INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY INNOVATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (IJIIRD)

ISSN: 2456-236X Vol. 01 Issue 04, May-2017

TIMBER FORMWORK
Patil Sneha Mahesh Bidavi Riddhi Rajendra Frade Supriya Chandrakant Wable Vaishali Vishwanath
Department of Civil Department of Civil Department of Civil Department of Civil
Engineering Engineering Engineering Engineering
ARMIET, ARMIET, ARMIET, ARMIET,
Shahapur, India Shahapur, India Shahapur, India Shahapur, India
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Abstract- Formwork is significantly important activity for

concreting. Good quality of formwork can contribute a great too II. NECESSITY OF TIMBER FORMWORK
good quality of concrete. It not only holds the concrete during its 1. Requirements of good formwork:
wet stage but has many other important functions in this activity In order to successfully carry out its function, formwork
of concreting. Bad formwork has often yielded failures of minor
as well as major magnitude. It is also fairly popular as shuttering.
must achieve a balance of following requirements:
Its functional as well as financial share in the entire concreting  Containment: formwork must be capable of shaping and
activity can't be ignored. supporting the fluid concrete until it cures.
Many types of formwork exist across the globe. Many dimensions  Strength: formwork must be capable of safely withstanding
are attached to this activity. It is desired to touch upon some without distortion or danger the dead weight of the fluid
normal facts about formwork in the paper. An effort is made concrete is placed on it, labour weight, equipment weight
here to bring them before you in understandable manner. Let us and any environmental loadings.
begin this small trip of understanding about formwork which is
like a preparation for big journey to concreting.
 Resistance to leakage: all joints in form work must be
Lot of people tend in think that formwork is semi skilled either close fitting of covered with form tape to make them
occupation. To be fair there are a lot of guys who start off as grout tight. If grout leakage occurs the concrete Will leak at
laborers and finish up a formwork carpenters without any that point. Leakages cause honeycombing of the surface.
formal training. It is a fair bit of hard manual labor involved, but  Accuracy: formwork must be accurately set out so that the
it is a very tricky job and it takes just as much know how to do resulting concrete product is in a right place and is of correct
properly as any other jobs in the building trade. shape and dimensions.
 Ease of handling: form panels and units should be designed
Keywords: Formwork, Mould, Timber, Column, Cost, Quality,
Safety.
so that their maximum size does not exceed that which can
be easily handled by hand or mechanical means. In addition
I. INTRODUCTION all formwork must also be designed and constructed to
Formwork is a die or a mould including all include facilities for adjustments, leveling, easing and
supporting structures, used to shape and support the concrete striking without damage to the form work or concrete.
until it attains sufficient strength to carry its own weight. It  Finish and reuse potential: the form face material must be
should be capable of carrying all imposed dead and live loads selected to be capable of consistently imparting the desired
apart from its own weight. Formwork has been in use since the concrete finish (smooth, textured, featured or exposed
beginning of concrete construction. New materials such as aggregate etc.) At the same time it should also achieve the
steel, plastics and fiberglass are used in formwork. Greater required number of reuse.
attention is being given to the design, fabrication, erection and  Access for concrete: any formwork arrangement must be
dismantling of formwork. provide access for placing of the concrete. The extent of this
In other words “Formwork is a structure, temporary provision will be dependent on the ease of carrying out the
which is designed to contain fresh fluid concrete. Form it into concrete operations.
the required shape and dimensions. Support it until it cures  Economy: all the formwork is very expensive. On average
sufficiently to become self-supporting.” The term „formwork‟ about 35% of the total cost of any finished concrete unit or
includes the actual material contact with the concrete, known element can be attributed to its formwork; of this just over
as form face, and all the necessary associated supporting 40% can be taken for material for formwork and 60% for
structure. labour. The formwork designer must therefore not only
consider the maximum number of times that any form can
be reused, but also produce a design that will minimize the
time taken for erection and striking.

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY INNOVATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (IJIIRD)

ISSN: 2456-236X Vol. 01 Issue 04, May-2017

III. SCOPE AND STUDY AREA better coordinated. Room sizes can vary a few inches to
accommodate the structural design ;
The scope of this Project is limited to the structural  The engineer/architect should consider architectural
elements of building projects such as column, beam, slab, features, depressions, and openings for mechanical or
shear wall and stair that are casted in the construction site. In electrical work when detailing the structural system, with
addition this research will be based on the comparison of two the aim of achieving economy. Variations in the structural
type of formwork for concrete elements. It will not be focused system caused by such items should be shown on the
on the rivalry between two specific opposing systems, nor that structural plans. Wherever possible, depressions in the
between two different manufacturers. The purpose is not to tops of slabs should be made without a corresponding
prove that one product is superior to another, but rather to break in elevations of soffits of slabs, beams or joists;
determine which systems, steel panel or timber panel, are  Embedment for attachment to or penetration through the
superior. concrete structure should be design to minimize random
The research was conducted for different category of building penetration of formed surface;
type such as apartment, office, multipurpose, condominium  Avoid locating columns or walls, even for few floors,
and hospital buildings. The study compromise different where they would interfere with the use of large
category of contractors, starting from grade 6 up to grade 1 formwork shoring units in otherwise clear bays.
contractor, involved in the construction of building projects.
VI. LITERATURE REVIEW

IV. OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH WORK The type of formwork systems used is among the key
factors determining the success of a construction project in
 To study the present condition of timber formwork and its terms of speed, quality, cost and safety of works. Therefore,
material. selecting the formwork system, that is, making structural
 To do various types of timber formwork to obtain the frames faster, simpler, and less costly to build, must begin in
good design. the earliest phase of the design efforts(Basher Alamin,
 To design the best and effective formwork. 1999).Generally there are two board category of formwork
 To design and analysis the timber formwork in different system as horizontal and vertical formwork system; these are
types. described in detail below.
As we research the topic of timber formwork for
concrete it is anticipated that this review will continue to grow
as we find more work previously done, more opinions and are
V. ECONOMICAL CONSIDERATION OF FORMWORK able to search more specifically following our own findings in
preliminary tests. It is also to be expected that the literature
review will begin to become more specific as we become
 To simplify and permit maximum reuse of formwork, the experts on the subject and follow detailed areas of research
dimensions of footings, columns and beams should be of within the field.
standard material multiples, and the number of sizes At this time, much of the literature reviewed is broad
should be minimized; overviews as we familiarize ourselves with the timber
 When interior columns are the same width as or smaller formwork process and what has been done in the field as a
than the girders they support, the column form becomes whole rather than looking too specifically at the formwork for
a simple rectangular or square box without box outs, and non-prismatic columns.
the slab form does not have to be cut out at each corner of Among the first pieces of literature looked at
the column ; was Formwork for Concrete Structures, 1965 by A.E.
 When all beams are made one depth (beams framing into Wynn & G.P. Manning. This was to gain a better
beams as well as beams framing into columns), the understanding of traditional formwork solutions, primarily the
supporting structures for the beam form can be carried on application of timber formwork. The book stresses the need
level platform supported on shores; for skilled and experienced craftsmanship highlighting the
 Considering available sizes of dressed lumber, plywood, potentially huge costs in time, money and materials should the
formwork be constructed incorrectly. Just some of the
and other ready-made formwork components and
problems that can arise include; material waste due to
keeping beam and joist sizes constant will reduce labor
excessive timber used, failure due to inadequate timber used,
time;
lengthy construction due to inexperience, lengthy dismantling
 The design of the structure should be based on the use of
due to inexperience, high transport costs… etc. The book also
one standard depth wherever possible when states that these issues are particularly important when casting
commercially available forming systems, such as one or
concrete columns as strength is extremely important and any
two-way joist systems, are used;
finish defects will be more obvious than on other elements.
 The structural design should be prepared simultaneously
with the architectural design so that dimensions can be

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ISSN: 2456-236X Vol. 01 Issue 04, May-2017

Pedreschi also highlights three perceptions of concrete  Based on rental cost of the formwork system all
construction that fabric formwork directly challenges. These respondents prefer steel formwork system than timber
are; formwork system. As remark all respondents pointed out
that finding rental timber formwork is difficult and there
• It is a harsh and unforgiving material is no company that involved in renting timber formwork.
• Accuracy requires great skill and detail specification  Modern timber formwork system such as MDF and ply
• Complexity in form is expensive wood improve productivity of labour force. Factors such
as less required time of maintenance, large panel size and
smooth formwork face for modern formwork system with
RESULTS AND ANALYSIS compared to steel formwork system helps in improving
productivity of MDF and ply wood formworks.
 The average per meter square cost of steel formwork is
Table (1). Average cost of formwork per square meter higher than timber formwork system. Cost of steel beam
Respondents(R) Steel

Structural
Timber formwork is 17.05% higher than timber beam formwork,
R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9
Average Average
column steel formwork costs 22.88% higher than timber
element Cost
Cost column formwork and steel slab formwork costs 23.16%
Beam 35* 65 70* 250* 150 132* 108* 90 119 101.67
than timber slab formwork. Taking average the difference
is steel formwork costs 16.96% higher than timber
Column 35* 65 70* 250* 150 94* 108* 90 72 115.75 94.2
formwork.
Slab 35* 40* 55 250* 150 132* 108* 90 72 113 91.75  The main justifications for this statement is steel
formwork can be reused for so many time than timber
Stair 35* 55* 75* 250* 150 132* 108 90 72 109.4 105
formwork system, it required less number of props for
Shear wall 35* 90 70* 250* 150 94 108 90 72 118.33 100.67 beams and slabs, it easily available for rental and it is
possible to maintain.
 For best quality of finished concrete, it is better to use
modern timber formwork system such as MDF and ply
Table (2). Average cost difference for steel & timber formwork per square
meter. wood. Modern timber formwork system have smooth
Structural Steel Timber Difference in surface that helps in the time of removing the formwork
elements formwork formwork both from concrete surface.
average cost average cost  The type of formwork used in building projects affects
per meter per meter the productivity of labour force.
square. square.
Beam 119 101.67 17.4 RECOMMENDATIONS
Columns 115.75 94.2 21.55
Slabs 113 91.75 21.25 Based on my findings the following two
recommendations are given on cost and time of construction
Stairs 109.4 105 4.4 of the formwork.
Shear wall 118.33 100.7 17.66 1. Cost of formwork system:-
Unlike our perception the cost of steel formwork
system does not have much difference with compared to cost
of timber formwork system. Even in same projects the cost of
imported modern timber formwork system is greater than
CONCLUSION conventional steel formwork system. Thus proper life cycle
costing should be performed by contractors to accurately
The main objective of this research is to compare steel determine whether the steel formwork system used in building
and timber formwork for building projects and to come up projects will justify the higher initial cost when looked at over
which system advantageous in regarding with cost, quality and the lifespan of the forms.
completion time of the of building projects. Considering these
three parameters analysis has been done in chapter four and 2. Completion time of formwork:-
based the results of the analysis the following conclusion has Steel formwork can have faster rate of erection
been made:- during construction when we compared with timber formwork
 Initial cost analysis of the formwork shows that timber system but this is not always true when comes to modern
formwork is cheaper than steel formwork but most of the timber formwork system they improve the productivity of the
respondents prefer to buy steel formwork over timber crew. Thus future research should focus on better defining
formwork system. and quantifying the influence of type of formwork on
productivity of crew. Factors such as formwork maintenance,

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ISSN: 2456-236X Vol. 01 Issue 04, May-2017

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The following three suggestions are put forward for 11. American Concrete Institute (ACI), Committee 347R-94.
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 The effect of type of formwork on the productivity of 12. Alamin, B. (1999). Analysis of construction loads on
the crew concrete formwork. Unpublished master‟s thesis, Concorde
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formwork face on the productivity
 Life cycle costing of the formwork in the projects 13. American Society of Concrete Contractors ASCC (2008),
The Contractor‟s Guide to Quality Concrete Construction,
USA
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