In the welder's defense, it's hard to gage how much weld is enough when you are welding down in that joint that you described. My guys are famous for over welding when applying a plate to a tube lintel, where a plate is serving as a shelf to lay the brick/block on over windows or doors. Having a short piece of scrap to test weld, section, and macro etch is nice, if you have that luxury, so the welder can gage how much weld is really required to get the weld size that the drawing is calling for.