Hey there,

this is my first post here and I'm by far not a pro-welder. I've done a few things like a trailer and some framing etc.

I'm building my first house which has a steel frame. (it's a pole home on a slope) The columns are all 100x100x5mm Duragal which I have to weld on 16mm steel base-plates (T-Joints) which are already cast into the concrete footings. I do have a few 5mm (0.20in.) and 6mm (0.24in) bearers and four big 9mm (0.35in) bearers. My welding machine is a Lincoln 180c. (Mig) I know this is probably not the ideal setup but hiring an even heavier machine on a steep slope etc. is just not a great idea either.
I live in Australia (in a cyclone area) but there are no regulations on what welding-wire to use? My engineering plans call for 6mm fillet welds everywhere.
These are all horizontal welds. All bearers sit "on top" of a base plate or directly on top of a column. (so no vertical welds)

I would have loved to use some seismic wire etc. but my machine is not big enough. (180amps and max. 200mm spools / 5kg) I thought about the NR-211 and do multiple passes on some welds.
Or maybe even NR-212 since it's made for up to 19mm plate thickness? (but not sure if that would actually perform any better than the 211 on the same machine??) Or if that would result in a deeper penetration?? I guess pure MIG (non-fluxcore) is out of question since the machine is not big enough. (not enough penetration).

Or would I be better off to buy a light-weight 180AMP inverter stick welder and use 7018 rods for something like that? 
(which I've never tried but have a friend who is a welder who can help me out or do the welds)...but he has more of the attitude "the hotter and deeper the better". I've welded some test 5mm steel-plates onto a 12mm base plate on both sides with the machine's recommended settings and cheap 71-GS gasless-fluxcore wire and the plate broke before the welds :) (hammered the s*** out of it)

Anyway.
I would love to get the right setup and start practising more so I can decide If I feel ready for this or give the job to someone else. But to be honest...the work ethic or "love" for doing a great job is not the locals strength. Most guys I've spoken to had no idea what T11 wires is?  They say "it's all Australian standard"...so "she'll be right, mate"

Any input would be much appreciated :)

Thanks

Jan