Frames for industrial units, port side structures and galvanised steelwork, put up with one eye on the wind. The steel is made in Norwich and travels the A47 to Great Yarmouth, Gorleston and Caister.
Great Yarmouth, about 20 miles east of Norwich on the A47.
Steel erectors, Great Yarmouth
A rafter on a crane hook behaves like a sail, and South Denes has the sea on one side and the river on the other.
Swift Fabrication offers steel erection in Great Yarmouth for owners of industrial units, port and energy sector yards, builders and leisure operators. Our erectors put up portal frames, unit extensions, canopies, plant platforms, walkways and stairs, following your engineer's drawings.
Two things shape every job here. First, exposure: lifting is planned around the forecast, with a fallback day booked in advance, because nobody should be hanging steel in a gale off the North Sea. Second, salt. Painted steel has a short life near the harbour, so most frames we quote for Yarmouth are galvanised.
Structural steel in Great Yarmouth
Planning a coastal lift
Open yards by the river and the outer harbour give a crane room to work but no shelter. So the programme has slack in it, and you know the price before we begin.
In the days before the lift we compare the wind forecast with the limits for the hired crane or telehandler and the size of the pieces. Bolt groups and levels get checked on the same trip, so a calm day is never wasted on a base that is out.
Long rafters catch the wind, so they go up on tag lines in the lightest gusts of the day. If the wind climbs past the limit for the plant, we stop and brace what is standing. No column is left up overnight without bracing.
Once the frame is true the bolts get their final tightening. Any galvanising scuffed by slings or spanners is made good with zinc rich repair paint, because a small scar is where rust starts in salt air.
Galvanised steel for salt air
Galvanising can be arranged for anything we fabricate. The steel is made in Norwich with the vent and drain holes the dip needs, sent away for coating, then brought to your site by HIAB lorry.
It changes how a frame goes together. Site welding burns the zinc off, so connections are detailed to bolt, and holes are made before dipping, not drilled on the day. If you have bought galvanised steelwork from another supplier, send the drawings and we can quote to put that up too.
RAMS, with the wind limits we will work to, reach you before the lift. If your port or energy site has its own induction, tell us early.
Harfreys, Gapton Hall, South Denes
If you run a unit on Harfreys or Gapton Hall and want a bay added, a roller shutter opening framed or a mezzanine put in, that is the sort of steelwork we install. Along South Denes and by the outer harbour the jobs lean towards pipe racks, equipment platforms, access stairs and storage frames for offshore supply.
Beacon Park at Gorleston brings newer commercial builds, where we follow a main contractor's sequence. On the seafront and the holiday parks it is canopies, stairs and leisure steelwork, which suits the quiet months.
Machinery installation in Great YarmouthEast Norfolk
Great Yarmouth is roughly 20 miles from our workshop. Steel, plant and the team all come along the A47 through Acle, so the lorry is loaded in erection order and we aim to arrive with everything the day needs. Gorleston, Bradwell, Caister and the villages either side of the road are covered too.
For an estimate, send the engineer's drawings, the site address and photographs showing how open the plot is and where a crane could stand. Say how close you are to the sea or the river and what finish the specification calls for. It costs nothing, and the price is settled before work starts.
Steel fabrication in Great YarmouthGreat Yarmouth questions
We do not lift. Every crane and telehandler has a wind limit, and long pieces bring it down further. A reserve day is agreed with you and the plant hirer when the job is booked, so a blown out day means a short delay and not an argument. Anything already standing is left braced and safe.
This close to the sea we would nearly always say yes. Hot dip galvanising protects the inside of hollow sections as well as the outside, and it lasts far longer than paint alone in salt air. We can arrange it, or paint over galvanising if your specification asks.
Yes. Gorleston, Caister, Bradwell and Acle are all on the same run from Norwich. Because it is a 20 mile trip each way, we like to measure and check bases in one visit, then come back with the steel and the hired plant booked for the same day.
We can, provided we know the rules beforehand. Send the site's permit, induction and PPE requirements with your enquiry and we will confirm what we can supply. RAMS are written for the job.
Steel erection, Great Yarmouth
Tell us where the site is and how exposed it is, and send the drawings. We will talk through the lift, the finish and the dates. The estimate is free.