3/13/2019 What is Shoring? What is Reshoring? - EFCO Corp.

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What is Shoring? What is Reshoring?

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When I was asked to write an article about reshoring, I had
a flashback to my college days. As a freshman and
sophomore, I took (and passed!) four quarters of calculus.
The next series of math courses required a new book,
Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value
Problems. It was the most complicated textbook I ever
used. It would take an hour to read one page and another week to understand it. There was
nothing elementary about it.
Back to the present, I feel like I just passed four quarters of shoring and now I am looking
for a book on reshoring. I hope the title does not contain the word “elementary”.

The practice we call reshoring was developed by builders trying to solve the fundamental
Concrete Construction &
problem with concrete; it is very heavy. An office floor is designed to safely support the
Forming Institute »
weight of the floor (called dead load) and the weight of desks, file cabinets, and people
(https://www.efcoforms.com/careers/united-
(called live load). For concrete floors, the dead load is much greater than the live load. If we
states-and-canada/employee-
are depending on the live load capacity of a floor slab to support the weight of workers and
development/ccfi/)
fresh concrete from above, we will overload the slab. Even a fully cured slab may not be
strong enough to safely support the workers and fresh concrete from above.

Shoring and reshoring sound the same but

they are performing different jobs. See the
quick definition on the left to help get us
started.

To further explain shoring and reshoring, I

will describe a step by step procedure to
(https://www.efcoforms.com/wp-
pour a floor in a multistory building. The
content/uploads/2015/03/construction-
building I will use as a model has one level
hall-3.jpg)
of shores with two levels of reshores.
EFCO’s Concrete Construction
and Forming Institute is a 45,000 All the slabs discussed have the same
square ft. education center stiffness and design strength. This
complete with a full-scale procedure is used when construction is
demonstration bay for hands-on above the ground level (this will be
learning opportunities. discussed more in-depth later). We are
PHASE 1: Placement of Concrete
Learn More » examining a reshore system consisting of
Concrete is poured and cured in the slab
(https://www.efcoforms.com/careers/united- three slabs with reshore posts separating
form. The curing process may require
states-and-canada/employee- them. It is common to assume that the
several days depending on the concrete
development/ccfi/) reshore posts do not deflect. When we
mix and the air temperature.
apply a load (shores from above) to the
system, the reshored slabs deflect equally.
» WHAT IS SHORING? This tells us that the slabs share equal
parts of the load. In this example, each
Shoring supports the forms,
slab will carry one third of the shored load.
workers, and fresh concrete at
Usually, one third of the shored load is less
the top level. The shore posts
than the live load capacity of the slab used
may be wood, aluminum, or
in the reshore system.
steel. Shores distribute the loads
from the form to the slab below In this procedure, we need to know the
which is the top surface of the early strength of the uppermost concrete
reshore system. slab before we strip the form to prevent
cracking or failure. We also need to know
the strength of the slabs used in the
reshore system before we place concrete in
» WHAT IS RESHORING?
the forms above. These slabs will not have
full design strength.
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The reshore system consists of
3/13/2019 Estimating
What is Shoring? What is Reshoring? - EFCO Corp. the strength and stiffness of
three or more slabs separated by slabs is an engineer’s job. This can be
reshore posts. The slabs and complicated. Concrete hardens over time
reshore posts behave as an and the process is dependent on ambient
integrated structural system to temperature. The building’s structural
support the load from the shore engineer designed the building frame with
posts. Reshore posts help prevent concrete that has fully hardened. The
cracks in the previously poured normal assumption is that the concrete will
slabs. reach full strength in a month (28 day
strength). However, concrete rapidly gains
strength in the first week after the pour.
The slab may have 70 to 75% of 28 day
strength in seven days. After several days
of curing, the slab may be strong enough
to hold its dead load and some live load.
PHASE 2: Removal of Shores The builder may then strip the slab form.
After the slab concrete is strong enough,
the slab forms and shores are removed. Monitoring concrete strength becomes
At this time, the slab is suporting its own critical to determine the speed and safety
weight and the weight of workers and of construction. In the past we used field
materials on top of the new slab. cured cylinders to estimate the strength of
concrete. There were other methods
employed but results were questionable. I
am encouraged by the development of
maturity methods. The maturity method
involves placing a monitor directly into the
slab as it is poured. The monitor records
concrete temperature continuously. The
data is compared with lab controls to
estimate concrete strength. This method is
becoming more popular with concrete
professionals.

PHASE 3: Removal of Lower Level of

Shores
After the shores are stripped, the load on
the system of reshores has been relieved.
This allows the lower level of reshores to
be removed and carried up two floors
where the shores were removed.

Some of EFCO’s shoring and reshoring

systems in use:

PHASE 4: Installation of Reshores

The reshores are installed at this level.
The reshores are placed snug against the
upper slab without supporting the dead
weight of the slab. This process connects
three slabs into the reshore system that
supports the workers, materials, and
eventually, the fresh concrete above. The
assembly of shores, forms, and
reinforcement continues at the top level.
When complete, the concrete is poured.

What is Shoring? What is Reshoring?

Question & Answer
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3/13/2019 » Do builders always
What use two
is Shoring? Whatlevels of reshores?
is Reshoring? - EFCO Corp.

Speed of construction and climate will dictate the reshore requirements. In warm climates,
two levels of reshoring may be adequate but the same building in a cooler climate may
require three levels. If the pace of construction is increased, multiple levels of forms, shores,
and reshores may be used. This is all about the strength of concrete.

» Do the slabs in a reshoring system actually carry the same load?

This depends on the stiffness of the reshore post and the concrete slab. There has been a lot
of research on this question. I can offer simplified answers; is this assumption exactly
correct? No. Approximately? Yes. Good enough for design? Most of the time, yes. This
simplification has problems when you add more levels of shores and reshores. Wood reshore
posts deflect more than steel posts and will shift more of the load to the top reshored slab.

» What is the problem with shoring at ground level?

Shoring and reshoring at the ground level is a special condition. The ground will not deflect.
This means that the shored loads are taken through the reshores directly to the ground
without using the live load capacity of the slabs. Bottom line, the loads on reshores to the
ground will be higher than loads in reshores to flexible slabs. Note that mezzanines and
mechanical floors may be designed with different strengths and stiffness that can cause
reshoring problems similar to the ground floor conditions.

» Do reshore posts need to line up with shore posts?

If you want to start a lively discussion at an ACI convention, open with that question. Check
with your engineers. With careful engineering, offset reshoring may be used.

» What happens to shores and reshores in a post tensioned slab?

This can be a problem in some structures, particularly post tensioned slabs with beams. As
slab tendons are stressed, the weight of the slab may move from the slab shores to the
beam shores, adding load to the beam shores and reshores below.

» What happens when we use a drop head shore post as a shore, then leave it in
place to use as a reshore?

Depending on the drop head, shore posts hold the load of the slab while releasing the forms
for early stripping. This forming sequence may be called pre-shoring or back-shoring. This is
a problem because the procedure does not let the slab support itself. This will result in higher
loads on posts and slabs This can be done, but the building’s structural engineer should work
with the builder’s engineer to verify the strength of posts and slabs.

I will finish this article with two thoughts:

First, I want builders to employ the services of a forming and shoring specialist with
experience in reshoring. There are many variables to consider in the design of shoring and
reshoring systems. A qualified engineer is required.

Second, I recommend further reading on the subject. The document all builders of multistory
structures need to study is ACI 347.2R-05, Guide for Shoring/Reshoring of Concrete
Multistory Buildings (http://www.concrete.org/store.aspx). This is a product of the
ACI 347 Formwork Committee. There are examples of design and good explanations to the
questions I partially answered. And most important, the word “elementary” is not in the title.

> The author, Bob McCracken is a Licensed Professional Engineer and

engineering graduate of Iowa State University, with over 30 years of form
design experience at EFCO Corp.

EFCO Concrete
Construction & Forming
Institute

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