Project scope

This loft conversion steel project was located in Maidstone, Kent.

And… it’s literally on our doorstep! What a convenient location – our steelwork company is based next door, in Gravesend. Although we supply residential steel fabrication throughout Kent and over the entire South East of England, sometimes a project is just around the corner!

So, let’s start!

Nowadays loft conversions have become very popular amongst our customers. With the increasing amount of people working from home, the demand for loft conversion steel beams has become very high. No surprise, this loft conversion in Kent required fabricated steel beams. And that’s when we’re always here to help, every step of the way!

So, our customer contacted MAH Steel on Monday, needing fabricated steels for a loft with HIAB lift on Thursday – this particular job had a special splice that needed to be fabricated. But narrow time frames are never a problem for us. Most of the time the steel is in stock, hence why, in all modesty, we are the most trusted steel supplier in Kent. Same with this time, the steel was in stock, and we were able to process the job speedily. Our brilliant team took the order, processed it and the fabricated steel was sent to the workshop straight away.

Let the loft conversion magic begin!

The steel was then selected from our large stock facility and taken to the saw. Then we checked it off against the cutting list and sawed to the correct length. This is the utmost precision and attention to details that we’re very proud of, same with all other jobs. We do quite a lot of checks, but it doesn’t take a lot of time, and we can always guarantee the correct result, up to the finest millimetre!

After all this, we transferred the cut lengths to the steel fabrication area, where it was checked again! This time – by the fabrication team to ensure the steels were the correct cut length. So many checks we have to do before the fabrication process begins – but again, it’s all for the best result.

Then we usually clean up the cut ends. Our talented steel welders weld the splice steel plates into place for accuracy in the 4 plate splice. We do it to ensure bolt alignment on site.

After that, our in-house QA team checks the results of the steel fabrication. They also check steel welding and drilling to ensure that holes, plates and fabrication specifications are exactly where they should be. It’s also important to make sure they lined up as per plan. At the same time, spreader plates get cut and prepared in our plates area, getting ready to be joined with the main job.

So, as you see, no matter if the project is big or small, we always work with the most thoroughness and professionalism.

Next steps

Next is steel blasting and painting! You might ask, what is sand blasting steel? So, steel blasting, or abrasive blast cleaning is the most comprehensive method for the removal of mill-scale and rust on steel surfaces. The method involves the use of high-velocity abrasive particles from a jet stream of compressed air or centrifugal impellers to ‘blast’ clean the steel surface. Sounds complex, but it’s actually not, when it’s done professionally!

Another important thing about steel finishes, is to use the correct thickness of paint in microns. It also requires unbelievable precision. After that, we hang our freshly painted steel in the yard to dry.

Prior to loading the painted fabricated steel, the QA and loading teams visually check it again. All fabricated steel must be correct to the instruction! Then they add bolts, nuts and washers, and packing plates (if required) to complete the job.

Finally, we use our gorgeous 30 metre HIAB lorry to load all the fabricated steel onto it. The driver then checks the load ready for an early start, and then it gets delivered to the site, and placed exactly where the customer needs it.

As usual, this time after the final check the customer was over the moon – just look at his review he left us below!

So, one more MAH loft conversion job done! On to the next one!