How to Install Wire Mesh in a Concrete Slab
How to install welded wire mesh in a concrete slab: base prep, laying and flattening sheets, lap length, tying mesh together, setting the height and protecting it.
Home / Blog
Steel & Rebar Guides
Straight answers on rebar, structural steel, beams, lintels and fabrication, from the team that cuts, bends and welds it every day.
How to Lay and Tie Rebar in Footings
How footing rebar is laid out and tied: cover on soil, concrete block supports, placing order, tie types, corners, laps, dowels and what the inspector checks.
How to Level Base Plates: Shims vs Levelling Nuts
Base plate levelling methods compared: levelling nuts, steel shims and setting plates, plus base plate height, grout holes and plates on an existing slab.
How to Lift a Steel Beam Into a House Without a Crane
How residential steel beams are moved and lifted into place without a crane: beam weights, getting in the door, material lifts, jacks and cribbing, hoists, safety.
How to Make a Rebar Cutting List (With Template Fields)
How to make a rebar cutting list from structural drawings: the template fields Canadian shops use, step-by-step lengths and counts, a sample list and Excel tips.
How to Order Cut and Bend Rebar: Bar Lists, Tags and Delivery
What to send a rebar shop, how a bar list and bend types work, what the bundle tags tell your crew, and how to plan delivery and check the load on arrival.
How to Paint and Repair a Steel Gate
How to paint a steel or iron gate, the best paint and colours, and how to fix rusted rails, broken welds, bent pickets and hinges that need adjusting.
How to Paint Steel Railings and Stairs
How to paint metal railings and steel stairs: lead checks, rust removal, primers for bare, galvanized and stainless steel, topcoats, treads and colour.
How to Read C-Channel Sizes: Naming, Web and Flange
C-channel nomenclature explained: what C200x17 and C8x11.5 mean, the parts of a channel, how to measure one you already have and how to convert metric to imperial.
How to Read HSS Designations: Size, Wall and Corner Radius
HSS nomenclature explained: what HSS 152x102x6.4 means, metric vs imperial names, why HSS isn't sold by gauge, corner radius, and how to measure an existing tube.
How to Read Rebar Shop Drawings: A Step-by-Step Guide
Read rebar shop drawings with confidence: title blocks, callouts like 15M @ 300 EW, bar marks, bend types, leg letters and the checks to make before you approve.
How to Read Steel Beam Sizes: W200x27 vs W8x18
What W200x27 and W8x18 mean, why they are the same beam, how metric and imperial beam names convert, and how to read W10x22, S, HP, C and HSS sizes.
How to Read Structural Steel Drawings
Read structural steel drawings with confidence: grids, elevations, member callouts, connections, weld symbols, bolt notes, piece marks and shop drawing views.
How to Read Structural Weld Symbols
A plain guide to structural weld symbols: the reference line, arrow and other side, fillet and groove symbols, sizes, lengths, field welds and weld maps.
How to Rebar a Concrete Slab: Step-by-Step
How rebar goes into a concrete slab, step by step: reading the callout, base prep, laying out the grid, chairs, laps, tying, openings and protecting the mat.
How to Remove a Load-Bearing Wall and Install a Beam
How a load-bearing wall is removed and replaced with a beam in Ontario: design, permit, shoring, posts and load path, beam installation and inspection.
How to Replace Lally Columns (and When You Should)
Signs a lally column or telepost needs replacing (rust, leaning, no footing, no label) and how a basement or garage column replacement is done safely in Ontario.
How to Request a Steel Beam Quote: What to Send
A checklist for requesting a steel beam or column quote: drawings, sizes, lengths, connections, finish, site access and scope, plus a sample request you can copy.