Construction & Contractors Blog
Steel is an important part of construction. You need it for a wide range of purposes like reinforcing the concrete or as guardrails to ensure safety along the edges of balconies and stairs. Choosing the right kind of stainless steel will enhance the strength and durability of the material wherever you have used it. When buying construction materials for your workers, you need an understanding of the various types of steel to help you buy the right type of steel for most suitable purpose. Here is a discussion that will help you ask for the right thing from your stainless steel supplier:
Martensitic Stainless Steel
The martensitic is a type of stainless steel with a high amount of carbon. The high carbon content allows fabricators to make the martensitic steel very hard by subjecting it to immense heat. This makes it very rigid because the heat stretches the metal to extreme tensile limits. They are thus hard to cut and weld. The rigidity comes with lots strength, making it ideal for applications such as structural steel for your house's foundation, pillars and beams. However, you should note that the martensitic steel has a low resistance to corrosion, and you should use it in areas where it won't come into contact with water. Using waterproofing concrete will certainly prolong its life and help it retain the much-needed strength.
Austenitic Stainless Steel
Naturally, austenitic stainless steel offers good resistance to rust and corrosion, making it ideal for building applications where the metal will be exposed to agents of corrosion. You can use austenitic stainless steel for guardrails on balconies and staircases where the metal is continually exposed to moisture and air. Besides its resistance to corrosion, it is also suitable for guardrails because of strength and ductility, making it easy for your workers to bend and weld them with minimal chances of breaking. This ductility is achievable because of the high chromium content.
Ferritic Stainless Steel
Ferritic stainless steel is a slight variation of the austenitic stainless steel. Generally, you can weld it, although that is not advisable when you are dealing with thick sections. It has poor pitting resistance, meaning that you are likely to damage a large section of the material if you try to drill or create holes in it. However, it has better resistance to corrosion compared to its austenitic counterpart. Therefore, you can use it in harsher environments with more moisture and higher temperatures such as outdoor swimming pool rails.
Share29 July 2016
Welcome to my blog, my name is Blake and from now on, I will be writing a series of blogs which will deal with the process of finding and working with contractors when constructing a new building. I am not a construction specialist but last summer I gained a lot of experience in this area when I hired a team of 32 contractors to build a holiday home. When hiring contractors, it is important that you understand how to communicate with them and their ways of working. Below are a series of blogs which will help you to find the best contractors.