How we started
Liam left a five-year stint with a Cabra structural-steel fabricator in '98 to take a half-unit on Jamestown Industrial Estate and pick up the gate-and-railing work the bigger shops wouldn't touch. The first six months were three days a week in the unit and two days driving around the north city with a Bantam welder in the back of an old Hiace, looking for jobs.
By 2003 the full unit was leased, the diary was full eight weeks ahead, and the apprentice list had started. Twenty-two apprentices have come through the workshop since — most are now running their own bays around Dublin and Meath, three are foremen on large fabrication contracts in the UK. The trade looks after itself if you take it seriously enough.
The crew
Three people on the books. When the phone rings, you reach one of them — not an answering service.
- Liam Brennan — owner. Twenty-seven years on the trade. City & Guilds 6160 on MIG, MMA and TIG. Coded to EN 1090 EXC2 for structural execution. Best on the diagnosis call — most of his quotes are right inside ten per cent without ever putting eyes on the job.
- Declan O'Sullivan — second welder, fifteen years working. MIG/TIG ticket including stainless. Runs the workshop TIG bay and handles most of the food-grade kitchen and brewery work. Most likely to answer the phone if Liam's under a hood.
- Sean Ryan — third-year apprentice on the Solas/QQI scheme, in his last six months before the trade test. Doing more independent gate-frame work each week. Will be coded inside the year if the test goes as expected.
How we work
Every job — mobile or workshop — runs through the same rhythm. There's no "premium tier" with a different number for the same hands; everyone gets the verbal-then-written-then-cert sequence.
- 1. Phone call or photo. Two minutes on the line, a photo or two by WhatsApp if it's a broken weld or a drawing. Verbal estimate inside the hour for anything we've seen before — which is most of it.
- 2. Site visit or drawing review. If it's load-bearing or non-standard, Liam comes out with a tape and a notepad before any number gets put in writing. No charge for the visit inside our regular area.
- 3. Written quote. Line-item, VAT shown separately, steel cost itemised at trade-merchant price + 12% handling. You sign before any arc strikes.
- 4. Job done. Workshop swept, kerb cleared of swarf, EN 1090 EXC2 certificate emailed for structural jobs. Twelve-month guarantee on every weld.
Certifications & insurance
- EN 1090 EXC2 — execution class for structural steelwork, audited annually by Notified Body. Required for CE-marked load-bearing welds.
- City & Guilds 6160 — Liam's welding qualifications across MIG, MMA, TIG (six unit certificates on file).
- €2,000,000 public liability — FBD Insurance, certificate emailed inside the half-hour to any site agent who asks.
- Solas / Safe Pass — current cards for Liam and Declan; required for any commercial site induction.
- Twelve-month workmanship guarantee — printed on every invoice, covers labour to put right any weld we put down.
- VAT 23% — registered, shown separately on every quote and invoice. VAT number provided on request.
We are not RGI-registered (Registered Gas Installer) — that's domestic gas plumbing, an entirely different trade. If you need a gas line cut or moved, we'll point you at an RGI fitter in Glasnevin who handles that work.
What we don't do
The list is short on purpose. We say no to about a fifth of the calls we get, and we say it on the phone before anyone wastes a trip.
- Domestic gas-line work — not RGI registered. We pass it on.
- New-build steel-frame erection — we leave that to crane crews working with the main contractor.
- Vehicle paint or cosmetic panel-beating — CRW pre-test welds yes, cosmetic dent work no.
- Aluminium window-frame glazing — we'll repair the alu frame, but glazing is a glazier's job.
- Cast-iron repair on heritage drainage — different process, different filler, we sub to a foundry in Cork.