Square pipe (square hollow section)
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Square pipe, sold as square tube or SHS, is a steel tube with a square cross-section and a hollow core, sized by side length and wall thickness. Australian stockist The Metal Warehouse lists galvanised SHS from 20 × 20 mm to 125 × 125 mm, made to AS/NZS 1163 in grade C350L0.
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What square pipe is
A square pipe is a hollow steel section with four equal sides. The trade names vary: The Metal Warehouse in Australia lists square hollow section (SHS), box steel, square steel and tube steel as names for the same product, and rectangular hollow section (RHS) as its version with unequal sides. In searches the name is often shortened to sq pipe or sq tube.
The tube is made in Tanzania. LangZo Steel produces square, rectangular and round tubes, black or galvanised, to the dimensions a client orders, and Sita Steel Rollings lists steel tubes and rectangular and square hollow sections for frameworks and scaffolding.
How square pipe is sized
Sizes are given side × side × wall, all in millimetres: 40 × 40 × 2.0 mm is a tube 40 mm across with a 2 mm wall. The wall matters as much as the outside size: in Mumbadevi Steel’s stainless square pipe chart, a 40 × 40 mm tube weighs 1.50 kg/m with a 1.2 mm wall and 3.76 kg/m with a 3 mm wall.
Searches in Tanzania often use inches, as in “square pipe 1 inch” or “1.5 inch square pipe”. Converted at 25.4 mm to the inch (our conversion):
| Size in inches | In millimetres |
|---|---|
| ¾ × ¾ in | 19.1 × 19.1 mm |
| 1 × 1 in | 25.4 × 25.4 mm |
| 1½ × 1½ in | 38.1 × 38.1 mm |
| 2 × 2 in | 50.8 × 50.8 mm |
| 3 × 3 in | 76.2 × 76.2 mm |
Metric charts, such as Mumbadevi Steel’s, list round sizes like 25 × 25 and 40 × 40 mm, so a “1 inch” tube may be either 25.4 or 25 mm; ask for the millimetres and the wall.
Black, galvanised or stainless
| Finish | What it is |
|---|---|
| Black (painted) | steel tube with a black paint finish |
| Pre-galvanised | pre-galvanised finish |
| Galvanised | zinc-coated tube |
| Stainless steel | square tube of stainless grades |
Where it is used
For solid square bar rather than tube, Tanzanian maker Kamal Steel lists mild steel square bars. The Metal Warehouse names frames, commercial and domestic construction, and gates and posts. LangZo lists construction, fabrication, furniture and infrastructure, and Sita Steel frameworks and scaffolding. For flat steel used with square tube in gates and grills, see flat bar; for round tube, see steel pipes.
What to check when you buy
- Size and wall in millimetres — side × side × wall.
- Length of each tube.
- Finish — black, pre-galvanised, galvanised or stainless.
- Grade and standard, if the tube carries a load in a structure.
- Straightness and the weld seam, along the full length.
Square pipe in Zanzibar
Kitovu sells from stock in Zanzibar, and this section is not among its products. For a steel floor or stair surface on a square-tube frame, see chequered plate.