Form work:

The maximum height of a single lift of concrete recommended for a column pour is 18 ft (5.5m) within a 2 hr period. Rate of pour is expressed in feet (meters) of concrete poured per hour. Two types of framing are common: 1. Formwork without studs 2. Formwork with studs Formwork without studs can be divided into following components (pg. 172 in TB): 1. Form sheathing 2. Wales 3. Ties 4. Lateral Bracing When the concrete pressure within the formwork increases to a point where the spacing of the wales becomes impractical, studs are added to the framework of the form to support the sheathing. The components include the following: 1. Form sheathing 2. Studs 3. Wales 4. Ties 5. Lateral Bracing Forms supporting gravity loads are also composed of components similar to those for walls and columns. The components are: 1. Form Sheathing 2. Joists (similar to wales) 3. Beams 4. Shores (similar to ties) 5. Mud Sills 6. Lateral Bracing Gaint Panels and Gang Forms: High walls, in which the concrete will have to be placed in two or more stages or lifts, will normally be formed by the use of giant panels. These large forms are built or assembled on the ground and raised into place by crane. Bucks: Openings (doors, windows etc) in concrete walls are made by setting bucks. Bucks are simply wooden or steel frames set between the inner and outer forms and held in place so that the forms can be tightened against them. Slip Forms: Originally designed for curved structures. Slips forms consist basically of an inner and an outer form, 3 to 5 ft in height fabricated from wood or steel to produce the building shape desired and supported by two strong, vertical yokes.

Instead of remaining stationary as normal forms do, slip forms move continuously upward, drawn by jacks climbing on vertical steel jack rods. Construction Joints: Long and high walls are placed in sections. This results in a vertical joint (where two sections of a long wall meet) or in a horizontal joint (when high walls are placed in two or more lifts). Vertical construction joints are formed by placing a bulkhead in the form. Control joints: Control joints in concrete are made to control cracking due to contraction. They are formed by fastening a beveled insert of wood, metal, rubber, or other material to the inside face of the form. The insert produces a groove in the concrete that will control surface cracking. Expansion joints are necessary in slab construction to provide space for the slab to expand, due to changes in temperatures, without exerting damaging pressure on the member adjacent to it. They may be formed around exterior walls, columns, and machine bases by placing a tapered wood strip around the perimeter before concrete is placed, removing it after the concrete is set, and filling the void with some type of caulking material. Flying forms: forms designed as complete unit, large enough that the entire floor of one bay may be cast on it and capable of being moved as a unit from one position to another. Shoring: Shoring members are used to support concrete forms and their contents or other structural elements. Two types: Horizontal Shoring and Vertical Shoring. Shoring and Reshoring semicured slabs allow the contractor to transfer the construction loads through the shores without affecting the freshly poured sections.