Formwork Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Foundations’

Foundations and Concrete Work (For Pros By Pros)

• ISBN13: 9781561589906
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Foundation work is not the glamorous side of home building. It is hard, dirty work. But it’s also the work upon which all other work rests, and so a good foundation is critical to every home.

No source of knowledge on foundations and concrete work is better respected or more widely followed than that provided by the authors of “Fine Homebuilding” magazine.

This latest edition from the editors of Fine Homebuilding is the biggest and most authoritative volume yet on the subject.

At 288 pages with more than 400 illustrative on-the-job photographs and drawings, Foundations and Concrete Work distills centuries of hands-on builder-tested methods and techniques as the finest builders in the country pass on the hard-won trade secrets for better construction.

Rating: (out of 16 reviews)

List Price: $ 24.95

Price: $ 15.75

Working with Concrete

• ISBN13: 9781561586141
• Condition: USED – VERY GOOD

The fate of any house literally rests on its foundation.

From design and excavation issues to formwork, reinforcement, drainage, and waterproofing details, this handy guide covers the full range of residential concrete work. Author Rick Arnold, a foundation contractor and coauthor of Precision Framing, walks the reader through all the steps.

Also included are chapters on foundations built from materials other than concrete (blocks, ICFs, wood) and on flatwork (slabs, walkways, patios). These clear instructions for building a concrete foundation are accompanied by over 200 color photos and dozens of color illustrations.

Rating: (out of 7 reviews)

List Price: $ 19.95

Price: $ 12.57

More Concrete Construction Products.

At the start, the video shows some concrete being pumped into a slab, then towards the end, it shows some kind of traveling wall formwork system with that all familiar sound of formwork carpenters hammering away.

A bit more information would have been handy

Here is two more pedestal formwork examples. The pedestal forms will be used on typical pedestal bases (shown below). We begin by forming up the bases.

Pedestal Base Formwork

After the base concrete is poured, the formwork is stripped leaving the pedestal steel starters exposed. After the steelfixers fix the remaining steel to the starters, it is time to assemble the pedestal formwork.

Typical Pedestal Base

On this job there are many pedestals this particular size (1200mm H x 1100mm x 1100mm) so we are using conventional timber and plywood formwork along with prefabricated steel forms.

Example #1 – Conventional Pedestal Formwork

One box composed of four small formwork shutters held together with z-bars and strong-backs.

Conventional Pedestal Formwork

Example #2 – Prefabricated Steel Pedestal Formwork

One box composed of two steel forms held together with nuts and bolts.

Prefabricated Steel Pedestal Formwork

There is several of these steel forms on this job because there are lots of these typical (exactly the same) pedestals.

Prefabricated Steel Pedestal Formwork

A closer look at the bolt template, bolts, tolerance tubes and shear key.

Pedestal Bolt Template and Shear Key Formwork

Here is the finished pedestal. If you look closely, you will notice that the shear key formwork is yet to be stripped.

Finished Pedestal

Here is an example of a very simple formwork box which is ready for concrete. It is held together with z-bars at the top and bottom on the corners while the centers are held together with z-bars at the top with pins and wedges at the bottom.

Pedestal Base Formwork

The pedestal formwork will be assembled after the concrete base is poured and set.

Dimensions: 2000mm x 2000mm wide x 1200mm high.

Location: Prominent Hill Mining Construction Site South Australia – Weigh Bridge Section

While the sump with ladder formwork was a pain in the neck to construct due to the fiddly ladder treads, it is always good to see that the job turned out pretty good.

Concrete Sump with Ladder

Concrete patchers will now come along and plug the z-bar holes.

Location: Project Magnet – Iron Duke Mining Construction Site Whyalla South Australia

Concretors Darryl and and Willow about to pour concrete into this Octagonal Pedestal Foundation.

Octagonal Concrete Foundation

Location: Prominent Hill Mining Construction Site South Australia – Weigh Bridge Section

Timber used to brace internal sump formwork at Prominent Hill weigh bridge.

Sump Formwork with Ladder

You’ll notice that one of the center timbers is not used to brace the formwork, rather, it is used to support the yellow ladder treads. Extra z-bars and timbers that support the external forms are also just visible in the above photo.

Sump Formwork Ladder Support

The vertical timber holds the ladder treads firmly against the plywood while the treads are wired to a nail (not visible) keeping the treads horizontal.

Sump Formwork Ladder (internal view)

You’ll also notice that there is two pieces of ply used in the center of the ladder tread instead of one which makes easy work when it comes to stripping. On the other hand, if one piece of ply is used for these types of formwork, it is a time-consuming nightmare to strip.

Location: Project Magnet – Iron Duke Mining Construction Site Whyalla South Australia

Formwork carpenters Dale and Max helping out with this foundation concrete pour. Formworkers at this mining construction site help out regularly with concrete work whenever there is not enough concretors on site.

Dale and Max at Iron Duke Whyalla

Location: Tugun Bypass Project Queensland Australia

This little formwork job was made quick and easy because there was plenty of Blinding to place the concrete forms and to brace off. The supervisor on this job asked how much Blinding we wanted, and to our amazement, enough was supplied.

Crash Barrier Foundation Formwork

Too often, formwork foundation jobs are made difficult and time-consuming when there is not enough concrete Blinding to secure the formwork. This usually happens when earth movers or supervisors do not consult with the formworkers and go on to blind to the exact size of the job according to the drawings.

I have had supervisors get the plan out and argue that the blinding is the right size because that is the size of the job on the drawing. On the other hand, experienced civil supervisors know to allow extra blinding not only for the concrete forms, but for bracing and holding-down as well.