3 Ways to Prepare for a:
Custom Metal Fabrication Project
12th April 2019
“Custom aluminium fabrication work is both an art and a craft, so it’s important that you refrain from limiting your collaborators with unnecessary and complicated requests. This will ensure a better collaboration and end result.”
When embarking on a metal fabrication project, you need to prepare properly to ensure that you get the quality results you want. Whether it’s a small job or a large, complicated project, the saying ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’ certainly holds true. It’s important to take some time to plan out the project, look at your resource management and ensure that you keep open lines of communication with everyone involved from inception through to completion.
As with any project, it’s crucial that you have a clear image of what you are trying to achieve. Without a clear goal in place, it is much more difficult to manage your expectations and to achieve the results you want from your fabrication project.
Throughout the project, it can be easy to get distracted and dedicate too much time to the smaller more intricate elements, but if you want to stay on track, you need to keep a firm focus on your end goal.
Let’s take a look at three ways that you can prepare for a metal fabrication project to ensure you achieve the results you want.
1. Stick to the Plan
It’s easy to get caught up in brainstorming sessions that result in a plan with less-than-ideal expectations. It’s important that you stick to what you know and what has worked in the past. Custom aluminium fabrication work is both an art and a craft, so it’s important that you refrain from limiting your collaborators with unnecessary and complicated requests. This will ensure a better collaboration and end result.
Sticking with what’s familiar and proven also enables you to correctly assess and explain the project to your collaborators. When embarking on any project, you want to ensure that you correctly communicate your needs and understand the overall process so that you can accurately estimate timelines, budgets and other logistical issues.
2. Request a Portfolio
When you need aluminium work or general metal work done, you’re going to want to make sure that your builders are able to complete the job to your expectations. In order to ensure they can deliver what you need, you should request a portfolio of their previous work.
Look for any industry expert documents that highlight their successes with similar projects to the one you are starting. Use their portfolio to assess their capabilities and even expand on your own project. Browsing through their previous work will give you a better idea of what techniques they specialise in, giving you the ability to adjust your project based on their expertise.
3. Send a Welding Coupon
If you’re unfamiliar, a welding coupon is a small representation of your entire project and is used as a kind of sample. Use a coupon to give your future collaborators a first-hand idea of what you want them to put into practice. Using a coupon will eliminate any communication limitations and makes it easier for both you and your future collaborators to expand a project from a tangible example rather than a spoken or written description.
Ensure a Successful Custom Metal Fabrication Project
Whether you’re looking for a window frame or a sliding door, you need to be sure that you clearly communicate the specifics of your project. If you want something quite particular or intricate, make sure to lay out your exact requirements and discuss the details in depth with the fabricator to ensure you get the results you want. With the right plan in place and everyone on the same page, you can be sure that your project will be a success.
If you have any questions about custom metal fabrication projects and would like to speak with one of our team, please contact our friendly and knowledgeable team today.