What material should the window and front door supports be made of?
Our house is still under construction.
Above the windows and the front door of our EFH, the facing brickwork is supported by columns or guides which are anchored in the floor slab. Everything is basically great except for the following:
The supports used are rusty, although according to the designer they should be stainless steel (V2A).
The installed battens are 3 mm thick and are not magnetic. The welds where the supports are welded are clearly visible through the strip – this is where the strips rust. A total of 19 of these elements are installed.
Next door are installed much stronger, thicker supports. Also, the color of the supports installed elsewhere looks more like stainless steel and is simply more valuable.
Answers
This is V2A, but unpolished. Now they say V2a is rust resistant. Well, let's put it this way: it mostly doesn't rust, but it will take rust flares if roughly handled. Not dangerous. The best material is V4a. Does it have to be that way for a home? It's not like we're talking about handrails on fishing boats.
If you want it to look visually better, you can still get something out of it by buying Unipol and a cotton polishing wheel for drill presses and then donating it.
1. the welds are not done right, the follow up treatment was poor. The seams are rusting because they were not polished or etched after welding. If you want to be accurate, ask the contractor to show you what is called a welding procedure specification – WPS. It should tell you how the welds should be handled. You can polish the visible side, but you can't polish the top side.
2. should the 3mm plate really carry a static load? I can hardly imagine.... Have you ever held a level under the profile? Doesn't it sag?
Please give it a wet sanding and polishing, then it will sparkle at the end.
You could try a chemical cocktail of car painters, or something else from a DIY store, but generally speaking this should be handled by the builders themselves.
