Choosing a steel fabricator is mostly about a short list of questions, asked early. For anything structural or load-bearing the right fabricator works to BS EN 1090, can design as well as cut, can install what they make, and can hand you the paperwork (material traceability and a Declaration of Performance) that proves the steel was made to a standard rather than to a verbal promise. This guide is the buyer’s checklist: what to ask, what good answers sound like, and the red flags that tell you to keep looking.
T C Rowan is CE approved and works to the BS EN 1090 execution standards across its steel fabrication and structural steelwork projects. The guidance below is general help for buyers, not a substitute for your own due diligence or the advice of your structural engineer and building control body.
Are they CE approved and working to BS EN 1090?
Start here, because for structural steel it is the question that matters most. Fabricated structural steel (beams, columns, braced and portal frames) is treated as a construction product, and the harmonised standard behind it is BS EN 1090-1. A fabricator operating a 1090 system runs documented Factory Production Control: how they source material, track it, weld it, inspect it and record what they did.
That control is the real thing you are buying. It is what gives you material traceability on request, welders following approved procedures, and inspection that is recorded rather than assumed. Ask the question plainly: do you work to BS EN 1090, and are you CE approved? A genuine fabricator answers without hesitation. For more detail, see our guides on CE marking and UKCA for structural steelwork and BS EN 1090 explained.
Do they design in-house, or only cut to your drawings?
There is a real difference between a workshop that fabricates from drawings you supply and one that can also design and detail. Both are valid, but they suit different jobs. If you already have full engineering drawings, cut-to-drawing is fine. If you are working from a sketch, an architect’s intent, or a structural engineer’s design that still needs detailing for fabrication, you want a fabricator who can do that work in-house.
In-house design also tends to catch problems earlier: a clash, a connection that will not fit, a member that is impractical to lift. Ask whether they detail their own work or send it out, and how they handle changes once fabrication has started. Where design and build sit under one roof, see our design and build solutions.
Do they install, or only supply?
A fabricator that erects what it makes, with its own team, removes a whole category of finger-pointing. When supply and installation are split between two firms, any problem with fit, tolerance or sequencing can turn into a dispute over whose fault it is. One firm from drawing to final bolt owns the outcome end to end.
If you do split the work, that can be the right call on some projects, but put the boundaries in writing: who owns setting-out, who signs off the connections, and who carries the cost if something does not fit on site. Ask the fabricator directly whether erection is their own team or subcontracted, because the answer changes who you hold responsible.
Can they provide traceability and a Declaration of Performance?
For structural work, ask whether they can provide material traceability and a Declaration of Performance (DoP). The DoP is the document that links the supplied steel to BS EN 1090-1 and states its declared performance; it is the auditable trail that the steel was made to the standard. Your engineer or building control can ask to see it.
A fabricator running a proper 1090 system can produce this paperwork. One that cannot, or who is vague about it, is telling you something. You do not need to become an expert in the documents, you just need to confirm they exist and can be supplied for your project.
Are the welders qualified, and is the firm insured?
Welding is where quality is won or lost on steelwork, so ask about welder qualification and coding, and whether welding follows approved procedures. Under a 1090 system this is documented rather than assumed. Then confirm the basics of any contractor: proper insurance, and a willingness to put scope and responsibilities in writing.
These are not awkward questions. A professional fabricator expects them and answers clearly. Hesitation or hand-waving on welder qualifications or insurance is a reason to look elsewhere.
Will they coordinate with your engineer and Building Control?
On load-bearing work the fabricator does not work in isolation. Beam sizing and the execution class both need a structural engineer’s calculation, and load-bearing work needs Building Control sign-off. A good fabricator is used to working from an engineer’s design, confirming the execution class with them, and producing what building control needs.
Ask how they handle that coordination. A fabricator who shrugs at the mention of a structural engineer, or who offers to “just size the beam” without calculations, is not the one you want on a structural job.
Local or distant?
A fabricator near your project is easier to deal with: site visits, deliveries, and the erection team are all simpler when the workshop is not hundreds of miles away. For most projects, choosing a regional fabricator with its own workshop is the practical choice. Larger or specialist projects can justify travelling further, but for everyday structural and architectural steel, local usually wins on coordination and cost of access.
Red flags to walk away from
A few warning signs are worth taking seriously:
- No clear answer on BS EN 1090. Vagueness about the standard, or talking around it, is the single biggest red flag for structural work.
- No own workshop. A firm that subcontracts all fabrication has less control over quality and traceability.
- Won’t put scope in writing. Reluctance to confirm responsibilities, insurance or welder qualifications on paper.
- Sizes structural beams without engineering. Offering to specify load-bearing members without a structural engineer’s calculation.
- No traceability. Cannot say how material is tracked or whether a Declaration of Performance can be provided.
The short version
For structural work, the questions that matter most are: do you work to BS EN 1090 and are you CE approved, do you design and detail in-house, do you install with your own team, and can you provide traceability and a Declaration of Performance? Good fabricators answer all of these without flinching.
T C Rowan is a single fabricator from drawing to final bolt: CE approved, working to BS EN 1090, with in-house design, its own Banbury workshop and its own erection team, fully insured and using qualified and coded welders. If you want those questions answered against your actual drawings, get in touch for a free quote.
Frequently asked questions
What questions should I ask a steel fabricator?
Ask whether they work to BS EN 1090 and are CE approved, whether they design in-house or only cut to your drawings, whether they install with their own erection team or only supply, and whether they can provide material traceability and a Declaration of Performance on structural work. Then confirm they use qualified and coded welders, carry proper insurance, and will coordinate with your structural engineer and building control. The answers to those few questions separate a controlled workshop from a thin operator.
Does my steel fabricator need to be CE approved?
For structural and load-bearing steelwork it matters a great deal, because fabricated structural steel is treated as a construction product covered by the harmonised standard BS EN 1090-1, which is the basis for the conformity mark and a Declaration of Performance. The UK position on CE versus UKCA marking has changed several times since Brexit and CE marking has continued to be recognised, so confirm the current requirement with your building control body. Either way, a fabricator that works to the BS EN 1090 standards is the underlying thing you want.
Should the steel fabricator also install the steel?
Not always, but using one firm for both removes a common source of problems. When the company that fabricated the steel also erects it with its own team, there is no gap where a supplier blames an installer (or the reverse) over fit, tolerances or sequencing. If you do split supply and installation, be clear in writing about who owns setting-out, who signs off the connections, and who is responsible if something does not fit on site.
How do I check a fabricator’s quality?
Ask to see evidence rather than take claims at face value: confirmation they operate to BS EN 1090, the ability to provide material traceability and a Declaration of Performance on structural work, welder qualifications, and proof of insurance. Look at real completed projects, check they have their own workshop rather than subcontracting everything out, and notice whether they answer standards questions clearly or talk around them. Vagueness on 1090 is the single biggest warning sign.