Is plywood or steel formwork cheaper?
It depends on how many times you reuse the form. Plywood-faced systems carry a far lower upfront cost and win on landed cost for jobs with a handful of pours. Steel costs more to buy but spreads that cost across 100+ pours, so it only becomes cheaper per cast above a high repeat-pour threshold. Work out your pour count before deciding.
How many times can plywood formwork be reused versus steel?
Film-faced plywood gives up to 10-15 reuses on melamine-MUF panels (EN 636-2) and up to 20 on phenolic Pro Form (EN 636-3). A steel-ply panel can exceed 100 pours with maintenance. Reuse counts are maximums earned by edge sealing, release agent, and careful stripping, not guarantees.
What are the disadvantages of steel formwork?
Steel is heavy, slower to strike and reset, and more crane-dependent than plywood. It is a capital purchase, so the cost only pays back on high-repetition work. It is fixed-module, so it struggles with custom shapes, and a steel face that rusts or dents can stain or blemish the concrete.
Does steel formwork give a better concrete finish than plywood?
Not necessarily. A clean, coated steel face and a phenolic film-faced plywood panel both cast a smooth fair-face surface. Plywood holds its finish across its reuse life when cared for, while steel can stain the concrete if the protective coating fails and rust sets in.
When should I choose steel formwork over plywood?
Choose steel for high-repetition precast, tunnel and infrastructure work where the same section repeats hundreds of times, for sites with abusive handling, and for tight-tolerance work repeated often enough that the steel face's dimensional stability pays for itself.
