Supports above windows and front door - Which material?

Good morning everyone,

first of all, we would like to briefly indicate the situation we find ourselves in. Since June 2017, we have been living in our single-family house in the Borken district, NRW. We had it built turnkey through a developer and the final acceptance is still pending. So far so good, however, we have noticed here and there that, in our opinion, the work does not always seem to be flawless.

Above the windows and the front door of our single-family house, the facing masonry is supported by supports or rails that are anchored in the floor slab. Everything basically wonderful, except for the following points:

[*]The supports used are rusting, although according to the developer’s statement they are supposed to be stainless steel (V2A).
[*]The installed strips have a thickness of 3mm, are not magnetic.
[*]The weld seams where the brackets are welded can be clearly seen through the strip – right here the strips are rusting.
[*]In total, 19 of these elements are installed.
[*]In the neighborhood, significantly more solid, because thicker, supports are installed. Also the color of supports installed elsewhere looks more like stainless steel and simply of higher quality.

We attach a few pictures to this post for illustration. Since the final acceptance is planned for mid-August 2017, we look forward to active feedback and recommendations from you.









Thank you very much for your help and best regards.

Benedikt

This is V2A, but unpolished. Now, people say V2A is stainless. Well, let’s say it is largely stainless, but if rough, it takes on surface rust. Harmless. But visually not top-notch. The better material is V4A. Does it have to be that for the house? We’re not talking about handrails on fishing boats here. If you want it visually top-notch, you can still get something out of it by getting Unipol and a cotton polishing wheel for drills, then give it a go. Or you tell yourself it is what it is and sit on the terrace. Karsten

Hello Nordlys,

thank you for your quick response. Well, the option with the cotton polishing pad is a good idea. Unipol was unknown to me until now. But it sounds very good. It visually enhances everything quite a bit. Is it advisable to treat the surface in some other way beforehand?

These are such little things with the house that you always notice when you live in it - guests have hardly noticed them so far.

We were just surprised that the material is so light and thin. Hopefully, the stability is still given even after the five years of warranty and the masonry above does not settle... Cracks would be unfortunate.

Best regards.

Benedikt

No, if Unipol, then apply it right away, not before. Unipol is really abrasive. Well, you can wet sand the flash rust a bit beforehand with 600 grit. Then it goes faster with Unipol. We polish bronze propellers to a high gloss with it. They then look like gold, then apply winch grease, and they hardly foul anymore. Karsten

Hi,

1. The welds are not executed correctly, the post-treatment was inadequate. The seams are rusting because they were not polished or pickled after welding. If you want to be precise, ask the contractor to show you the so-called welding procedure specification - WPS. It must define how the welds should be post-treated. You can polish the visible side, but not the "top" anymore.

2. Is the 3 mm sheet really meant to be load-bearing? I can hardly imagine that... Have you ever held a straightedge or spirit level under the profile? Does it not bend?

Hello Knallkörper,

regarding 1)
the thing is that we are buying turnkey through the developer and have no idea which company ultimately carried out the work. Unfortunately, we did not catch everything. Your hint is wonderful and should be easy to phrase well towards the developer.

Can you explain why the weld seams are not correct?

regarding 2)
The sheet metal is attached to the floor slab with angle brackets and certainly rests on the facing masonry on the sides. We have the feeling that the whole matter is not really safe in the long run. It gives the impression that it was built only to survive the five-year warranty period. It seems – especially above the garage door – that the strip gives a bit...

Best regards.

Benedikt