You need to inspect your wrought iron regularly, especially when it shows signs of fatigue. First, check that the support post of your staircase is solid. Next, check the stair stringers, especially the bottom and bottom.
If the rust has attacked the stringers but has not pierced them, you must act quickly to limit the corrosion, which will prevent the rust from piercing the metal. However, if the metal is pierced, you will eventually have to replace your staircase because once pierced, the metal is at the point of no return and the strength of the staircase could be threatened.
If only a small section of stringers is pierced, it is often possible to replace just that section, saving you a complete replacement. Regardless, regular maintenance is the key to keeping your staircase for many years.
Metalwork is our specialty. We are designer, manufacturer and installer. We manufacture our custom products in our workshop located in Terrebonne. We offer the service of an architectural designer and an engineer to design workshop plans according to your needs and tastes, while complying with building codes and heritage requirements. We design superior quality products and our work is carried out according to best practices while respecting architectural heritage. We hold a license issued by the Régie du Batiment and are certified by the Canadian Welding Bureau.
An acceptable condition is characterized by healthy metal, but with a layer of rust on the surface. Regular maintenance protects the entry of rust into the metal and prevents corrosion from taking hold. Wrought iron can remain in this state for many years if regular maintenance is carried out.
The urgent state is characterized by a metal in a critical phase. The rust has made its way and has perhaps reached the heart of the iron (point of no return). Once this point is reached, holes appear and this is the end of the wrought iron's life. It is therefore important to carry out maintenance immediately to prevent rust from piercing the metal.
The “end of life” condition is characterized by pierced metal in certain locations. Although the end of the iron's life seems dramatic, it is possible to stretch it further if you are not fussy about the visual appearance. Certainly, it is necessary to plan for almost annual maintenance, but it is still a bad way, compared to a complete replacement. However, it is important to carry out a regular inspection so as not to neglect safety. At this stage, it may sometimes still be possible to replace only the iron sections that have holes, ask!
It is difficult to conjecture how men came to know and use iron; for it is unbelievable that they would have thought of themselves to take the material from the mine and give it the necessary preparations to melt it before knowing what would result. (JJ Rousseau, Discourse on the origin and foundations of inequality among men, 1754)
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26; its specific gravity is 7.874, it fuses at 1529 degrees C and boils at 2450 degrees C. Native (pure) iron is extremely rare in nature. The earth's crust contains 4.7% in the form of oxides and carbonates. (Documenta Geigy, Scientific tables. 7th ed. 1972)
Ironwork is the art and also the technique of working iron in the forge with different tools, from stamps to hammers. These have multiple heads: round heads (unblocker), cross heads, flat heads (flatteners). The introduction of rocking hammers and those with long tips (stretchers), and in 1841 that of drop hammers mark a significant change for iron working. Before these there were multiple forging pliers, also called pincers, which are distinguished by the shape of their jaws. We must also mention the vice and the anvil, the rounded end of which, called the bigorne, facilitates the formation of the rings. Additional tools for working with cold iron are chisels, scissors and files. The tools required vary of course depending on the order of magnitude of the materials being processed.
Wrought iron is ready for all kinds of sauces. Among the smallest items, nails, keys and their locks should be mentioned. Among the major works, naval anchors and cannons occupy a particular place from a historical and technological point of view. These two extremes eloquently demonstrate the multiple uses of wrought iron.
Today, the use of iron has become popular. The exterior and interior works are mainly concentrated on private properties. More and more ironworkers are using software specialized in assisted drawing. These new IT tools allow them to easily present, modify and edit projects from a library of existing models, saving them valuable time in the planning phase. They can easily have access, thanks to the computer, to a large choice of patterns and ornaments to personalize the product according to the customer's wishes.
- Steel: Alloy of iron and carbon (0.5% to 2%). This is the key element for its mechanical properties
- Bronze : Yellow-green alloy of copper and tin
- Coal : Coal is a generic term that refers to sedimentary rocks of biochemical origin and rich in carbon.
- Charcoal : Material obtained by carbonizing wood in a controlled manner in the absence of oxygen. The process allows wood to be removed, its humidity
- Coke: fuel resulting from the distillation of different coals.
- Cast iron: alloy of iron and carbon (2 to 7%), it is obtained by the melting and reduction of iron ore in a blast furnace in the presence of carbon.
- Soft iron: Cast iron refined by the almost complete elimination of carbon (residual less than 0.1%)
- Galvanization: Process aimed at applying a layer of zinc to the metal surface. Consult our Galvanizing section to find out more.
- Pig: Large-sized primary cast iron ingot
- Coal: Solid fuel resulting from the fossilization of plants over geological time, and which occurs in deposits
- Magnifying glass: Soft iron ingot weighing 3 to 5 kg obtained using a low furnace.
- Fox: Iron ingot ready to be transformed for market needs into flat iron, round iron, strong rectangular bar, etc.
- Guardrail: Set of elements forming a protective barrier placed around the perimeter of a balcony, a landing, a terrace located on a roof or a mezzanine. The height of the guardrail and the spacing between the bars are governed by the National Building Code.
- Juliette: Type of guardrail found in front of doors where there is no balcony.
- Stringer: Support piece that allows you to hold the steps of the stairs. For iron stairs, the 2 stringers and the support post form the support structure of the staircase.
- Banister: Bars which are placed at support height on the stringers of a staircase. There are different shapes: straight bars, arcades, English style, flowers, etc.
- Handrail: Upper part of the guardrail or ramp on which we place our.
- Step: On a staircase, horizontal surface on which one places one's foot. It can be straight when rectangular or angled when the two ends have different widths.
- Riser: In a staircase, vertical part between two steps, the majority of exterior staircases do not contain one.
- Protective grille: Grille made up of several vertical bars spaced approximately 12 cm apart and welded to horizontal bars which are themselves fixed in the wall and sealed in the frame of a window or glass door. It is generally used to secure a building. Other names used: security grille, defense grille, window grille, door grille.
- Marquise: Glass awning generally located in front of an entrance door. Although in Montreal, it is rare to see glass awnings, we still call wrought iron entrance awnings “marquise”.
- Ares, José Antonio
Techniques du fer forgé
Editions Eyrolles, Collection Le geste et l'outil (2008) 144p. - Arthur, Éric Ross Le fer : fer forgé et pièces moulées au Canada, du dix-septième siècle à nos jours.
LaPrairie, Québec: Éditions M. Broquet c1985 242p.
Disponible : UdM Aménagement cote : ( HD 9524 C32 A7812 ) - Bouchard, R
Saint-Rémi de Napierville : les croix en fer forgé du cimetière.
Québec, Ministère des affaires culturelles. Direction du patrimoine, 1979. 98 p.
Disponible : UdM LSH cote : (NK 8428 B68) - Burie, Myriam
220 modèles d'ornements de toiture de métal : Epis et Girouettes
Éditions Eyrolles Collection Gabarits et tracés - Série références, 2007 - Capdefer, André
Portails et grilles de clôtures : 25 modèles de Ferronnerie d'art Editions Eyrolles 3e ed 2011. 56 p. - de Réaumur, R.-A
L'art de convertir le fer forgé en acier : et l'art d'adoucir le fer fondu,
ou de faire des ouvrages de fer fondu aussi finis que de fer forgé.
Paris : M.Brunet, 1722
Disponible : UdM LSH : microfiches - Flores, I
L'art du fer forgé.33De Vecchi Éditeur, Paris, 2006 159 p - Kühn, F
Fer forgé.
Fribourg : Office du livre, 1973 120p.
Disponible : UdM LSH cote : (NK 8204 K84) - Mercuzot, A
Fer forgé : histoire, pratique, objets & chefs-d'oeuvre.
Jean-Cyrille Godefroy : Paris, 2007 238 p.
376, St-Joseph Est, Montréal, QC H2T 1J6