Welding Questions. Answered.

Yes. Albert's Specialty Welding is Fully Portable — the truck, the machines and the metal come to you across Mobile, Theodore, Tillmans Corner, Saraland, and Irvington and the rest of Mobile County, AL. A gate on its hinges, a trailer in the driveway, equipment on a job site: Rod comes to the work instead of you hauling it in. Call (251) 753-7337 and tell him where it is.

Most of it. MIG, TIG and Stick all run off the truck, so gate repairs, railing repairs, trailer welding, cracked equipment and the fabrication that goes with a repair get done right where the metal sits. If a job genuinely has to come back to the shop, you will hear that up front rather than after he arrives.

Because Mobile is the name of the county around here, and because Fully Portable is what is printed on Rod's business card. Same trade, clearer word — either way, the truck comes to the work.

There is no published price and no minimum posted, because no two jobs are the same. Estimates are free, in person or from a photo, so you have the number before any arc is struck. Send a photo or call (251) 753-7337.

Mobile County, Alabama, and that is the whole service area. Hours are 8 to 5, Monday through Friday. This is not a 24-hour outfit and there is no emergency line — call during the week and Rod will get out as soon as the schedule allows.

That is the everyday job. A sagging gate is nearly always a torn hinge, a cracked weld at a corner, a leaning post, or rust through the bottom rail — and the latch stops lining up because the frame has dropped, not because the latch failed. Rod cuts out what is rotten, re-welds the joints, pulls the frame back square and re-hangs it. Call (251) 753-7337.

No. Rod welds the gate itself — hinges, frames, welds, posts and rails. Openers, motors, sensors, boards and remotes are a different trade, and you want a gate-automation company for those. If you are not sure which one you have, send a photo of the hinge side and he will tell you.

Usually a repair. A bent frame can be pulled back square and re-welded, and an impact-torn hinge can be rebuilt into the post. Rod does not install new gates at all, so there is nothing in it for him to tell you it is beyond saving — if the frame really is finished, you will get that answer straight.

Because adjusting the hinge treats the symptom. If the weld at the corner is cracked or the post has moved, the gate keeps re-loading that same failure every time it swings, and it works its way back down within weeks. Fixing the cause means welding the joint and truing the frame, not turning a bolt.

Four: the whole gate from a few steps back, the hinge side, the latch side, and a close-up of the spot that drags or cracked. That is usually enough to give you a real number without a trip out. Send them with the address to (251) 753-7337.

No to both. Gate repair only — no new gate installs, and no fence work. Repairing the gate you already have is the whole of it, and that is deliberate.

Yes — both, and cast aluminum is the one most shops would rather not take. Brackets, housings, mounts and cracked castings get TIG or MIG welded across Mobile, Theodore, Tillmans Corner, Saraland, and Irvington and the rest of Mobile County. Call (251) 753-7337.

It holds when the prep and the heat are right. Cast aluminum is porous and it moves under heat, which is exactly why it takes hands that have done a lot of it. 50+ years of reading how aluminum behaves is what makes the difference on a casting. Send a photo to (251) 753-7337.

Aluminum pulls the heat away fast and hides its cracks, so it is slow, fussy work with a low margin for error. Those are the jobs that end up here — including the cast pieces other welders have already said no to.

Brackets, housings, mounts, trailer frames and decks, railings, and general aluminum repair and fabrication. If it is aluminum and it is broken, describe it or send a photo to (251) 753-7337.

There is no published price — aluminum work is too job-specific for a rate card. Estimates are free, in person or from a photo, so send the part or a picture of it to (251) 753-7337 and you get a real number first.

Yes, and it is one of the jobs that separates welders. Cast iron cracks in ways that punish a fast or cold repair, so it takes prep, heat control and patience. 50+ years of watching how castings behave is what does the reading here. Call (251) 753-7337.

Cracked castings, broken mounts and worn cast parts on equipment, machinery, cookware, grates, pipe fittings and hardware — plus cast aluminum, which behaves differently again. Describe it or send a photo to (251) 753-7337.

Often, yes. A lot of failed cast iron repairs were simply run too fast or too cold and cracked again right beside the weld. Done with proper prep and heat control it holds. You get an honest read on whether the casting is worth saving before anything starts.

Usually, when the replacement is expensive or no longer made — which is most of the reason these jobs come in at all. If a casting is not worth saving you will be told that rather than sold a repair.

There is no published price. Cast work is piece-specific, so estimates are free and done from a photo of the break or from the part itself. Call (251) 753-7337.

Utility, boat, equipment and farm trailers. Cracked frames, rusted crossmembers, bent tongues, hitches, gates and ramps. He comes to the trailer across Mobile County, AL, so nobody has to tow something questionable across the county to get it looked at. Call (251) 753-7337.

Usually. If the metal around the crack is still sound it gets ground out, welded and reinforced so the same spot does not go again. If a section has rusted past saving, that section gets replaced. Send a photo to (251) 753-7337 for a free estimate.

Yes. A boat trailer is a trailer, and the frames, crossmembers and bunks that live in salt water are some of the most common repairs out here. Boats themselves are a different trade and Rod does not take marine work.

That is the point of the truck. Trailer welding happens in your driveway, yard or shop, during business hours, 8 to 5 Monday through Friday. It is not a roadside service and there is no after-hours line.

Yes — gates that stopped latching, bent ramps, worn hinge points and hitch and tongue repairs all get welded up. If a piece is gone entirely, the replacement gets fabricated and welded in.

It means making the piece the repair needs. Fabrication goes with repair — most of the time, fabricating the replacement bracket, mount or section is the repair. Bring a drawing, a sample, or the broken original and Rod makes the piece and welds it in. Call (251) 753-7337.

Sometimes, and it depends on the job — whether he can physically do it, and whether the machinery and the supplies here are big enough for it. Tell him what it is and you get a yes or a no rather than a maybe. That is a one-man shop being straight about capacity, not a brush-off.

Aluminum, cast aluminum, stainless steel and cast iron, using MIG, TIG and Stick as the piece demands. Call (251) 753-7337 and describe the metal in front of you.

That is a good share of the work. A discontinued mount, a bracket that has no part number, a section of frame that rusted out — those get measured off the original or off your drawing and fabricated to fit.

Send photos with rough measurements on them, or bring the broken piece by. Estimates are free, in person or from a photo, and you get the number before any metal is cut. Reach Rod at (251) 753-7337.

Aluminum, cast aluminum, stainless steel and cast iron, with MIG, TIG and Stick so the process matches the metal in front of him. Call (251) 753-7337 and ask about your specific job.

All of Mobile County, Alabama, from a base in Irvington — Mobile, Theodore, Tillmans Corner, Saraland, and Irvington and the surrounding communities. Fully Portable, so the truck comes to you. Not sure you are in range? Call (251) 753-7337 and ask.

Rod does. There is no crew and no dispatcher — the man who answers (251) 753-7337 is the man who quotes the job and the man who welds it.

He started welding at the Ingalls shipyard in 1975, where he learned the craft, and has made his living at it ever since — 50+ years, with more than 40 of them in this business. He holds welding certificates.

Yes — Albert's Specialty Welding is licensed and insured. Call (251) 753-7337 with any questions about a specific job.

Estimates are free, in person or from photos you send, and there is no published pricing or posted minimum because no two jobs are the same. You approve the number before any work starts. Payment is cash, card or check.

No. Hours are 8 to 5, Monday through Friday — this is not a 24-hour or after-hours service. Call during the week and Rod will get out as soon as the schedule allows.

Rarely. The strange one-off repairs are the interesting ones, and a lot of this work arrives because somebody else already said no. If it is metal and it is broken, describe it — call (251) 753-7337.