Home > Video Channel > Setting Aluminum Forms for Concrete Walls

Setting Aluminum Forms for Concrete Walls

Cameron Parker, production manager for Solid Wall Systems, shows Bob how the aluminum forms are prepped and erected for the concrete pour at the Punta Gorda, Florida, storm-ready house. Parker explains that the setting of forms takes a six-person crew about five hours. The forms are first sprayed with a biodegradable form oil so that the concrete will not stick to them and will be easily removed once the concrete has begun to set. The forms are locked with a wedge and pin system, wtih wall ties installed to hold the forms together and clips to hold the forms to the slab. Parker shows Bob how the specialized window bucks are used to create the window openings without use of lumber or additional material seams that could lead to leaking and water intrusion later on.
Get Adobe Flash Player to see this content.

Clip Transcript For:

Setting Aluminum Forms for Concrete Walls

  computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" Looking at our aluminum form work that's almost done Cameron parker is the production may -- more so. Just to recap how this come together we spent so. They were very indirect and as a takes a while today. -- are -- hour time -- things on the California all together yes sir with about a six man -- about a six man crew -- we've got this is let's -- go off form that we use hot. We spread down once they biodegradable. Form oil. Before installed hill while we concrete not to here's with the release it once we figure forms off right and then the forms are clipped together as we see here just -- political deal with a wedge and offend you. And in there's a wall -- installed to hold the two forms outside and inside together and you also got clips down there on the slab fassel and then we get what's this going -- There's a window -- It wants local concrete is poured around this -- We removes -- when the commission directly installed in this opening sure got an actor is an additional -- a specialized. Part of the form part dissidents then plunged deep rough opening for the window -- us. Does it eliminates in the -- the need for additional lumber or material fifty's from -- Soros has frozen water. There -- any lumber used here and all right absolutely terrific. And then this plavsic's. They're installing -- the next four holes of the when we'll talk as well holes in the -- or. Inside and outside form together I was -- don't call solar and wind light pouring later on from the top do just basically go down fillets here. Then yes we're we streetwise. Window openings in place for our price for thanks -- you're going to be pouring a little bit later in the show but right now try to do tries to recapping how we got this far."

 [-]


More Videos »Related Videos

Precast Concrete Foundation Installation
Precast Concrete Foundation Installation

Bob Vila meets with Jim Costello from Superior Walls of America to discuss the difference between precast panels delivered to the site and a traditional poured concrete foundation. The precast panel is made of an outside shell wall of high strength concrete combined with rebar reinforced concrete pillars. The ten-inch thick pillars give a look similar to a traditional stud wall with Styrofoam insulation. Pressure treated furring strips attached to the pillars make drywall or paneling easy to attach. The panels have an R factor, the measure of a materials resistance to the passage of heat, of 5 (concrete block has an R factor of about 2). Polyurethane caulk with special concrete adhesives is added between each panel to insure a tight seal. The panels are attached to each other and the base with pre-installed saddle bolts. A typical home�s installation takes about five hours and without having to wait for the foundation to set or dry, contractors can begin framing immediately. The walls are guaranteed for 15 years compared to poured concrete walls, which generally have a warranty of one year.

Big Energy Savings with Concrete Construction
Big Energy Savings with Concrete Construction

Bob talks with Jim Niehoff of the Portland Cement Association about building homes using concrete. For builders, constructing homes with concrete can save a lot of time and give homeowners a very energy-efficient home. Building a home with this combination of concrete and foam can save homeowners about 30-40 percent on heating and cooling costs. Building with concrete is particularly desirable in disaster-prone areas, because it provides stronger protection against hurricanes and tornados. Bob talks with the homeowner, Howard Brickman, about the experience of building the addition with concrete. The process has been very efficient. The crew has only been on the site for seven work days and has accomplished a great deal in that short amount of time. The construction process has eliminated the need for any exterior wall framing or insulation. The shell of the addition is already complete except for the rafters on the roof. The finished addition will look like a traditional shingled home and will be indistinguishable from the original section of the house. The radiant heating system put into the addition was downsized because of the energy savings involved with concrete construction. It is estimated the concrete addition will cost 30 percent as much to heat as the rest of the house.

Building Reinforced Concrete Storm-Ready Homes in Florida
Building Reinforced Concrete Storm-Ready Homes in Florida

Bob is joined on the site of the Punta Gorda, Florida, storm-ready home by Jim Crain of Precise Forms. Precise Forms partners with Mercedes Builders to create high-quality, reinforced concrete homes throughout Florida. Precise Forms began in 1967 by supplying cast-in-place forms for subterranean foundations and basements. In 2000 they began to set forms for full wall, cast-in-place houses for Mercedes Homes. Once the forms are set, Bob walks through the layout with Jesse Gonzalez of Mercedes Homes. Gonzalez points to window placements that are encapsulated behind the aluminum forms as they walk past view windows in the family area, past the three bedrooms, bath, laundry, and two-car garage of this four-bedroom home with master suite. Mark Newton of Solid Wall Systems joins Bob as the pour begins. He explains that they are using a 2,000 pound psi, small aggregate concrete mix for the entire pour. We watch as the concrete is pumped into the forms, which are braced at the top by two-by-fours that hold the tops of the forms square to prevent movement as the forms receive the static pressure of the concrete. Newton explains that they will vibrate around all door and window openings before allowing the concrete to set. This will help eliminate voids, honeycombing, or any blowout due to bad adhesion or conformity of the concrete.

Determining Moisture Content in Concrete Floors
Determining Moisture Content in Concrete Floors

Bob talks with homeowner Howard Brickman about drying out of the new addition. Concrete can pose problems for the wood-floor installation business. Brickman's consulting business created a device that measures the relative humidity of the interior of the concrete and predicts what will happen after the concrete is covered with a floor covering. The whole exterior structure of the addition, except for the roof, is made of concrete. It's critical that the concrete that makes up the floor is dried before the wood floor is installed. This is especially true in Southern climates where there is a high amount of humidity.

Related Products & Services Showrooms

Hardwood Flooring for Less
Hardwood Flooring for Less

…bedroom classy yet down-to-earth. Lumber Liquidators is the largest direct retailer…
…ease of living with wood flooring from Lumber Liquidators. See this product on…
…Hardwood Tip For information about Lumber Liquidators visit LumberLiquidators…

Columns, Pillars, Pilasters & Balustrades
Columns, Pillars, Pilasters & Balustrades

…additions. Our columns, both interior and exterior, come with plain (smooth) and fluted shafts in a variety of sizes and lumber species. Our capitals are available in wood or fiberglass. For interior, faux wood grain capitals suitable for staining or…

More Content »More Content

Concrete, Block and Slab Foundations
Concrete, Block and Slab Foundations

Concrete, Block, and Slab Foundations A slab often serves…
…Climate dictates whether a simple concrete slab, or a basement dug below ground is…
…tested, the four-to-six-inch concrete slab is poured. When building with…

Garage Workshop Foundation and Slab
Garage Workshop Foundation and Slab

…rods or rebar before the slab is poured. Form work…
…plastic vapor barrier. The concrete is poured, floated…
…polished to form a finished slab. An adhesive sill…
…walls are in place, a concrete slab is poured and formed inside…

Concrete slab?

I need to move my K-1 tank outside. My oil company will bring a concrete slab for $150 plus 2 hrs. labor for 2 men--expensive!! just for the slab. Any suggestions on the easiest way I could…

concrete slab

I am getting ready to design a slab house. I want to build a 30'x60…
…reading about fiber re-inforced concrete. With a monolithic pour do I need to pour thicker on outside edge than the 4" slab thickness. Building codes don't…

Browse Topics

Click on a letter to browse content by topic alphabetically.



About  | FAQ  | Contact  | Sitemap  | Privacy Policy  | Terms of Use  | Help  | bobvilacontractors.com

© BobVila.com 2009