If you own a marina or even just a single dock, you may occasionally need to hire someone to do some underwater site welding. This is a special type of welding which requires an expert. To ensure you select the right company for the job, keep the following tips in mind.

1. Is It Possible to Take the Metal Out of the Water?

Before fully committing to an underwater welder, you may want to consider whether or not you can just remove the dock from the water. Although this is an involved process, it can sometimes be cheaper and easier than setting up to weld underwater. You may want to estimate the time and money involved with moving, welding and replacing the dock, and then, compare that to the quote you get from the underwater site welding company.

2. Do You Do Dry or Wet Welding?

Wet welding is when the welder goes underwater and welds with the water surrounding them. This doesn't require as much setup time or supplies, but it also results in a weaker connection. In contrast, with dry welding, the welder builds a hyperbaric chamber. This goes around the area that needs to be welded, and it has enough space for the welder to work inside. Although this is more time consuming and usually more expensive, the final weld is stronger.

3. How Are You Going to Test the Weld?

When on-site welding on dry land, it's relatively straightforward for the welder to figure out if they have done the job correctly or not. However, when it comes to underwater welding, it's more difficult to test the weld. Ideally, however, the welder you hire should have a plan to test the strength of the weld.

Ask them how they plan to do this. There are a range of nondestructive testing techniques that allow you to test the strength of the weld without destroying the connection.

4. Do You Offer a Warranty?

Whether they test the weld or not, you may want some additional assurance that it will last. To that end, you may want to ask the on-site welder if they offer a warranty. Be sure to go over what the warranty includes. Ideally, it should include parts and labour. That way, if something happens during the warranty period, they can just return to your site and fix the issue.

To get more ideas, contact an on-site welding company directly.

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