Adelaide Northern Expressway Center Pier Steel Cage

The steel cage was pre-fabricated on site on top of the same formwork shuttering which will be used to form-up this 6 meter tall structure.

Construction Workers To Feed The Steel Cage Into The Base

Formworkers, steelfixers, riggers and supervisors work together feeding the cage into the base making sure that every steel bar in the cage is in the correct position in relation to the starter base steel.

Steel Cage Fixed Into Position

After the steel cage is fixed into position, the structure is ready to be enclosed by formwork shuttering. The finished concrete structure will be a narrow 600mm at the bottom and 1500mm at the top.

Instead of the regular workplace BBQ lunch on a Saturday, why not try out a workplace Lamb On A Spit like we did here at this construction site in Port Adelaide. The site is being used by Adelaide Aqua to prefabricate pre-cast concrete and large steel piles for the Port Stanvac Desalination Project.

We had seasoned Lamb-On-A-Spit Professional Branko on the team who prepared, cooked and carved the lamb to perfection.

Branko’s delicious roasting lamb smell wafted over the whole construction site, enticing most of the construction workers over to have a great tasting lunch before hooking back into work. After most of the site ate, there was plenty left over for hot lamb sandwiches the next day.

I voted 10 out of 10 for Branko’s Lamb On A Spit as did everyone else who tried it.

While this slab formwork “may” hold the concrete, it could be done a bit more professionally by using plywood rips and a bedlog to straighten the edgeform instead of wire. I can’t believe the formworkers that did this job recon it was ready for concrete.

Dodgy Formwork

Using wire back to a single pin to pull the formwork into line is dodgy and time-consuming because the pin can flex (or the wire can break) and put a “dog leg” in the formwork.

Dodgy Formwork Braced without a Bedlog

Tip: If it is important to have nice straight formwork (it should be), always use a bedlog. A bedlog enables you to push and pull the formwork into the exact position, secure it properly and “walk away”.

Even if it is not important to have nice straight formwork because the crooked concrete will “never be seen”, it is not a good look to have dog-legs in a concrete slab. By the way – It will be seen before it is never seen. It will be seen by bosses and inspectors.

Here’s another thrust block formwork job we had to do, but this time it was below the water table which means that water would be continually pouring into the job the whole time.

Thrust Block Excavation

Imagine arriving at this job and they say they want a couple of thrust blocks around these pipes, and they want it quick coz it’s “just a couple of thrust blocks”

Pumping the Water Out

Not only that, Des had to be very careful while digging out this watery goop to avoid damage to the fiber optic telecomminications and electrical cables while the pump pumps water out all day long. Des named this job The Swamp Monster

Concrete Thrust Blocks (Pump Still Pumping)

Finally the job is done and the Concrete Thrust Blocks are in position. The formwork for this job was almost the same as this other thrust block formwork we did.

Mechanical Fitter Leigh (Hollywood) giving Admin LJ a few welding tips.

Leigh and LJ at Prominent Hill Mine

After constructing this bridge abutment formwork at the Port River Expressway, formwork carpenters Steve, Simon and Tony now have to place and finish the concrete as well.

Formworkers Steve, Simon and Tony

Steel bridge spans will now placed from these abutments to the concrete columns.