Custom Outdoor Aluminium Staircase
Designed and fabricated in-house: 20 mm aluminium stringers with RHS aluminium steps, rust-resistant and built to last, with integrated lighting. Stone tiles and glass balustrades follow from other trades.
Custom Metal Fabrication in Wollongong for Builders and Trades
We do custom metal fabrication in Wollongong and across the Illawarra for builders, concreters, landscapers and trades who need a piece made properly and made to the detail they supplied. Steel reinforcement cages for footings, lintels, posts, brackets, frames and one-off pieces from a sketch or a set of plans. It is the workshop end of our welding and metal fabrication work.
Fabrication built to the detail you supply
Work is cut, drilled, folded and welded on the bench, then delivered or fitted on site. Anything that is faster done where the metal already is gets handled as mobile welding instead, and you get told which way a job is going before it starts.
Send drawings or a photo with dimensions to 0413 147 335 and you will get a firm price in writing and a start date before anything is cut.
Steel cages and reinforcement for footings
Cages tied and welded to the dimensions on your engineer's detail, made in batches so every one in the run is the same. If the detail calls for a specific bar diameter, cover or lap length, that is what gets built. Delivery to site is set against your pour date and confirmed in the quote.
If you are pouring to an engineer's design, the certification stays with the engineer. We build to the detail you supply and do not substitute bar sizes without asking first.
Structural steel, lintels and brackets
Lintels cut to length and drilled, post bases, cleats, base plates, bearers, beam connections and purpose-made brackets. Galvanised, primed or bare depending on where the piece is going and who is coating it on your job.
For anything structural the engineer's drawing governs, and we fabricate to it rather than around it. If something on a drawing does not look buildable, you hear about it before the job starts rather than at inspection.
Frames, posts and one-off pieces
Three categories cover most of what comes through the workshop.
Frames
Shade structure frames, steel frames for pergolas and patios, planter frames, bench and table bases, stair stringers, platform frames and mezzanine framing.
Posts and uprights
Gate posts, fence posts, handrail posts and bollards, with base plates or set in ground, drilled and set out to your spacings. Posts and rails for gates, handrails and balustrades are built the same way, on the bench so the run stays square.
Odd jobs that do not fit a catalogue
Security screens, grates, covers, hatch frames, letterbox frames, trailer racks, equipment stands. These are the jobs a big fabricator will not take because they are too small. They are good work and we take them.
White-label fabrication for builders and landscapers
If you are a builder who needs a balustrade, a gate or a steel frame for a job that is already yours, we can fabricate and fit it under your job without fronting your client. One point of contact, one invoice, and the compliance detail handled.
Most balustrade work on a new deck gets done this way, and we can cover the decking and the rail together under the one job rather than leaving you waiting on a separate fabricator.
Working from plans, sketches or a photo
Send whatever you have. A dimensioned drawing is fastest. A set of architectural or engineering plans works. A photo with measurements written on it works more often than people expect, and for a lot of bracket and repair work it is all that is needed.
For anything being made in a run, we confirm the first one with you before making the rest.
What we cut, fold, drill and finish
Mild steel, stainless in 304 and 316, and aluminium. Cutting, drilling, folding and welding in MIG, TIG and stick depending on the material and the position: MIG for mild steel and thicker section, TIG for thin-wall stainless and aluminium.
Mill scale is removed before coating, because paint over mill scale lifts. Which finish a job gets, and what that means for the program, is settled in the quote rather than guessed at.
Near the coast the material choice is part of the job rather than a preference. Both 304 and 316 stainless can tea-stain in salt air; 316 resists chloride pitting better, and surface finish plus a fresh-water rinse now and then is what actually controls staining. Aluminium does not rust, but it does pit in salt air and it suffers galvanic attack where it contacts stainless or steel fixings unless the two are isolated. What that looks like once it has been left alone for years is under rust and weld repairs.
Bare
, for anything you are coating yourself on site.
Zinc-rich primer and paint.
Powder coat
to a colour.
Hot-dip galvanising to AS/NZS 4680
, which is the sensible call for in-ground posts and anything structural left outside. Repairs to damaged galvanising are a normal step rather than something to ignore.
How we quote trade work
There is no price list, because a bracket is not just a bracket. A quote is built off the detail: what the piece is, the material and section, how many of them, the finish, whether it is delivered or fitted, how much setting out the job needs and how much of an existing structure can be kept. Send a drawing or a photo with dimensions and you get a firm figure in writing before anything is cut.
For a rough number before you call, the instant estimate tool on this page will give you a range in under a minute. For repeat items, tell us the quantity, because a run of identical pieces is priced differently to a one-off.
Paperwork goes with it. In NSW a written contract is required for residential building work when the contract price is over $5,000 including GST. Work worth $5,000 to $20,000 can run under a small works contract; work worth more than $20,000 requires a full home building contract, and home building compensation cover with the insurance certificate that goes with it. The maximum deposit that may be asked for is 10 per cent, on a small job and a large one alike, and variations are agreed in writing before the varied work happens.
Send us a drawing
Email plans to info@handytradie4u.com or text a photo with dimensions to 0413 147 335. You get a price and a date, and if a job is better suited to a bigger fabricator you will be told that rather than strung along. Finished work is on our work, and we cover all our Illawarra and South Coast service areas.
Our Work
Recent Work
Custom Metal Fabrication
Videos
Watch Our Custom Metal Fabrication Work
Real jobs from our own crew, filmed on site. See all our work videos.
Steel Cages for Concrete Footings
Welding 600mm round reinforcing cages for concrete footings, one down, a hundred to go.
Want a firm price on this?
Send a photo and a short description. You get a straight answer on what it needs and what it costs before anything starts.
Questions
Custom Metal Fabrication Questions
Can you make steel cages for footings to my engineer's detail?+
Yes. They are built to the bar sizes, cover and lap lengths on your drawing, made in batches so the whole run is consistent, and delivery is set against your pour date.
Do you work from plans or do I need a drawing made?+
Either. Engineering or architectural plans, a dimensioned sketch, or a photo with measurements written on it are all workable. For a run of identical pieces we confirm the first one with you before making the rest.
Can you fabricate under my job without dealing with my client?+
Yes. We fabricate and fit under your contract, with one point of contact and one invoice to you.
What finishes can I get?+
Bare, zinc-rich primer and paint, powder coat to a colour, or hot-dip galvanising to AS/NZS 4680. The finish is decided at quote based on where the piece is going and who else is coating on the job. Mill scale comes off before anything is coated.
What is the smallest job you will take?+
Small one-off pieces are normal work here. Send the detail or a photo with dimensions and you will get a straight answer on what it involves and whether it is worth doing.
Can you deliver to site?+
Yes, across the Illawarra and South Coast areas we service. Delivery is set out in the quote along with the rest of the job.
Do you supply engineering certification?+
No, and no fabricator should claim to. Certification comes from the engineer who designed the detail. We build to that detail and will flag anything on a drawing that does not look buildable before starting.
Do I need a written contract for the work?+
In NSW a written contract is required for residential building work when the contract price is over $5,000 including GST. A small works contract covers work worth $5,000 to $20,000, and work worth more than $20,000 requires a full home building contract. The maximum deposit that may be requested is 10 per cent either way.
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