Rusting support columns

jack354 · Jun 14, 2023 9:23 am

Hi all,

My Dad recently passed away and I have been looking at some of the many jobs we had intended to
work on together.
Currently looking at some maintenance work on the house.

There are these (hollow?) steel support columns on the verandah and I was wondering if anyone
had any tactics on how to get at the rust?
I'm thinking maybe some steel wool/steel brush on it and then some chemical rust treatment and then
maybe some fish oil and/or primer paint.

I guess my main worry is that there might be more rust further down below the concrete layer, and
whether there is a way to try and get at it (I might have to chip away at the concrete further?)

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ponzutwo · Jun 14, 2023 11:46 am

i could be wrong, but that looks beyond just removing the surface rust. it looks pretty degraded and you wont be able to get at what's covered by the concrete.

jack354 · Jun 14, 2023 5:14 pm

ponzutwo

i could be wrong, but that looks beyond just removing the surface rust. it looks pretty degraded and you wont be able to get at what's covered by the concrete.

I think you might be right unfortunately, a lot of metal has flaked off over time.

Pulse · Jun 14, 2023 7:39 pm

Hi Jack sorry about your dad, I hope i don ‘t leave too many jobs for my boys, but highly likely.

The rust will be worst at that point due to presence of oxygen. I would chip away the concrete and then wire brush on a grinder. Assess the structural strength of the remaining steel. If it is adequate you can prime with zinc epoxy primer then encase the whole lot in new concrete or epoxy repair mortar like sikadur33, sold as a concrete repair kit at bunnings. If the steel is gone you need a butter solution like a new post depending on the load above.

jack354 · Jun 14, 2023 8:32 pm

Pulse

Hi Jack sorry about your dad, I hope i don ‘t leave too many jobs for my boys, but highly likely.

The rust will be worst at that point due to presence of oxygen. I would chip away the concrete and then wire brush on a grinder. Assess the structural strength of the remaining steel. If it is adequate you can prime with zinc epoxy primer then encase the whole lot in new concrete or epoxy repair mortar like sikadur33, sold as a concrete repair kit at bunnings. If the steel is gone you need a butter solution like a new post depending on the load above.

Thank you for the advice, I'll give this a go