Insulating the TH floor...

Fishbreath wrote:
With regards to the above post stating that galvanized steel can be welded.....
Although it can be welded, it is a task that should never be performed. Welding galvanized steel puts off a very deadly fume that can make you very sick.

Just FYI

Bill

Bill, thank you for voicing your concern about welding of galvanized material. :)

I am a professional, certified structural welder. I weld for my living. I weld galvanized steel ALOT, and have been doing so for several years. One of my certifications, AWS D-1.3, is specifically for welding light gauge galvanized and primer coated structural members (studs, tracks, joists, clips, etc).

Yes, the fumes can be dangerous when exposed on a long term basis, and they can make you feel sick even on a short term basis. There are very easy safety precautions to take when welding galvanized material....

Galvanized is best welded outdoors, whenever possible. Keep your face upwind of the weld, and/or wear an inexensive and easy to use 3M respirator mask under your hood, with the pink P-series filters, and all is well. :)

If welding galvanized insdoors in a shop, use a fan to direct the smoke away from yourself and leave doors and windows open, wherever possible, if there is no fume extracting upduct ventilation system in place. OSHA will require the shop to provide upduct ventilation at each welding station, if the shop is performing galvanized welding, on a production/manufacturing basis.

Also, for best results welding galvanized steel, either use E71T-GS or E71T-11 class flux-cored self-shielded wire, or 6011 or 6013 stick electrode. Using ER70S-x solid mig wire and shielding gas sometimes results in porosity in the weld.