welding before and after cutting.
Old steel brings its own hazards. The coating comes first. Paint on older steel can contain lead, while galvanized steel gives off zinc fumes when it's cut.
So the coating gets stripped back from the cut, or the person cutting wears the right respirator. OSHA's rule on cutting coated steel is specific about enclosed spaces. Toxic coatings come off at least 4 inches back from the heat, or air-line respirators go on.
Sparks are the other hazard. Cutting throws sparks and slag farther than welding does, so the area gets cleared first and watched after. Cutting is hot work just like welding, so when the site needs a hot work permit, we handle it. Who issues one and how it works is on the page on commercial welding.
Only on the engineer's plan, with shoring in place first. A beam that carries load has to have that load taken somewhere else before it's cut, or the structure moves. The engineer decides how, so we cut to that plan, the way we weld reinforcement to the engineer's specs.
It depends on the steel, so there's no set price. What counts is how much comes out, how thick it is and how it's reached. Coatings that need stripping add time too. The estimate is free: written for a big removal, a number on the phone for a small one.
Often, yes. Where the engineer or the part allows it, we cut back to sound steel and weld in new. On a building the engineer makes that call, because the frame is his design. On a machine it depends how far the damage runs, as the page on heavy equipment repair explains.
Call (603) 660-2011 and tell us what has to come out and what goes in after it. Then send photos and the drawings, so we can see the old steel, its coating and how it's connected.
