Under Pressure – Your Guide to Expert Concrete Placement

Several conditions must be met for successful concrete placement. Formwork has to be carefully set up for the job. All the right bracing must be in place as well as ties and anchors. When the truck arrives the pour must happen at the right pace.

Sometimes a pour starts going fast. A little too fast. As the head foreman you may begin to wonder about the ability of the forms to hold up during an expedited pour.

Speed of placement is something that should be on every contractor’s mind when looking at concrete forms for sale. It could be the difference between a well done job and a disaster.

The Weight of Speedy Concrete Placement

It’s no secret that concrete weights a lot – 150 pounds per cubic foot to be exact. The problem comes when all that weight is compounded with weight above it during a speedy placement. This is because of the hydrostatic pressure that forms when none of the concrete has started hardening yet.

For example, if you have a 10 ft. wall, all of the sudden that 150 lb. cubic foot at the bottom of the wall has the pressure of 1500 lbs. per cubic foot, leading to immediate problems. In this case a concrete vibrator can even compound those problems just by doing the job it’s supposed to do as it makes the wall even denser.

The Damage of Speedy Concrete Placement

Formwork has certain allowable pressure specifications. These are quickly exceeded during a quick concrete pour. The extra weight damages the formwork, causing deflections and bulges in the formwork and even blowouts that could jeopardize worker safety.

This leads to expensive repairs to the formwork from the damage, but the expense doesn’t stop there. The bulges in the formwork make a nonconforming wall surface that has to be ground back down to proper specifications. This eats into time workers could be working on other parts of the job.

Slow the Concrete Pouring Process Down

In order to prevent equipment damage due to extreme weight from pouring too fast, the concrete pouring process should be slowed down. This allows the cement at the bottom of the form enough time to harden, supporting the weight above instead of multiplying its force on the formwork.

This is a situation where you will more than recoup the extra time it takes to do it right. This is the one point where the proper speed is everything. Save the speed for other parts of the job like form set up and removal.

Where to Get the Right Concrete Forming Equipment for the Job

Logistics for your next concrete forming job doesn’t have to be a headache with the right equipment to keep things rolling smoothly. Your next job can be made easier with quality new, refurbished, or rented concrete forming equipment from Forming America. Contact Forming America or call 1-888-993-1304 today to get the right concrete forming equipment for the job at hand.