What is concrete forming plywood?
Concrete forming plywood is the overlaid sheet a crew pours against, the temporary mold face that holds wet concrete until the pour can carry itself. US take-offs call it forming plywood or plyform, UK and Indian sites say shuttering, and export lists say film-faced, but the sheet is the same. What decides whether it lasts is the overlay on the face, the glue class in the core, the sheet size and the emission class.
What wood is used for concrete formwork?
Two kinds of wood do two separate jobs. Sawn lumber or engineered timber beams carry the load as studs, walers and joists, while plywood is the face the concrete actually touches. Plywood replaced solid boards because its cross-laminated veneers stay flat between wet and dry, and Vinawood forming cores are plantation-grown Acacia or Eucalyptus, with Hevea on some lots.
Which plywood is best for concrete forming: HDO, MDO or film-faced?
Pick the overlay from the finish the pour needs, not from a retail brand name. HDO suits glossy fair-face concrete; MatteFace Plywood (MTF) is Vinawood's matte phenolic face when buyers search MDO formwork plywood (kraft-paper MDO for signs is a different product); phenolic film-faced grades cover general reusable wall and slab work. Spec overlay, bond class, thickness and reuse as up to N on the RFQ before price talk.
Which Vinawood forming grades are phenolic Class 3?
Only Pro Form, Pro Form Lite and the HDO range carry phenolic PF glue to EN 636-3 on our list. Eco Form Plus, Form Basic and Form Extra are MUF-bonded to EN 636-2, so a phenolic face film over an MUF core is still Class 2. Form Extra reaches up to 15 reuses through a stronger Superior Glue MUF line, not through a Class 3 bond.
How many pours can concrete forming plywood take?
Vinawood ratings run from up to 8 pours for Eco Form Plus and up to 10 for Form Basic and HDO Basic, to up to 15 for Form Extra, Pro Form Lite and MatteFace, and up to 20 for Pro Form and HDO Premium. These are mill maxima. Release agent on every pour and covered, flat storage between pours decide how close a site gets to them.
How should concrete plywood forms be specified on an RFQ?
Write the overlay first, because it fixes both finish and reuse ceiling, then name the bond class as EN 636-2 or EN 636-3. Add the module, thickness and tolerance that match the frames on site, plus the emission line, which is CARB P2 / TSCA Title VI for US lots and EN 13986 CE marking for European ones. Attach the pour programme if you have it, since the planned cycle count tells us which grade is the honest pick.
