Galvanizing: More than corrosion protection

Galvanizing steel protects it against corrosion for many decades, but its benefits go far beyond just preserving metal. Protecting steel with hot dip galvanizing saves time, money, and is also a sustainable option.

Here, we share how hot dip galvanizing your steel benefits both you and the steel it’s protecting.

A galvanizing operative by a hot dip galvanizing bath

The benefits of galvanizing for steel

Below is a summary of the benefits that hot dip galvanizing provides for your steel:

Protected against corrosion: The primary use case for hot dip galvanizing is to protect it against atmospheric corrosion for multiple decades (60+ years, with documented cases exceeding 100 years).
Increased longevity: Galvanized steel has a significantly extended lifespan compared to uncoated steel, reducing the need to replace it through refabrication or recoating. It also reduces the need to disassemble it and spend time maintaining it.
Increased reliability: Galvanized steel has a reliable weathering rate, dependent on the environment it is in and its coating thickness.

These benefits for steel also have real-world benefits for both you and the environment.

Galvanizing can save you time

Time on maintenance, reducing manual labour

Galvanized steel requires little to no maintenance over its long lifespan. Not only does this reduce its total lifetime costs and improve its sustainability, it also saves you the amount of manual labour needed to look after it or refabricate a brand-new structure.

Additionally, the extended protection provided by galvanizing helps to reduce time you spend on maintenance and upkeep of your fabrications. This can save countless hours especially with larger steel projects such as those used in construction and infrastructure.

Time waiting

At Joseph Ash Galvanizing, we can offer fast turnaround times including overnight and within 24 hours at some of our 9 UK sites when agreed in advance, ensuring minimal delay on your projects. We also have our own transport fleet to further save you time arranging this yourself, ensuring your steel is delivered to and from its end destination both quickly and safely.

Galvanizing can save you money

It is estimated that, globally, one tonne of steel will turn to rust every 90 seconds. Following a steady rate, that’s over 350,000 tonnes of steel in a year. That is a huge amount of steel to lose; it is estimated that corroded steel accounts for nearly 4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) lost every year.

The corrosion protection provided by galvanizing reduces the costs associated with maintaining and replacing the steel.

Hot dip galvanizing also has a lower total lifetime cost than alternatives that require more frequent re-coatings, reducing galvanizing’s whole life cost.

Galvanized curved framework at Joseph Ash Chesterfield

Galvanizing can offer peace of mind

Hot dip galvanized steel can give you peace of mind in different ways; not only has it been used and trusted for many decades, it also offers predictable levels of protection against corrosion.

Scientifically backed, proven over centuries

Hot dip galvanizing is a scientifically backed method of corrosion protection, used and trusted for almost two centuries. Compared to newer coatings, hot dip galvanizing has had many years to prove its effectiveness in different climates.

Not only this, galvanizing provides three layers of protection for steel, making it even more durable and reliable as a coating.

Firstly, a physical barrier is created when the zinc metallurgically bonds to the underlying steel.
Secondly, the zinc layer provides sacrificial protection whereby the zinc “sacrifices” itself and corrodes preferentially to the underlying steel. This is also known as cathodic protection.
Lastly, the zinc coating can protect against a form of corrosion known as sideways creep, which would otherwise cause peeling and deterioration of the coating after it has been damaged.

Predictable lifespans

Hot dip galvanizing offers predictable rates of corrosion, weathering in a linear fashion. The thickness of galvanized steel can be measured using non-destructive methods, offering peace of mind and predictability at all stages of the product lifecycle.

You can view the corrosion map on the Galvanizer’s Association website for more details on the average lifespan of galvanized steel in different parts of the UK.

Galvanizing can reduce environmental impact

Both the hot dip galvanizing process and galvanized steel as an end product fit into the circular economy model.

The enhanced corrosion protection from galvanizing significantly extends the lifespan of the steel, reducing resources used to remake and replace or repair and maintain the component. Additionally, the steel is robust and maintains its coating so can be readily dismantled and reused.

At the end of the coating’s lifespan (60+ years), the steel can be re-galvanized, again reducing the resources required for production of new steel. Finally, galvanized steel is fully recyclable – the steel and zinc can be fully recycled together without loss of properties.

We’re also committed to protecting the environment throughout the galvanizing process itself. For example, we support waste minimisation through the recycling of process consumables such as flux solutions and the recovery of zinc from the waste stream, and we work hard at minimising energy usage. We also operate within a framework of an Environmental Management System based on internationally recognised standards.

Galvanizing can reduce hassle

Unlike pre-galvanized steel that requires assembly after galvanizing, hot dip galvanizing can be performed on fully fabricated designs. This is especially vital for larger construction projects or artists and sculptures looking to protect their craftmanship, reducing any assembly post-coating that could damage your fabrication.

What Joseph Ash Galvanizing can do for you

As leading experts in hot dip galvanizing, spin galvanizing and powder coating, Joseph Ash Galvanizing has been trusted to protect the UK’s steel against corrosion for over 165 years. With 9 sites across the UK, we’re never too far away to assist with your project – from Widnes and Hull in the north to Medway in the south and Bridgend in Wales.