TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

ITEM 03100
CONCRETE FORMWORK

1.0

GENERAL

1.1

DESCRIPTION

This section defines requirements and limitations for design, construction, erection, and removal of
concrete formwork for this project.
1.2

REFERENCE STANDARD

American Concrete Institute; ACI 347, "Recommended Practice for Concrete Formwork."

2.0

PRODUCTS

2.1

MATERIALS
a. Forms for As-Cast Finish
(1) Rough Form Finish. Dressed or undressed lumber free of knots, splits, or other defects;
plywood; metal; other approved material.
(2) Smooth Form Finish. Plywood, tempered, concrete-form hardboard; dressed lumber faced
with plywood; metal; plastic; other approved material. Do not use material with raised grain,
torn surface, work edges, patches, dents, or other defects.
b. Form Accessories
(1) Use commercially manufactured ties, hangers, and other accessories for embedding in
concrete. Use of wire which is not commercially fabricated as form accessories is not
permitted.
(2) Install form ties so that ends or end fasteners can be removed without causing spalling of
concrete faces.
(3) When formed concrete face will not be permanently exposed to view, form ties may be cut
flush with formed surfaces.
(4) When formed concrete face will be exposed to view and after ends or end fasteners of form
ties have been removed, the embedded portion must be at least -inch (") or twice the
minimum dimension of the tie from formed concrete faces.
c.

Form Coating. Use commercial formulation of form oil or form-release agent having proven
satisfactory performance. Coating must not bond with, stain, or adversely effect concrete
surfaces. It must not impair subsequent treatment of concrete surfaces, including bonding agents
and curing compounds.

03100-1

d. Chamfer Strips. Provide in corners of forms to produce beveled edges on permanently exposed
surfaces. Size of chamfer is -inch (") unless shown otherwise. Interior corners and edges of
formed joints do not require beveling unless otherwise shown.
2.2

DESIGN OF FORMWORK

Design formwork for loads, lateral pressure, and allowable stresses as described in the reference
standard (ACI 347). Allow for design consideration, wind loads, allowable stresses, and other applicable
requirements of controlling local building codes.
a. Tolerances.
(1) For concrete surfaces exposed to view, the maximum allowable deflection is 1/240 of the
span between structural members.
(2) When necessary to maintain specified tolerances, chamfer formwork to compensate for
anticipated deflection during concrete hardening.
(3) Design forms sufficiently tight to prevent loss of mortar.
b. Earth Cuts For Forms. For beams under slabs on grade, use earth cuts for forms where beams
are shown to have sloping sides and are integral with slab. Earth cuts may be used for sides of
footings if sides of excavation are in stable condition to prevent caving or sloughing.
c.

Slip Forming. Not permitted.

3.0

EXECUTION

3.1

NOTIFICATION

At least 24 hours prior to scheduled concrete placement, notify the Engineer that formwork may be
inspected. Do not place concrete until forms have been inspected and approved.
3.2

PREPARATION
a. Anchor, brace, and tie formwork to shores, members, or other supporting surfaces to prevent
upward or lateral movement to any part of formwork system during concrete placement. Tighten
forms to close joints and insure conformance to specified lines and shapes. Remove and rebuild
forms that cannot be tightened properly.
b. Arrange facing material in an orderly and symmetrical fashion. Keep the number of seams to a
practical minimum. Support facing material adequately to prevent deflection in excess of
specified tolerances.
c.

For flush surfaces exposed to view, overlap previously placed, hardened concrete with form
sheeting by approximately one-inch (1"). Hold forms against hardened concrete to maintain true
surfaces, preventing offsets or loss of mortar.

d. Provide temporary openings at the base of column and wall forms and at other points required.
The openings facilitate observation and cleaning immediately before concrete is placed.
e. If runways are required for moving equipment, provide for support of runways with struts or legs
resting directly on the formwork or structural member. Do not allow runways or supports to rest
on reinforcing steel.
03100-2

3.3

ADJUSTMENTS
a. Use wedges or jacks to provide positive adjustment of shores and struts. Wedges used for final
adjustment of forms should be fastened in position after final inspection and before concrete
placement.
b. Securely brace forms against lateral deflections.
concrete placement.
c.

3.4

Prepare to compensate for settling during

For wall openings, construct wood forms that facilitate any necessary loosening to counteract
swelling of forms.
TOLERANCES

a. Construct formwork so that concrete surfaces will conform to tolerance limits as listed in the
appropriate table at the end of this section.
b. Establish sufficient control points and bench marks as references for tolerance checks. Maintain
these references in undisturbed condition until final completion and acceptance of the project.
3.5

PREPARATION OF FORM SURFACES

a. Before placing concrete, clean surfaces of forms and embedded materials. Remove accumulated
mortar, grout, rust and other foreign matter.
b. Coat forms for exposed or painted concrete surfaces with form oil or form-release agent before
placing reinforcement. Cover form surfaces with coating material used in strict accordance with
the manufacturer's printed instructions. Do not allow excess coating material to accumulate in
forms or to contact hardened concrete against which fresh concrete will be placed. Remove
coating material from reinforcement before placing concrete.
c.

3.6

Other than retained-in-place metal forms, forms for unexposed surfaces may be wet with water
immediately before concrete placement in lieu of coating. One exception is that when a possibility
of freezing temperatures exists, use of a coating is mandatory.
REMOVAL OF FORMS

a. On vertical surfaces when repair of surfaces defects or finishing is required before concrete is
aged, remove forms as soon as concrete has hardened sufficiently to resist damage from
removal operations.
b. Remove top forms on sloping surfaces of concrete as soon as concrete has attained sufficient
stiffness to prevent sagging. Loosen wood forms for wall openings as soon as this can be
accomplished without damage to concrete. Formwork for columns, walls, sides of beams, and
other parts not supporting weight of concrete may be removed after 12 hours provided that
concrete has hardened sufficiently to resist damage from removal operations. When shores and
other vertical supports are arranged so that nonload-carrying, form-facing material may be
removed without loosening or disturbing shores and supports, facing material may be removed at
an earlier age.
c.

Keep in place all forms and shoring used to support weight of concrete until concrete has reached
the minimum strength specified for removal of forms and shoring. In no case shall forms be
removed in less than four (4) days.
03100-3

3.7

REMOVAL STRENGTH
a. Control Tests. Suitable strength control tests will be used as evidence that concrete has attained
specified strength for removal of formwork or shoring supporting weight of concrete in beams,
slabs, and other structural members.
(1) Field Test. When field cured test cylinders reach the specified removal strength, formwork or
shoring may be removed from the respective concrete placements.
(2) Laboratory Test. When concrete has been cured as specified for cast-in-place concrete for
the same time period required by laboratory cured cylinders to reach specified strength, the
formwork or shoring may be removed from respective concrete placements. Determine the
length of time that the concrete placement has been cured by totaling the number of days or
fraction of days, not necessarily consecutive, during which the air temperature surrounding
the concrete is above 50F and the concrete has been damp or thoroughly sealed against
evaporation and loss of moisture.
b. Compressive Strengths. The minimum concrete compressive strengths for removal of all
formwork not specifically covered under the previous paragraph on Removal of Forms shall be 75
percent (75%) of the specified minimum 28-day strength of the class of concrete involved.

3.8

SHORING
a. When reshoring is permitted or required, plan operations in advance and secure approval of such
operations. While reshoring is under way, keep live load off the new construction. Do not permit
concrete in beam, slab, column or other structural member to be subjected to combined dead and
construction loads in excess of loads permitted for developed concrete strength at the time of
reshoring.
b. Place reshores as soon as practicable after stripping operations are complete but in no case later
than the end of the working day on which stripping occurs. Tighten reshores to carry the required
loads without overstressing construction. Leave reshores in place until tests representative of
concrete being supported have reached specified strength or strength specified for removal of
reshores.
c.

Leave original supporting shores in place or reshore those floors supporting shoring under newly
placed concrete. Reshoring system capacity must be sufficient to resist anticipated loads and in
all cases have a capacity equal to at least of the capacity of the shoring system above. Locate
reshores directly under shore positions above unless other locations are permitted.

d. Extend reshoring over a sufficient number of stories to distribute weight of newly placed concrete,
forms and construction live loads in such a manner that design superimposed loads of floors
supporting shores are not exceeded.
3.9

FORM REUSE

Approval is required before reusing any forms. Do not reuse forms that are worn or damaged beyond
repair. Thoroughly clean and recoat forms before reuse. For wood and plywood forms to be used for
exposed smooth finish, sand or otherwise dress concrete contact surface to original condition or provide
form liner facing material. For metal forms, straighten, remove dents and clean to return to original
condition.

03100-4

TABLE 3A
TOLERANCES FOR FORMED SURFACES
CONCRETE IN BUILDINGS

Variation
Form
Plumb
Batter

Level
Grade

or

or

Specified

Specified

Drawing Dimensions

For Any
10 Foot
Length

For Any 20
Foot Length
or Any Bay

Maximum
For Entire
Dimension

Lines and surfaces of columns, piers,

walls, and arrises

"

--

1"

Exposed corner columns, control joint

grooves, and other conspicuous lines

"

"

"

Slab soffits, ceilings, beam soffits, and in

arrises (measured before removal of
shores)

"

_"

"

exposed lintels, sills, parapets horizontal

grooves and other conspicuous lines

--

"

"

Position of linear building lines, columns,

walls, and partitions

--

"

1"

Size and location of sleeves,

openings and wall openings

floor

--

--

"

Cross section of columns, beams, slabs,

and walls

--

--

+"
-"

Footings* in plan

--

--

+2"
-"

Footing misplacement or eccentricity of

direction error (the less of)

--

--

2% of width
or 2"

Footing thickness decrease

--

--

5%

Footing thickness increase

--

--

no limit

Step rise in flight of stairs

--

--

_"

Step tread in flight of stairs

--

--

"

Consecutive step rise

--

--

1/16"

Consecutive step tread

--

--

_"

Variation in

* Footing tolerances apply to concrete dimensions only, not to positioning of vertical reinforcing steel,
dowels, or embedded items.

03100-5

TABLE 3B
TOLERANCES FOR FORMED SURFACES
CONCRETE IN BRIDGES, WHARVES AND SIMILAR STRUCTURES

Variation Form

Variation In

Maximum

Plumb or Specified Batter

Surfaces of Columns, Piers, and

Walls

" in 10_

Level or Specified Grade

Top Surfaces of Slabs, Curbs, &

Railings

Drawings Dimensions

Cross Section
Caps, Beams
Members

of Columns,
and Similar

Thickness of Deck Slabs

Footing

/16" in 10_
+"
-"
+"
-_"
*

* Same as footings for buildings - See Table 3A.

03100-6