FORMWORK (SHUTTERING)

Shuttering or formwork is the term used for temporary timber, plywood, metal or other material used to provide support to wet concrete mix till it gets strength for self support. It provides supports to horizontal, vertical and inclined surfaces or also provides support to cast concrete according to required shape and size. The formwork also produces a desired finish concrete surface.

Shuttering or formwork should be strong enough to support the weight of wet concrete mix and the pressure for placing and compacting concrete inside or on the top of formwork/shuttering. It should be rigid to prevent any deflection in the surface after laying cement concrete and be also sufficient tight to prevent loss of water and mortar form cement concrete.

The cost of formwork is considered as 20 to 25% of the cost of the structure in building work, it may be higher than this in bridges. In order to reduce the cost of form, it is necessary to design economical types of formwork and to mechanize its construction.

We should have to remove the form work when concrete has reached a suitable strength. That process of removal of formwork is also called stripping. After stripping of form it’s components are removed and can be used in other construction processes or other parts of work. The repeatable type of formwork components is known as a panel form.