FAQ
Are We a Good Fit?
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ARE YOU INSURED?
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Yes. We maintain a 2 million dollar general liability and medical expense general aggregate policy, a 1 million dollar, each accident, commercial auto policy and all employees are covered under our Workman’s Comp. policy. We routinely provide Certificates of Insurance to our certificate holders.
Are you local?
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We’re based out of Fort Collins, CO.
For the past 6 years, 90% of our work has been done in Boulder County.
We have been known to travel outside of our primary region ; lots of history with Colorado mountain towns: Steamboat Springs, Estes Park and Breckenridge.
Are your welders certified?
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Yes, I’m certified. As the owner of hanger connection, I personally do all of the welding within the companies day to day operations.
My certification is of the AWS structural steel welding code D1.1 in the dual-shield flux-core (FCAW) process.
I also mig weld (GMAW) on lighter fabrications.
-Kurt
What is your experience level?
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As the owner, I started in the carpentry and welding industries in 1979. Most of my background is in residential carpentry and multiple niches in the welding industry; from fabrication shops to commercial structural steel. I graduated from Larimer County Voc-Tech welding school in 1981. I’ve been contracting since the mid 80’s.
-Kurt
WHY SHOULD WE CONSIDER YOUR PRODUCTS?
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Because we cut to the chase to make solutions for your situation-specific needs.
On our own projects, we’re quite willing to let go of trying to find off-the-shelf products that cost time to source and often end in a fruitless search, or in a “it will have to do” outcome. On those occasions, we go straight at designing specific solutions with WOW results. These repeated experiences in the field are why hanger connection exists.
Image: We were hired to rebuild this balcony due to the poor craftsmanship of the original builder. We had to come up with a clean and effective way of mounting the horizontal balusters to the newels. We ended up fabricating the vertical supports shown in the image. This resolved several problems inherent of the original system. The clients were impressed and pleased.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING THAT’S ANY DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER WELDING SHOP?
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We aren’t a welding shop. We’re builders with a structural-steel welding background creating these products to fit on-demand situations.
It is implementing our experience that makes our products viable and unique. Being intimately aware of what these products are joined to and how that process unfolds during the construction phase that separates us from a business that is exclusively into metal fabrication.
Image: This is a little outdoor kitchen we framed. It gives some idea of the various specialties we deal in: wood framing, metal stud framing, concrete tie-ins and outdoor living timber work.
ARE YOUR PRODUCTS ENGINEERED?
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No. By the very nature of one-off or small quantity custom connectors, it’s cost prohibitive to formally test them on our end.
Solution:
Have your engineer approve the custom design or have them design and spec. out the connector for your application. We can converse directly with your engineer in order to expedite the process.
All this said, our hangers are generally constructed from A36 steel with a minimum 3/16” thickness, usually 1/4” . Our welding is performed by an AWS certified welder - structural welding code AWS D1.1 in the dual-shield flux-core process. Planning Departments may require verification of welding certification in order to sign off on welding work on residential structures. We’re happy to provide this verification to our customers.
DO YOU DO INSTALLATIONS?
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Sure, we serve within a 50 mile radius of Fort Collins, CO.
Of course if you’re already working with a framer, they would likely be your best go-to option. Your lead-framer is the prime candidate to install. He will be, or a least should be, the most well informed individual on-site to see the collective set of timber and hanger components along with their specifications and peccadilloes. Coordinating application with your framer is a recipe for overall excellent installation results.
Image: We installed a steel one-piece pitched flitch-plate sandwiched between 2 x 10’s to carry the outer end of this ridge beam. Super rigid and keeps the eve beams from spreading under our Colorado snow loads.
DO YOUR PRODUCTS COST MORE THAN OFF-THE-SHELF CONNECTORS?
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Yes, generally; however, that’s an apples to oranges analogy.
We use the standardized Simpson® hangers and connectors system the majority of the time on our own jobs. Our products aren’t meant to be the equivalent of off-the-shelf products. We fill a niche market. Our products and services are meant to be notably cooler and frequently more reliable in fit and finish. Our customization ability dramatically opens up solution options and is the primary reason Hanger Connection exists.
We’re often dealing with aesthetic considerations. Our designs usually start from the base functional need perspective and then are upgraded from an ugly, solely structural necessity -to an architecturally interesting feature; custom, thoughtful and with old school substance.
Image: I had to get a shot of my anvil in here somewhere. Hay-Budden, 148lbs.
-Kurt
Tell me about your pricing.
Do you do mobile work?
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Yes. Most of our welding happens in-shop; however, in general, structural steel and railings are often done on-site.