Sourcing Note 13 · Dispute Review
A re-welded joint is a confession
A weld done twice on site usually means the first pass never reached the root.
A Gulf buyer I work with sent me photos of a balustrade post this week. The installer had ground the original weld flat, then laid a second pass on top to cover a crack at the root. That second pass is the clue. A weld that is re-done after installation almost always means the first one never had full penetration, and the joint was never pickled or passivated afterward. On a coastal site the uncovered root line is where the chloride gets in first.
What I write into a fabricated-stainless spec now: full-penetration root on structural joints, pickling and passivation after grinding, and the first finished joint photographed before the rest are released. A re-weld is cheaper to stop at the first article than to find on site.
Send me the joint detail from your next stainless package and I will tell you which line the workshop will skip.