Industrial Pipe Racks
in Houston, TX

What is a pipe rack, and what parts make one up?

A pipe rack is the structural steel that carries process piping, cable tray and conduit through a plant. Four parts do most of the work.

• Bents and stanchions, the transverse frames that hold each tier.
• Tier beams and longitudinal struts that run the length of the rack.
• A cable tray or conduit level, usually the top tier.
• Pipe shoes, guides, line stops and anchors that control how each line moves.

How do you design a pipe rack for Houston wind and thermal loads?

The rack sees three load families at once: pipe weight, thermal growth and wind. Anchor and guide loads come out of your pipe stress model, and we detail the supports to match them. Wind comes from ASCE 7 for this exposure, and design follows AISC 360. East of SH 146 in Harris County, plus Galveston, Brazoria and Chambers counties, TDI windstorm rules apply and inspected work backs the paperwork. We build to the sealed drawings and book the special inspection.

Should a pipe rack be hot-dip galvanized or painted?

It depends on the service and your plant spec. Both are common on the Gulf Coast.

• Hot-dip galvanizing to ASTM A123 is the usual call for outdoor rack steel in humid, salt-laden air. Coverage reaches inside the shape, so it holds up with no recoat program.
• A high-performance coating system suits high-temperature areas, color coding and specs that name a paint stack.

What kind of foundation does a pipe rack need on Houston clay?

Most rack foundations here are drilled piers with concrete pedestals above grade. Piers reach below the active zone, which Houston engineers put at roughly 8 to 20 feet, so the bents stay put through wet and dry seasons. Anchor bolts are set with templates cut to the steel drawings, then base plates are shimmed, leveled and grouted. We can carry the concrete too. See machine foundations and concrete foundations for that side of the work.

Can you work in a live unit or during a turnaround?

Yes, and most of our rack work happens that way. We plan picks around your outage dates and work to your hot work permits, line clearances and gas testing. Shop-built modular bents cut field hours next to live lines, because the welding and galvanizing are already done. Crew orientation, site training and badging get handled before mobilization.

Can you repair, reinforce or extend an existing pipe rack?

Yes. Common work is replacing corroded column bases, adding a bent for new lines, reinforcing a tier for added load, and swapping worn shoes and guides. We field measure first, because as-builts on an older rack rarely match what is standing. Related work is covered on our steel repair and field modifications and platforms and catwalks pages. Call (832) 576-3278 and we will walk the rack with you.