Repairing Traditional Iron Work

Historic Scotland’s Technical adviser Ali Davey in a recent condition assessment report reported that the welding of traditional ironwork is not ideal for two reasons: such repairs alter the visual appearance of the ironwork and are not in keeping with the traditional construction techniques. Furthermore, such welding techniques can cause further corrosion: this method requires the introduction of a rod, composed of a dissimilar metal to the original ironwork, to the joint to form the weld. Placing dissimilar metal in direct contact with one another can create and accelerate the cycle of corrosion, referred to as galvanic or bi-metallic corrosion.