Question?
Existing W24 x 229 columns, a new platform is added to the outside of the building using W18 x 76. The new beam is attached with 3/4" x 5 angle, A325's on the new beam side. The connection on the column side was change from A325's to a welded connection due to the thickness of the W24 flange.
So now the question the weld detail states the weld profile should be 5/16" in the periodic inspection realm by CBC (California Building Code). When I get to the job site the welding contractor had increased the weld size by two fold to 5/8" fillet. By CBC this size of weld pass requires full time inspection.
The completed weld is visually acceptable except for some minor grinding along the toe need to be done. The welding was done in an industrial plant where weld inspection for our area is not always done.
So I ask if you were in my shoe what would you do?
I would probably do your inspection, prepare your reports to reflect the change made by the fabricator, and make sure you "c.y.a." on every bit of documentation. I am assuming you have already checked out welder and procedure qualifications and such. If the drawings show the increase on them, which should be noted and initialed by the engineer who made the change, then all is good. If the fabricator took it upon themselves to make these changes, they need to go through proper channels to make the change. If it is not changed in the proper way, technically I guess those welds would have to come out and correct size welds installed. Just my $.02
There are certain pieces of critical information needed before an accurate response can be given, because this can go a couple of different ways. Was this an in-house modification not subject to the CBC or an engineered project with a building permit and approved drawings, in just what capacity are you involved, i.e. CQC or Special Inspector, who made the change from High Strength bolts to welds, what type of bolted connections were originally called out, and governing welding code (if any), to mention a few. I can imagine all sorts of different scenarios going on here, not that I would ever doubt the integrity of a contractor. Wayne
I'm not sure what I would do, but if the weld is supposed to be a 5/16" fillet, and you have 5/8", I would be wondering why. I would suspect that the welder made some poor passes or got porosity and slathered on more metal to cover it up. It's hard to believe that big a weld was made for the fun of it. But, hey! It could happen. I would also wonder if the preheating was correct; no real reason other than "just because".
One thing I would do is to run it by the structural engineer.
Some people tell me that UT can be used to determine the soundness of a fillet and others tell me it can't (as you can tell I'm not trained for UT). But if it is possible to get reliable results, I would try to have that done.
Chet
Thanks for the quick replies. The reason for the oversize weld is basically the millwrights mentality, if big is good then huge is great (that way it will not fall down). Spoken as an ex millwright.
There were permits, approvals and engineers with the use of D1.1 and California Building Code. And I am the special inspector called after the fact. The welds, with the exception of the first pass, which I could not see, were visually acceptable with just a little minor cosmetic repairs. Heat input might be a concern due to the extra welding but I am not sure the engineer is that concerned.
The contractor contacted the engineer for increased weld size. And normally I don’t see private owned industrial plants like these requiring inspects except for original construction or the like.
I was just curious what some of you would do or say in a like situation.
Ya gotta love those "after the fact" inspections. As long as the paper trail is complete there's not much more that you could do. Would check the struct. notes to see if there was a CVN requirement and then what wire was used. Wayne
I'm thinking you are dead on about the welder, he probably laid down a 5/16" fillet along side that 3/4" thick angle just like the drawing called for, and figured it would look better if it had a few more passes. :)
John Wright
Sounds like an ICC special inspection frequency schedule.
I agree; report what you find and try to keep up with the welding.
Best regards,
Vonash
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