Structural steel retrofit in Orange County
Most buildings get asked to do something they were not designed for. A wall comes out. A second story goes on. A deck gets extended past what the posts under it were sized for. An apartment building gets a letter from the city about its garage openings. All of those end the same way: steel added to a structure that is already up.
Retrofit is harder than new construction, and the reason is access. On a new shell the steel goes in with no walls, no finishes, and nothing overhead. On a retrofit it comes in through a doorway or a crawlspace, gets welded in position, and the building has to be shored while its load path is interrupted. That is the part people underestimate, and it is the part that decides the price.
What we do is read the engineer's detail, shore what has to be shored, cut and fit the new steel in place, weld it out, and get it inspected. The common ones around here are a steel beam replacing a bearing wall, a frame set into an existing house for a wide opening, column and footing upgrades under an added story, and reinforcement at garage openings on soft story buildings.
What that includes.
- Steel beams replacing bearing walls
- Column, post, and footing upgrades for added load
- Soft story and garage opening reinforcement
- Deck, balcony, and stair framing brought back to load
- Rusted or cracked steel cut out and replaced
- Temporary shoring while the load path is open
Questions we get on this one.
My balcony is rusting. Repair or replace?
Depends what kind of rust. Surface rust on a sound member is a cleaning and coating job. Visible section loss, or rust at a connection, is a replacement job. California's balcony inspection laws put exterior elevated elements on a required inspection cycle for apartments and condos, so an inspector is going to want more than paint over it. We will look and tell you which one you have.
Do I need an engineer, or can you just add steel?
For anything carrying load, you need an engineer. We install what they specify. If you do not have one yet, say so and we will point you at people who do this locally. It is a faster and cheaper permit than trying it the other way around.
Can you work in a crawlspace?
Yes. Get us the access dimensions when you call. That is what decides whether a beam comes in whole or gets spliced in place, and it changes the number.
This is licensed work. OC Mobile Welding LLC holds CSLB C-51 #1157116, C-51 Structural Steel, current and active. Working out of San Clemente, CA.