By the EAP Ltd team, marine and industrial contractors, Gillingham, Kent. Last updated August 2026.

TL;DR

Mobile welding services bring a qualified welder, a portable power source and the right consumables to your site, vessel or plant, so the repair happens where the metal already is instead of in a workshop. In the UK you can expect a mobile welder to cost roughly £45 to £85 per hour or £320 to £550 per day, with coded welders working to BS EN ISO 9606 and marine or offshore work sitting at the higher end. The three things that decide whether a mobile job goes well are welder qualification, a proper hot work permit and honest access planning. EAP Ltd sends coded welders and fabrication teams to ports, dockyards, industrial sites and plant yards across the UK, including Chatham, Southampton, Hull, Peterlee, Rosyth, Glasgow, Plymouth and Falmouth. Talk to us about on site welding and fabrication.

What are mobile welding services?

Mobile welding services are welding and fabrication carried out at your location rather than in a fixed workshop. A mobile welder arrives with a van or truck carrying a welding set, a generator, gas bottles, grinding and cutting kit, PPE and screens, then completes the repair or fabrication in place.

The plain version: if the thing that needs welding cannot easily be moved, the welder moves instead.

That covers a huge amount of real world work. A cracked bucket on an excavator, a corroded handrail on a jetty, a fractured bracket on a conveyor, a hull plate that needs a doubler, a gangway that has failed inspection. In every case, cutting the part out and shipping it to a workshop would cost more in downtime than the weld itself.

When do you need a mobile welder instead of a workshop?

There is a simple test. Ask what it would cost to move the item, and what it would cost to stop using it while it was away.

Mobile welding usually wins when:

• The asset is fixed in place, such as structural steelwork, tanks, pipework, jetty structures or fixed plant.
• The asset is too big or too heavy to move economically, such as excavators, cranes, hoppers and conveyors.
• Downtime is the real cost, not the repair. A vessel on a tight sailing schedule or a production line at full order book cannot wait for transport both ways.
• The item is afloat or dockside, where removing it is not practical at all.
• The repair is urgent and unplanned, which is most emergency welding work.

A workshop usually wins when the piece is small and portable, when the work needs machining or a controlled environment, when a large batch of identical parts is being made, or when heat treatment and full blast and paint facilities are needed.

Most real projects are a mix. We often fabricate new sections in the workshop, then send a mobile team to cut out the damage and weld the new section in. That combination is faster and tidier than doing everything one way or the other.

What can mobile welding fix?

The list is long, but the jobs that come up week after week are surprisingly consistent:

• Marine and dockside: hull plate repairs, doublers, deck sections, gangways and handrails, jetty steelwork, ladders, bollards, hatch coamings and pipework.
• Heavy plant and machinery: buckets, booms, chassis cracks, wear plate replacement, hoppers, grabs, conveyor frames and picking stations.
• Structural steel: beam and column modifications, brackets, cleats, platforms, walkways, mezzanine supports and temporary works.
• Pipework and tanks: flanges, spool pieces, supports and small bore fabrication, plus repairs to tank shells and access covers.
• Stainless and aluminium: food and process equipment, marine aluminium structures, superstructure repairs and handrails, all needing the right process and filler.

If you want the full picture of how these repairs sit inside a bigger job, our guide to ship repair in the UK walks through dry dock, alongside and afloat options.

How much do mobile welding services cost in the UK?

Mobile welding is normally priced by the hour or by the day, with a minimum call out. Materials, consumables and any specialist access are usually charged on top. The table below gives realistic 2026 guide ranges for the UK.

Treat these as a way to sense check a quote rather than a fixed price list. Rates move with region, with how far the team has to travel and with how much standby time the site imposes.

EAP Ltd works on fixed price and fixed rate tariff arrangements wherever the scope allows, because most clients would rather know the number in advance than argue about hours afterwards.

Why do mobile welding quotes vary so much?

Four things move the price more than the welding itself.

Qualification. A general fabrication welder and a coded welder working to a qualified procedure are not the same product. Coded work carries testing, documentation and revalidation costs, and that is reflected in the rate.

Access. Welding at ground level in a yard is cheap. Welding inside a tank, at height on a jetty or over water is not, because it brings scaffolding, rescue plans, permits and often a second person.

Permits and standby. On live sites, hot work permits, fire watch and gas testing add hours before the arc is ever struck. This is normal and necessary, but it needs to be in the quote.

Travel and standby time. A three hour job two hours from base is a five hour job. Honest quotes say so.

What is a coded welder, and do you need one?

A coded welder is a welder who has passed a qualification test to a recognised standard, most commonly BS EN ISO 9606-1 for fusion welding of steels, and holds a current certificate covering a defined range of material, thickness, position and process. Their qualification is confirmed at regular intervals and lapses if it is not maintained, so a certificate on file is not the same as a valid certificate.

You need a coded welder whenever the weld carries load, contains pressure, or has to satisfy an inspector, a class society or an insurer. That includes structural steelwork, lifting points, pressure pipework, marine structures and anything covered by a client quality plan.

You can usually use a general welder for non structural, non critical work, such as a bin frame, a guard or a cosmetic repair. If you are unsure which side of the line your job falls on, assume coded. It is far cheaper than cutting out a failed weld later.

Two related standards worth knowing. BS EN ISO 3834 sets quality requirements for fusion welding at the organisation level, so it covers the company rather than the individual. BS EN 1090 governs the execution of structural steelwork placed on the market, which matters for fabricated structural components rather than in situ repairs.

When a weld is critical, testing is what proves it. Magnetic particle inspection is the usual first check on ferritic steel welds, and we explain what it finds in our guide to MPI weld testing.

Mobile welding vs workshop fabrication: a straight comparison

What safety and permit requirements apply to on site welding?

Welding on a live industrial or marine site is hot work, and hot work is one of the most tightly controlled activities on any site for a good reason. Expect the following as standard.

A hot work permit. Issued by the site or vessel, valid for a defined area and time window, and normally requiring the area to be cleared of combustibles.

Fire watch. Someone watching during the work and, critically, for a period after it finishes. Most fires linked to hot work start after the welder has packed up.

Gas testing and isolation. Essential on tanks, bilges, fuel systems and anywhere a flammable atmosphere could exist. Never assume a compartment is clean because it looks clean.

Fume control. Welding fume is a recognised health risk and the Health and Safety Executive expects effective extraction or, where that is not reasonably practicable, respiratory protective equipment.

Confined space and working at height controls. Rescue plans, harnesses, edge protection and a second person where required.

A contractor who turns up asking about the permit process before asking where to plug in is usually the one you want.

How quickly can a mobile welding team get to site?

For planned work, most contractors will book a slot within a few days to a couple of weeks depending on the scope. For breakdowns, the honest answer depends on where your site is relative to the contractor's nearest base and whether the team is already committed.

This is where a multi site contractor earns its keep. EAP Ltd operates from Kent alongside teams in Southampton, Hull, Peterlee and the North East, Rosyth, Glasgow, Plymouth and Falmouth, with engineers available around the clock. Being 40 minutes from a port beats being four hours away, every time.

If the failure is on a machine rather than a structure, our mobile plant repair teams cover the same ground and often attend alongside a welder.

How to choose a mobile welding contractor

Five questions cut through most sales talk.

1. Can you show me current welder qualifications for the process and position on my job? Ask for the certificate, and check the date.
2. Have you worked on this type of asset before? Marine steel, coded pipework and heavy plant are three different worlds.
3. How do you handle permits, fire watch and fume control? A vague answer here is a red flag.
4. What is included in the rate, and what is extra? Travel, standby, consumables, access equipment and out of hours premiums should all be spelled out.
5. Can you also fabricate the replacement part? A contractor who can design, fabricate and install saves you managing three suppliers. Our steel fabrication and marine fabrication teams do exactly that.

Frequently asked questions

What is mobile welding? Mobile welding is welding carried out at the customer's site using portable equipment, rather than in a fixed workshop. The welder brings a power source, gas, consumables and safety kit to the job.

How much does a mobile welder cost in the UK? Expect roughly £45 to £85 per hour or £320 to £550 per day for general mobile welding in 2026. Coded welders working to BS EN ISO 9606 typically run £400 to £650 per day, and marine, dockside and offshore work is usually priced per project.

Do mobile welders work on aluminium and stainless steel? Yes, but not every welder is qualified for every material. Aluminium normally needs TIG or MIG with the correct filler and preparation, and stainless needs care over heat input and contamination. Always confirm the welder is qualified for the material before booking.

Can welding be done in the rain or outdoors? Yes, with the right protection. Shelters, screens and windbreaks are standard for outdoor and dockside work. MMA and flux cored processes cope better with wind than MIG and TIG, which need shielding gas protected from draughts.

Do I need a hot work permit for welding on my site? On almost any industrial, marine or commercial site, yes. The permit is issued by the site or vessel operator and sets out the area, the time window, the fire watch arrangements and any gas testing needed.

Is mobile welding as strong as workshop welding? A correctly executed weld by a qualified welder to a qualified procedure is as strong on site as in a workshop. The risk on site is not the welding itself, it is the conditions, so preparation, access and shielding are what determine quality.

What is the difference between a mobile welder and a coded welder? Mobile describes where the welder works. Coded describes what they are certified to do. Many mobile welders are coded, but not all of them, so ask.

Get a mobile welding quote

If you have a cracked structure, a corroded gangway, a failed bracket or a plant breakdown that needs a welder on site this week, send us a photo and a rough location and we will come back with a firm price and a realistic date.

Contact EAP Ltd for mobile welding and on site fabrication.