Form working involves setting up the shape of the mould that you pour the concrete into when making various structures. With this skill, you can shape and support the wet concrete until it hardens into the intended form. This is an essential skill for any DIY concrete enthusiast.
Don’t let the idea of pouring concrete intimidate you! With the right formwork, even DIY enthusiasts can achieve professional-looking results for patios, walkways, and other small projects. In this guide, we’ll demystify off-form concrete formwork and give you the confidence to tackle those home improvement dreams.
Everyone knows the satisfaction but also the potential pitfalls of DIY and not using professionals, so we hope that we will be giving you some useful tips that help you get your project SPOT-ON, so let’s get into it.
Wooden Boards
The wooden boards are generally used to make the side of the formwork. There are various kinds, each of which has its different properties and applications:
- Plywood: Commonly used because it’s both stable and strong. It can be overcoated with a film to make it more impervious to moisture and, therefore, suitable for a longer period of time.
- Oriented Strand Board (OSB): Good, cheap, and not bad at all – especially where you don’t need to curve it up or down.
- Timber: A six-inch x 12-inch piece of timber makes a good, heavy, and stable formwork suitable for the big jobs. Pine, spruce, and fir are all good because of their strengths-to-weights.
Wood Stakes
Wood stakes are used to secure the formwork in place:
- Softwoods: They are usually pine and are very economical. Softwoods are commonly pressure-treated to prolong their lifespan.
Hardwoods, including:
- Oak
- Maple
- And Douglas Fir…
Wear well and are naturally resistant to moisture and rot.
Nails or Screws
The decision whether to use nails or screws will depend on the exact needs of the project:
- Duplex Nails: For easy removal, these are double-headed and often used for temporary purposes such as formwork.
- Spiral-shank Nails: Designed for use with hardwoods and provide good holding strength.
- Ring-shank Nails: Softwood nails that are most common and that have rings that lock into the wood’s fibres.
Release Agent
Release agents are crucial for preventing concrete from sticking to the formwork:
- Barrier-type Agents: Waxes such as carnauba and silicone are popular, although it must be noted that they work only on non-porous sealers such as wet-look acrylics and can discolour matte-finish waxy acrylics.
Diesel oil is also sometimes used as a barrier type of sealer, yet it will stain architectural concrete. Waxes sit on the surface and absorb airborne dust, hide wood grain, and resist moisture.
- Chemically Active Agents: They react with the cement’s calcium to produce a soap-like layer and are preferred for architectural treatments to avoid sticking.
Step-by-Step Guide
1. Design Your Project: Come up with a design of what you want to build. Draw out the dimensions of your concrete build.
2. Make sure the site is clear: Remove debris, rocks and vegetation that could interfere with your formwork.
3. Construct the Formwork: Cut your pieces of wood to the correct lengths for your design. Construct the side frames of the formwork by nailing or screwing them together, and be sure that all corners are square and the top edges level.
4. Stake the Formwork: Drive small wooden stakes into the ground about every 2 feet outside the formwork to hold it down.
5. Check for Stability: Make sure the formwork is stable and won’t shift during the pour. To do this, make sure everything is level.
6. Spread Release Agent: Apply a release agent to the formwork’s inside surfaces so the concrete doesn’t adhere to the wood.
7. MIX Concrete: Make sure it is thoroughly poured into the formwork. Use a shovel, rake or any other utensil to spread this well:
8. Wait For Cure: Wait for the concrete to cure for the time specified by the concrete mix manufacturer (usually at least 24 hours – see 2).
9. Take off the Formwork: When it’s been long enough for your stomp mix concrete to solidify (about a week), finally remove the Formwork. For starters, pull out the stakes, then gently pry the boards off of the concrete.
10. Finishing Touches: Smooth any rough edges with sandpaper and seal the concrete if desired.
Tips for Success
- Always wear safety gear, including gloves and eye protection, when working with concrete.
- If it’s a curved form, you need to use thin wood that can be bent to shape it.
- For larger pourings, use a pulsing hammer to remove air bubbles from the concrete.
SUMMARY
Form working is a DIY talent that rewards with matching returns. It’s extraordinary just what you can achieve with a few doses of well-mixed concrete: with proper materials, tools and a bit of time and patience, you, too, can create a wholly satisfying, good-looking, durable and functional concrete structure that will last for many a year. Good luck with it! Practice on small projects to begin with, and then move on to more ambitious forms of working as you gain confidence – good luck.
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