Coping With Formwork

Specifications
Read carefully and ask questions early

rawings and specifica- Importance of Formwork Specs

D
BY M. K. HURD
tions are the fundamen- A rchitects and owners choose
tal tools designers use to c o n c rete as a pri m a ry building
communicate their in- material because it is economical
tentions to prospective builders. and dura b l e. Co n c rete is also a
Contractors need to carefully read unique product because it is the
and clarify concrete specifications only major structural material that
before signing the contract, instead is manufactured in the field or de-
of struggling with them afterward l i ve red to the jobsite in a plastic,
when disputes arise. Profits can unfinished state. The ultimate
shrink when disagreements esca- quality of hardened concrete is di-
late to the point of interfering with rectly affected by how the concrete
job pro g re s s. For some jobs, the is handled during all stages of the
most intense scrutiny of the speci- building process. Since the form-
fications comes in an effort to as- w o rk is typically the most costly
sign blame for something that p a rt of this pro c e s s, form w o rk
went wrong. specifications greatly affect the
overall economy and quality of the

Specifications frequently call for the architect-engineer to review and approve shoring
and reshoring operations in multistory buildings.
finished work. ifications Institute or the Corps of work will provide adequate support
Fo rm w o rk consists of the total Engineers. Reference documents both during concreting and until
system of support for freshly placed are also cited by specifiers, but they the concrete has gained adequate
c o n c re t e, including the mold or should be used judiciously. Both strength to permit form removal.
sheathing that contacts the con- ACI 347 (Ref. 1) and Formwork for The following questions usually
crete and all supporting members, C o n c re t e (Ref. 2) contain valuable need to be answered:
hardware, and bracing. Falsework, information on forming practices, • Who will design the formwork?
centering, ties, and other hardware, but they are not suitable for incor- • Who will inspect the formwork?
p ro p s, braces, shores, and sills are poration by reference, though they When will formwork be inspect-
all part of the formwork. are frequently misused in that way. ed and for what features?
Specifiers react to this complex Since reference documents are not • What approvals will be required
situation in several ways—ranging written in specification language, for formwork drawings, for
from providing simple perfor- and contain many alternatives and forms before and during con-
mance-oriented requirements to suggested methods, the specifier creting, and for form removal
preparing highly detailed step-by- should use them only as re s o u rc e and reshoring? Who will give
step project specifications. Pro- material when preparing specifica- such approvals?
duction of good specifications is a tions. A short specification for In evaluating these areas of au-
costly process, and once specifiers f o rm w o rk that is appropriate for thority and responsibility, both
find a satisfactory format and lan- incorporation by reference is found specifier and builder should review
guage, they tend to stick with it in ACI 301 “Standard Specifications any local building regulations that
year after year in spite of advances for St ru c t u ral Concrete” (Ref. 3). A may take precedence.
in forming materials and technolo- revised version of ACI 301 will be In most cases, the contractor will
gy. This is a basic problem contrac- available early in 1995. plan and design the formwork, fre-
tors often face. quently with the assistance of a
To avoid disagreements or mis- General Considerations professional engineer. With the ex-
understandings about form w o rk , Important information needed ception of unusual or very complex
contractors need to address the fol- by the form builder (see box) structures,this practice is desirable
lowing construction concerns in comes from contract drawings as since the builder is in the best po-
contract documents. well as specifications. In addition sition to evaluate available workers,
to a full description of the struc- m a t e ri a l s, equipment, and sys-
Need for Flexibility ture, general minimum require- tems, and to develop a strong and
In the American construction ments should be stated to assure efficient forming method.
tradition, contractors have the ulti- the owner and designer that form- Although formwork safety is the
mate responsibility for satisfactory
completion of the work. For con-
crete contractors, this includes lay-
out and design of the form w o rk .
This gives the builder the necessary
freedom to use knowledge and skill
to safely produce an economical
structure.
Howe ve r, it usually is necessary
to include some minimum specifi-
cations for forming practices to en-
sure that the structure will be satis-
factory. The extent of these
specifications depends on the
scope and complexity of the job
and on the competence and exper-
tise of the contractors. Keeping well
informed on advances in formwork
technology can help the specifier
create an effective specification that
contains only the essential details. Typical forming for concrete slabs composite with steel frames uses hangers to
Many specifiers develop in- support all deck loads from the steel beams. The older-style frames (left) were
house master specifications follow- strong enough to carry the load without shoring. With the much lighter steel
ing guide documents such as those cross section (right) common in many designs today, the contractor may have to
provided by the Construction Spec- provide shoring and lateral bracing during construction.
fundamental responsibility of the
contractor, the architect-engineer INFORMATION NEEDED BY THE FORM BUILDER
often provides in the contract doc-
uments for review and approval of Contractdrawingsandspecifica- hibited on beam soffits and col-
the formwork, including drawings t i o n sw o r kt o g e t h e rt og i v eb u i l d e r s umn corners?
and calculations. This is necessary a f u l ld e s c r i p t i o no ft h ed e s i re d • The number, location, and de-
for structures whose design is structure s ot h e yc a nd e v e l o pa ne f- tails of all expansion and con-
based on a particular construction f i c i e n tp l a nf o rt h ef o rm w o r k .I fv i t a l traction joints. Are there any
method, and for structures such as p i e c e so fi n f o rm a t i o na re lacking, restrictions on the location of
askforclarification. construction joints?
multistory buildings where form-
In addition to obvious dimen-
work and the partially completed • Architectural concrete location
sions and layout, look for the
structure interact. and details. When architectural
items listed here when bidding or
treatment is required for mem-
planning a job. (Not all these
Stripping Time and bers that also are structural, it
items will be found on every job.)
Reshoring Provisions should be referenced on the
• Loads for which the structure is structural drawings to guide the
Minimum requirements for form
designed, including dead load, form builder.
stripping time are usually specified
live load, and allowances for • Clear definitionof s u rf a c e quali-
on major work because of possible
partitions, mechanical equip- ty. There are limits ofacceptabil-
damage to the concrete and injury ment, or special conditions. ity even for structural concrete.
to construction workers. When Codes require this information
forms are stripped, there must be • R e q u i re m e n t sf o ri n s e rt s ,w a t e r-
to be shown; for multistory s t o p s ,h o l e s ,a n do p e n i n g s as
no evidence of excessive deflection, buildings it is particularly impor- w e l la si n t e rf a c e sb e t w e e nf o rm-
cracking, or other damage to the tant for planning of shoring and w o r ka n dt h ew o r ko fo t h e rt r a d e s .
concrete due to the removal of sup- reshoring.
• Composite construction—what
port or the stripping operation. Lo- • Tolerances for plumb, level, intermediate supports, braces,
cal codes may include restrictions area, thickness, and location, or shores are required under
on stripping, and all such applica- as they apply to individual stay-in-place forms or under
ble requirements should be care- members and the structure as members that are designed for
fully reviewed. a whole. composite action?
Supporting forms and shores • Is camber required for slab and • Post-tensioned structures—how
must not be removed from beams, beam soffits? w i l ll o a d transferduring post-ten-
floors, and walls until these struc- • Are chamfers required or pro- sioning a ff e c t t h ef o rmwork?
tural units are strong enough to
carry their own weight and any su-
perimposed load (unless provision and for excessive creep deflections include:
has been made through re s h o ri n g to occur. Co n c e rn over cre e p • Cast-in-place cylinders (slabs
or other means to allow for the an- (long-term deflection under load) only)
ticipated temporary construction leads some designers to specify • Penetration resistance test
loads). Most forms for ve rt i c a l stripping times that seem unrea- • Pullout resistance
members, such as walls and sonable to contractors. Howe ve r, • Maturity factor measurements
columns, can be removed earlier— the architect-engineer who de- Form removal in multistory con-
sometimes after 12 hours of normal signed the stru c t u re and under- struction presents special prob-
curing—than those for beams and stands its behavior under load can lems. With the rapid cycles neces-
slabs. Vertical forms support little best determine what concre t e sary for construction efficiency,
or no load after the concrete hard- s t rength is re q u i red before sup- shoring that supports fresh or part-
ens and lateral pressure is relieved. ports can be removed. ly mature concrete rests on lower
The concrete strength re q u i re d When specifiers set a strength re- floors that may not yet have at-
b e f o re form w o rk is stripped and quirement for form removal, they tained full strength. Fu rt h e rm o re,
the time necessary to attain it vary should also indicate how the loads during construction often ex-
with job conditions. A rule of strength is to be determined. The ceed the load for which the slabs
thumb for strength requirements, most common method is the com- are designed. Thus the removal of
such as two-thirds of design pressive strength test of field-cured, forms and shores must be part of a
strength, is not always satisfactory. 6x12-inch cylinders. Howe ve r, the planned procedure considering the
Even when concrete is stro n g ACI 318 Building Code now recog- t e m p o ra ry support of the whole
enough to show no immediate dis- nizes other methods of strength s t ru c t u re as well as that of each
tress or deflection under load, it is evaluation, subject to approval of member. This procedure must be
still possible for corners and edges the building official. These meth- worked out before construction,
to be damaged during stri p p i n g ods, now standardized by ASTM, usually by a structural engineer
working for the contractor. Specifi- ances in the contract documents. ments to assure reasonable success
cations generally require that the can be stated without specifying ac-
procedure be submitted for review Camber tual methods of construction.
and approval by the engineer-ar- Often it is necessary to set form- Astute architects may choose to
chitect before construction begins. work elevations before concreting incorporate tie holes and rustica-
to compensate for one or more of tion grooves as part of the pattern
Construction Tolerances the following: of the structure’s surface. Rustica-
Tolerances are the permitted • Anticipated deflection of the tions can conceal construction and
variations from lines, grades, or di- completed structure under load contraction joints and minimize
mensions given in the contract from the time it begins to carry jointing problems when textured
drawings. These permissible va ri a- its own weight. This can involve form liners are used. In these cas-
tions must be considered in the both instantaneous and long- es, the specifications require the
formwork design. An explicit state- term deflection. contractor to submit shop draw-
ment of tolerances in the contract • Optical sag, or the illusion of ings of the formwork so the archi-
documents is pre f e ra b l e. Lacking sagging in long-span members tect-engineer can verify that joint
such guidance, the form designer that are perfectly horizontal. and tie-hole patterns are compati-
will rely on standard construction • Anticipated deflection or settle- ble with the effects desired.
tolerances such as those given in ment of the forms and their Usually it is preferable to specify
ACI 117 (Ref. 4). For arc h i t e c t u ra l supports. the desired surface rather than all
concrete work, more exacting spec- The architect or engineer speci- the methods and materials for
ifications are often necessary. fies the camber (or slight upward achieving it. How can a specifica-
Current ACI standard recom- curvature of a structural member) tion satisfactorily define an archi-
mendations for building construc- that may be required to compen- tectural concrete surface that will
tion limit deviation from plumb to: sate for the anticipated deflection be evaluated on the basis of a visu-
• 1 inch for heights of 100 feet or less of the finished structure or to over- al inspection? ACI Committee 303
• 1⁄1000 of the height for heights more come the optical illusion of sag. (Ref. 5) suggests using:
than 100 feet, but never more Traditionally, the builder is respon- • Prebid conferences
than 6 inches sible for compensating for deflec- • Design reference samples
For the outside corner of exposed tion or settlement of the formwork, • Preconstruction mock-ups
corner columns and control-joint which can be caused by a combina- The preconstruction mock-up is
g ro oves in concrete, deviations are tion of factors such as closure of p re f e r red, where the budget per-
limited to half of the above. form joints, settlement of mud sills, mits. It is a full-scale sample of ar-
ACI 117 permits only a 3⁄4-inch de- lumber shrinkage, and deflection of chitectural concrete which the suc-
viation of formed surfaces from de- the forms. cessful bidder erects at the jobsite
sign elevation before removal of If no camber is specified, the using all the materials and con-
s h o re s. The permitted deviation builder can request guidance struction practices to be used on
from cross-section dimensions in rather than risk a sagging span of the actual job. Joint forming details,
columns, beams, and walls is: concrete. Satisfactory performance tie-hole treatment, and other fea-
+3⁄8 inch, 1⁄4 inch where the di- by the contractor is generally tures of the formwork are thus test-
mension is 12 inches or less judged on the basis of elevation af- ed in advance and approved by the
+1⁄2 inch, 3⁄8 inch where the di- ter settlement or deflection of specifying agency before the archi-
mension is from 12 to 36 inches f o rm w o rk and before forms and tectural concrete work begins.
+1 inch, 3⁄4 inch where the di- supports (shores) are removed. The Provision for the mock-up,
mension is more than 36 inches contractor should not be held re- sometimes called a test bent, is
The form designer must set lim- sponsible for immediate or creep made in the specifications so it be-
its on formwork construction to deflection of the structure after comes part of the construction
meet these tolerances. For architec- shoring has been removed. contract and its cost is included in
tural concrete, not specifically cov- the bid. The mock-up remains on
ered by ACI 117, another ACI rec- Architectural Concrete the jobsite as an ongoing reminder
ommendation (Ref. 5) limits design For architectural concrete, the to the contractor and designer of
deflection of most formwork com- specifier often must give more than the accepted standard.
ponents to 1⁄400 times the span of the p e rf o rmance specifications. Extra
formwork member. These ACI rec- attention to forming details are Composite Construction
ommendations are likely to be cit- needed, particularly for limiting Structures designed so that con-
ed as reasonable standards if the f o rm w o rk deflections and making crete portions act compositely with
designer has not set explicit toler- joints watertight. Minimum require- other materials or parts of the
s t ru c t u re present special forming tural Concrete (ACI 301-94),” Ameri-
p ro b l e m s. Requirements for sup- can Concrete Institute (revised edition
available in early 1995).
port during construction should be
clearly presented in the contract 4. “Standard Tolerances for Concrete
Construction (ACI 117-90),” American
documents. Older-style (pre-1980) Concrete Institute, 1990.
steel-frame buildings typically had
5. “Guide to Cast-in-Place Architec-
enough strength to support all the tural Concrete Practice (ACI 303R-
loads from concrete deck forming 91),” American Concrete Institute,
and pouring operations without 1991.
additional shoring and bracing. To- 6. Ramon J. Cook, “Building Concrete
day’s buildings, which are designed Slabs Composite with Steel Frames,”
with lighter, thinner steel frames, Concrete Construction, November
often lack that strength and only 1989, page 938.
achieve adequate design strength 7. “Concrete Specifications: Read and
when deck concrete is in place and Write Them Carefully,” Concrete Tech-
nology Today, July 1994, Portland Ce-
fully cured. Frequently, the thinner ment Association, Skokie, Ill.
steel frames deflect enough during
8. “Building Code Requirements for
construction to pose serious prob- Reinforced Concrete (ACI 318-89),”
lems at the jobsite (see drawing). American Concrete Institute, 1989.
Some designers carefully specify
the shoring and bracing re q u i re d
before and during construction,
but others assume the contractor
knows what is needed and will put
in the right amount. Reference 6
provides more details on building
concrete slabs composite with steel
frames.

References
1. “Guide to Formwork for Concrete
(ACI 347-94),” American Concrete In-
stitute, Detroit, 1994.
2. M. K. Hurd, Formwork for Concrete, PUBLICATION #C940870
SP-4, American Concrete Institute,
Copyright © 1994, The Aberdeen Group
fifth edition, 1989.
All rights reserved
3. “Standard Specifications for Struc-