Guides and Support

Guides

How to measure, which finish to choose, and what to settle before anything is cut.

20 articles 5 categories

Measuring

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Specifying a steel bed frame: mattress sizes, slats and clearanceA mattress size name is not enough for a cross-border bed order. The frame needs the mattress's nominal and actual dimensions in millimetres, its...

How to measure an opening for steel doors and partitionsA made to measure steel frame must fit the finished opening, not the bare blockwork that happens to be visible today. This guide gives a...

How to measure a stairwell for a spiral staircaseFinished floor height, clear floor opening and an obstruction profile are the starting measurements for a spiral-stair feasibility check. This...

Measuring for a made to measure driveway gateSend the finished clear opening without a generic deduction. The workshop derives leaf sizes after hinges, latch, centre gap and operator details...

How to measure for a straight steel staircaseA straight stair is fixed by the building around it. Record finished-floor levels, the full horizontal run, opening geometry, headroom, landing...

Measuring a staircase or landing for a made to measure balustradeA single length is not enough to make a stair balustrade. The workshop needs the finished stair geometry, every start, corner and end point, the...

Checking a fabrication drawing before approvalDrawing approval is the last practical point at which a reversed hand, wrong finished level or impossible section size can be corrected without...

Materials and finishes

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Choosing a balustrade infill: bars, mesh, plate or glassThe infill is the part of a balustrade you look through, and it is where the look you want meets the rules that apply. This guide compares...

Powder coating or hot dip galvanising: choosing a finish for outdoor steelPowder coating and hot dip galvanising are not two grades of the same thing: one is a barrier film, the other is zinc that corrodes in place of...

Specifying a steel fire pit: size, drainage, base and finishSteel thickness matters, but it is only one line on a usable fire-pit specification. This ordering guide starts with clear internal size, intended...

Avoiding galvanic corrosion in outdoor steel fixingsGalvanic corrosion needs dissimilar metals in electrical contact and a conductive liquid between them. Outdoor joints often provide all three...

Installation

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Anchoring a metal swing frame in concrete safelyPlan a metal swing frame for concreting in: approve the leg detail, foundation inputs, setting out, drainage and checks before use.

Preparing posts and foundations for a made to measure steel gateA gate leaf can be fabricated correctly and still sag, bind or become unsafe when its hinge post rotates, separate foundations settle differently...

Fixing steelwork to concrete, brick and timberThe base plate is only one link in a load path that ends in the building. This guide explains what changes when steelwork is fixed to reinforced...

Stop squeaks in a sectional steel bed frame: installation and levellingDiagnose squeaks first, then assemble, square and level only the planned joints and supports shown on the commissioned bed drawing.

Delivery and handling

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Receiving a heavy steel delivery: access, unloading and checkingA welded staircase, gate or frame arrives as freight rather than a parcel. This guide covers access and laydown checks, the order-specific...

Checking the carry-in route for made-to-measure steelworkThe final room is only the last opening a made-to-measure steel item must pass. Survey the route from the unloading point, recording true clear...

Care and maintenance

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Caring for powder coated and galvanised steel outdoorsGood protective systems fail first at chips, cut edges and places that stay wet. This guide gives a simple inspection and washing routine for...

Cleaning, draining and storing a steel fire pitA steel fire pit lasts better when cold ash and standing water are removed before they become a wet, corrosive paste. The safe routine is to...

Maintaining steel gate hinges, latches and tracksGate maintenance starts with observation, not adjustment. Record the closing gaps, post position and latch engagement, clean debris from hinges,...