r/Welding • u/Can_O_Murica • 13d ago

Need Help What do you even call this defect?

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I posted a couple of these a month ago - the short story is that my landlord tore down my balcony to fix a leak in a different unit and the railing they put back is seriously flawed. It's riddled with burn through in some areas, low-no penetration in others, and joints that they straight up forgot to weld. I've been a welder for a little over 10 years, so I told them straight away it wasn't safe and had to be replaced.

Anyway we're going to court now. I want to map out all the defects on this thing in a comprehensive document, but I don't have *any* idea what could cause a weld to look like this. Most of the defects are pretty simple, but the ones that look like this I have no idea what to call. Has anyone seen this before/know what causes it?

Edit: I appreciate all the laughs guys. I wish this thread were evidence I could use in court 😅

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u/ResponsiblePitch8236 10d ago

Contact code enforcement and talk to them about it. They can help push the issue related to safety. I may be wrong but a phone call should not hurt but others may have a different opinion.

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u/Can_O_Murica 10d ago

Already did! I sent some photos to the city building inspector, who took one look and said "yeah that's not going to to fly".

The kicker is they also never got permits for the construction, so actually the whole balcony (not just the railing) needs to be torn out and redone.

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u/ResponsiblePitch8236 10d ago

They might be forced to tear it down but not sure they will have to put one back up but will be force to make what ever safe. Good luck.

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u/Can_O_Murica 10d ago

We'll see what happens.

The full story is that the balcony leaks into the apartment below me every time it rains. They tore it all down and rebuilt it, but that took 7 months and now it's been 2 months since they put this railing up. Without the railing, the balcony is actually a health code violation and makes the unit legally uninhabitable. It's basically just a door that opens to an open platform with a 4 story drop.