How to choose a metalworks in Dublin
Dublin has no shortage of workshops that will take on steelwork, from one man operations to full fabrication shops. The price quotes can look similar while what you actually get differs enormously. These are the checks worth making before you commit.
Ask about certification first
If the job involves anything structural, such as beams, columns, frames or balconies, the fabricator must work under EN 1090 and CE mark the steel. That is a legal requirement for structural steel placed on the Irish market, not a badge of honour. Ask for the certificate number and check it is current.
Building control is actively checking this now. A fabricator who cannot show a current EN 1090 certificate is a risk to your sign off, whatever the price. Our own certification is EN 1090 EXC3 with ISO 9001, and the certificates are on this site for anyone to read.
Look at what the workshop can actually do
A real fabrication workshop has cutting, drilling, folding and welding under one roof. If a metalworks outsources its cutting and folding, you are adding a middleman, a delay and a markup to every job. Ask where the steel is actually cut and folded.
Our workshop on the Naas Road runs CNC plasma cutting, CNC drilling and a CNC brake press alongside the fabrication benches, so a job does not leave the building until it is ready for galvanising or paint. You are welcome to call in and see it working.
Finishes decide how long it lasts
For anything outdoors in an Irish climate, hot dip galvanising is the finish that matters. Paint alone over bare steel will rust from the inside of hollow sections within a few years. The longest lasting finish is galvanising with a powder coat over the top, which gives decades of service.
Ask any metalworks how they finish external work. If the answer is primer and paint only, expect to be repainting within five years and replacing within fifteen.
Lead times and communication
A good workshop gives you a drawn design to sign off before anything is cut, a realistic lead time, and a quote that states what is included. Vague quotes and vague dates tend to stay vague all the way through a job.
Ask who measures. Workshop measurements taken from a sketch you supplied are your risk; a site survey by the fabricator is theirs. We laser measure on site for anything that has to fit an opening, because that is where tolerance problems are born.
The questions worth asking
Can I see your EN 1090 certificate? Where is the steel cut and folded? How is external work finished? Who measures, and who signs off the drawing? What paperwork comes with the job at the end?
A workshop that answers those questions clearly and without defensiveness is usually one that will do the job properly. One that brushes them off is telling you something worth hearing.
Want this priced for your own job? Send us your drawings or a photo and we will come back with a fixed price, usually within one working day.
Common questions
Need this done properly? Talk to the workshop.
Send us drawings, a sketch or a site photo. We come back with a fixed price and a firm lead time, usually within one working day.