Is plywood or steel formwork cheaper?
It depends on pour count. Plywood-faced systems start cheaper and win on landed cost for a handful of casts — basements, footings, one-off retaining walls. Steel costs more up front (capital or rental) and only undercuts plywood per pour above a high repeat-pour threshold. Work the pour programme before you pick a system. No unit prices on this page; factory-direct landed cost still follows that structure.
How many times can plywood formwork be reused versus steel?
Film-faced plywood: Eco Form Plus up to 8, Form Basic up to 10, Form Extra up to 15 (MUF, EN 636-2, not Class 3), Pro Form Lite up to 15 and Pro Form up to 20 (PF, EN 636-3). HDO Basic up to 10; HDO Premium / Premium HD up to 20. A steel-ply panel can exceed 100 pours with maintenance. Those plywood figures are maxima 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. Fixed modules fight custom shapes, blockouts, and faceted profiles. A steel face that rusts or dents can stain or blemish the concrete. Many "steel" jobs on site are actually a steel frame with a replaceable plywood skin bolted on.
Does steel formwork give a better concrete finish than plywood?
Not by default. A clean coated steel face and a phenolic film-faced plywood panel both cast a smooth fair-face surface. Plywood holds that finish across its reuse life when cared for. Steel can stain the cast if the coating fails and rust starts. For a matte exposed face, specify
MatteFace Plywood (MTF); buyers often search that line as MDO formwork plywood. MDO is a search bridge, not the product name.
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 that would kill a plywood face early, and for tight-tolerance work repeated often enough that steel’s dimensional stability pays for itself. Below that volume, plywood-faced forms usually land cheaper per cast.
Which formwork is best for most mid-size jobs?
For mid-size walls, columns, and cut-up slabs, film-faced plywood usually wins on cost-per-pour, weight, and custom cuts. Match glue class to the drawing: MUF EN 636-2 (Eco Form Plus / Form Basic / Form Extra) for short runs; PF EN 636-3 (Pro Form Lite / Pro Form / HDO) when Class 3 is named. Form Extra is not Class 3. Hybrids are common: rent a steel or aluminium frame and bolt on a fresh plywood face. Steel wins only when the programme truly runs the high repeat-pour count that amortises the capital.
