Conventional Building Construction

Conventional Building Construction refers to the traditional method of construction

where the construction knowledge is passed from one generation to the other

Associated to the wet construction (in-situ) using reinforced concrete.

Not utilizing new technologies – particularly true..

Labour intensive method

In Malaysia – still the preferable method among the contractors as labour is

abundance and the cost is still cheap

Contrary to IBS – New SPP stated that every government projects must use up to
70% of IBS components
 In-situ / Cast-in-place concrete

• Concrete structural members have

traditionally been built in-place by placing the
wet concrete into forms and allowing it to
harden. The forms are then removed after the
concrete has develop sufficient strength to
support its own weight and the weight of any
construction loads.
• 3 discrete components : formwork and
falsework, reinforcement and concrete
 Advantages of in-situ concrete

1. Amenable to almost any shape – does not limit creativity

2. Connections are homogenous with the rest of the structure –
by providing adequate anchorage, bond and lapping, hardy
require complicated detailing, easy to do renovation
3. Alteration can be made at the last minute – as long as the
formwork and rebar are not ready , easy to modify technically
4. Design can proceed as the structure is built – suitable for fast
track projects
5. Whole production activities are on site – easy to monitor and
coordinate
6. Many players in the industry – competitive
7. Easy to adopt structural resistant concept to overcome
disaster such as earthquake, explosion, collision etc
 Disadvantages of in-situ concrete

1. Quality of the finished work – not easy to control, as a

result honeycombing, bulging, cracks occur.
2. Labour intensive – not practical for countries
(European) where labour cost is high
3. Foreign labours – always associated to social problems
4. Foreign labours – majority only work as to accumulate
the money and send it back to their native land and not
spending it locally.
5. Site condition – dirty, dangerous, difficult (3D)
6. Site wastages – concrete and formwork & falsework
7. Speed of construction – relatively slow
 Construction sequence
For a typical construction of a duoble storey building (without lift core), the
construction sequence for a in-situ concrete frame would be :-
1. Setting out – building lines and establishing piling point
2. Piling work – skin + end bearing OR end bearing
3. Pile cut off, lean concrete to pilecap, pilecap formwork + bar , pilecap concreting,
stump concreting
4. Ground beam concreting (partly is use suspended slab/full if use non-suspended
slab), starter bar for column is placed
5. Ground floor slab concreting, starter bar for staircase is placed
6. Column from ground floor to first floor concreting, starter bar for column extension
is placed
7. 1st floor beam + slab concreting
8. Column from first floor to roof level concreting , terminate column bar (staircase
from ground to first floor concreting)
9. Roof beam concreting
10.Roof truss construction
11.(Architectural work)
 Main RC Components
• Foundation : piling (deep) or pad/strip/raft (shallow)
• Stump : short column between a foundation and ground floor level,
depth to suit engineering requirements such as piping and M&E
services.
• Column – many shapes, normally vertical; vertical load bearing
member of a structural frame that transmits the beam loads down to
the foundation
• Beam – normally rectangular sections; either horizontal, slanting,
curves; simply supported, continuous, cantilever; main beam transfer
load to column, secondary beam transmit slab load to main beam;
shallow beam and deep beam
• Slab – many shapes; one way, two way and others ; mainly supporting
selfweight, live load, finishes, machineries
• Staircase – simple, stringer, helical, spiral, jack knife
 Staircase

Pre-cast

Helical
Spiral

Simple
Free standing/jack knife
FORMWORK
 Definition
• Formwork: Formwork may be described as a mould or box
into which wet concrete can be poured and compacted so
that it will finally set to the inner profile of the mould or box.

• Falsework: The part of the formwork which support the

forms, usually for a large structure such as bridge.
 Beam Formwork
Basically a 3 sided box supported and propped
in the correct position and to the desired level.
The sides have to retain the wet concrete in the
correct position and be able to withstand the
initial hydrostatic pressure of the wet concrete.
The formwork soffit, apart from retaining the
concrete, has to support the initial load of the
wet concrete and finally the set concrete until
gaining sufficient strength to be self supporting
 Column Formwork
Consists of a vertical mould of the desired shape which has to
retain the wet concrete and resist initial hydrostatic pressure
of the wet concrete.
To minimize the formwork material, horizontal clamps are
used
Head of formwork – 2 types ; used to support incoming beam
or cast to the underside of the beam and at later stage a
collar or formwork can be clamp around the cast column
Column forms are located at the bottom around 75 mm high
concrete kicker ; kicker has dual function – to establish the
column location and preventing grout loss from the bottom of
the column formwork
 Necessity of Formwork

• Necessity
– Formwork form a very important part of concrete construction. Most
permanent structures simply could not be built without formwork.

• Safety
– Failure of formwork could cause injuries or death at construction site.
 Materials for Formwork
• Among the materials that can be used for construction of
formwork:
– Sawn timber – the most widely use
– Plywood – when fair face is necessary
– Steel form – the use of steel is largely confined to proprietary formwork system
– Plastic form – plastic sheets are normally used as liners to produce an almost
endless variety of patterns.
– Aluminium – Aluminium has many of the properties of steel but with
substantial weight savings.
– Rubber – Rubber materials are generally used as form liners when complex
shapes are required to be cast into the concrete.
– Glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) – GFRP material is strong light weight
material manufactured from polyester or epoxy resin, reinforced with glass
fiber.
 Concrete Formwork
• Forms are a type of temporary structure that provide containment for the
fresh concrete and support it until it can support itself.

• Forms must be designed to support loads of the fresh concrete,

equipment, workers, impact of various kinds, or sometimes wind without
collapse or excessive deflection.

• The cost of FW is between 30% to 60% of the cost of concrete structure.

Design of a good forming system could both expedite a project as well as
reduce costs.
 Formwork Requirements - 1
• Safety – FW must be:
– Strong ( to carry the full load and side pressure
from freshly placed concrete, together with
construction traffic and equipment).
– Sound (made of good quality, durable materials).
 Formwork Requirements - 2
• Quality – FW must be:
– Accurate (within specified tolerances for form dimension)
– Rigid (adequately braced and tied to prevent movement,
bulging, or sagging during construction).
– Tight Jointed (to prevent cement paste leakage which
disfigures the surface of concrete).
– Properly Finished (to provide a concrete surface of good
appearance).
 Formwork Requirements - 3
• Economy – FW must be:
– Simple (simple to erect and dismantle)
– Easily handled (the sizes of units should not be too
heavy to handle)
– Standardized (ease of assembly and possibility of
reuse)
 Formwork for cast in-situ

• Inspection is very important in all stage of formwork and

should consist of checking the various forms, to ensure
sufficiently strong and rigid enough to support the dead load
of concrete as well as to allow for temporary live load of
workmen wheeling barrows and the tamping vibrating of
concrete. The checking should include all wedges, braces and
bulge, as it is practically impossible to rectify when pouring
has commenced.
 Striking of formwork

• The period which should elapse before the formwork is struck will vary
from job to job and will depend on the concrete used. Formwork must
not be removed until the concrete is strong enough to be self-
supporting and able to carry imposed load. Time of striking is normally
related to the strength of the concrete, and obviously soffit forms to
beams and slabs must be left in place longer than is necessary for side
form.
• Striking must be carried out with care to avoid damages to arises and
projections, and it may be necessary to protect some of the work from
damage immediately after removing the form. Before the soffit forms
and props are removed, the concrete surface should be exposed
carefully to ascertain that the concrete has hardened sufficiently.
• Beam sides – 9 to 12 hours
• Beam soffit – 8 to 14 days (props left under)
• Beam props – 15 to 21 days
• Columns – 9 to 12 hours
 Striking formwork

Striking formwork at for Ground Beam (Note the use of suspended slab)
 Permanent Formwork

• It’s a part of the permanent structure of

the building.
• Permanent formwork is a structural
element that is used to contain the placed
concrete, mould it to the required
dimensions and remain in place for the life
of the structure.
• Normally being placed at location where it
would be impractical or difficult to recover
(underside of raised slab – TNB trenches)
 Potential Advantages of Permanent Formwork

• Reducing the skill level needed on site.

• Increasing the potential for standardisation and repetition.
• Permitting off-site fabrication in factory conditions followed by
scheduled and appropriate deliveries.
• Speeding up erection times, particularly in building works.
• Eliminating the need to strike formwork and falsework.
• Allowing early access for following or concurrent operations.
• Eliminating the programme limitations of reuse of formwork.
• Potential reduction in construction and maintenance costs
• Potential to shorten construction time
• Improve safety by reducing hazards during construction.
• Reduces construction waste generation during construction.
 Potential Causes of Formwork Failures
• Improper stripping and shore removal
• Inadequate bracing
• Vibration
• Unstable soil
• Inadequate control of concrete placement.
• Lack of attention to FW details
• When FW is not at fault
 Improper stripping and shore removal

Formwork failures are

the cause of many
accidents and
failures that occur
during concrete
construction which
usually happen when
fresh concrete is being
placed.
Formwork
collapse
Generally some
causes injuries,
unexpected event
loss
causes one member
of life, property
to fail, then others
damage, and
become overloaded or
construction
misaligned
delays
and the entire
formwork structure
collapses.
Inadequate bracing

New York
Coliseum
Formwork
collapse,
where rapid
delivery of
concrete
introduced
lateral
forces at the top
of
high shoring.
Vibration

•Forms sometimes collapse when their supporting shores or jacks are

displaced by vibration caused by:
• passing traffic
• movement of workers and equipment on the formwork
• the effect of vibrating concrete to consolidate it.
•Diagonal bracing can help prevent failure due to vibration.
Unstable Soil

•Formwork should be safe if it is adequately braced and

constructed so all loads are carried to solid ground through
vertical members.

•Shores must be set plumb and the ground must be able to

carry the load without settling.
Unstable Soil

•Formwork should be safe if it is adequately braced and

constructed so all loads are carried to solid ground through
vertical members.

•Shores must be set plumb and the ground must be able to

carry the load without settling.
Inadequate Control of Concrete Placement

•The temperature and rate of vertical placement of

concrete are factors influencing the development of
lateral pressures that act on the forms.

•If temperature drops during construction operations,

rate of concreting often has to be slowed down to
prevent a build up of lateral pressure overloading the
forms. If this is not done, formwork failure may result.

•Failure to regulate properly the rate and order of placing concrete on

horizontal surfaces or curved roofs may produce unbalanced loadings
and consequent failures of formwork.
Lack of Attention to Formwork Details

•Even when the basic formwork design is soundly conceived, small

differences in assembly details may cause local weakness or overstress
loading to form failure.

•This may be as simple as insufficient nailing, or failure to tighten the

locking devices on metal shoring.

•Other details that may cause failure are:

• Inadequate provisions to prevent rotation of beam forms where
slabs frame into them on the side.
• Inadequate anchorage against uplift for sloping form faces.
• Lack of bracing or tying of corners, bulkheads, or other places
where unequal pressure is found.
 Formwork Safety
• The frequency and serious consequences of formwork failure that special
attention be paid to this aspect of construction safety. Some of the safety
precautions that should be observed in constructing formwork :-
1. Provide adequate foundations for all formwork. Place ‘mudsill’ under all
shoring that rests on ground. Always check surrounding excavations to
ensure that formwork does not fail due to embankment failure
2. Provide adequate bracing of forms being particularly careful of shores
and vertical supports. Ensure that all connections are properly secured,
especially nailed connection. Concrete vibrators may cause connection
to loosen. A skilled carpenter is required to be present at site during any
concreting work
3. Control the pouring rate so that design loads are not exceeded. Use
drop chutes (also to avoid segregation) when placing concrete into high
vertical forms. Free fall distance should be limited to 2m or less
4. Avoid inserting large vibrator deep into previously placed, partially set
concrete
Mudsill
 Formwork Safety
5. Ensure that forms and support are not removed before the
concrete has developed the required strength. ‘Reshoring’
exercise must be done exactly as specified by the designer.
Only a limited area should be stripped and reshored at one
time
6. No construction load should be allowed on a partially
hardened concrete while reshoring is under way
7. Monitor any nearby movement especially cranes
(transporting materials)
8. Protruding nails are a major source of injury on concrete
construction sites. As forms are stripped, form lumber must
be promptly removed to a safe location and nails pulled.
Timber & Steel Props
 Planning for Formwork
• The contractor should plan FW at the time of making bid
considering the following factors:
– Placing schedule and stripping time requirements
– Capacity of equipment available to handle form sections and materials
– Capacity of mixing and placing equipment
– Construction joints
– Reuse of forms as affected by stripping time
– Relative merits of job-built, shop-built and ready-made forms.
– Weather (protection requirements and stripping time)
• Compare alternative methods to determine the most efficient
plan.
Construction & Expansion Joints
 Key area of Cost Reduction - 1
• Planning for maximum reuse
– A form designed for max reuse is stronger and more expensive, but it
can save on the total form cost.
• Economical form construction
– Shop-built (greatest efficiency in working conditions and in the
purchase and use of materials and tools)
– Shop area on the site (form sections too large or transportation cost
too high)
– Job-built (for small jobs, or where forms must be fitted to terrain)
 Key areas of Cost Reduction - 2
– Buying prefabricated forms(large number of reuses)
– Renting prefab forms(better flexibility in regulating volume of work)
• Setting and stripping
– Repetition of the same functions to increase the crew efficiency as the
job progresses
– Use of metal clamp or special wedge pin connections that are secure,
yet easy to assemble and dismantle
– Add extra features that make handling, erection, and stripping easier
(handles, lifting eyes)
 Other costs affected by FW - 1
• Cranes and Hoists
– Size of form sections should be limited to the capacity of the largest
crane planned for the job.
– Stair towers may be completed early in the schedule to be used for
moving men and materials.
– Leave one bay open to permit mobile crane and concrete truck
movement.

• Bar Setting
– Form design can permit the rebar to be pre assembled before
installation (more favorable condition)
 Other Costs affected by FW - 2
• Concrete Placement
– High lifts in wall construction make placing and vibration difficult.
– Placing rate is limited by form design.

• Other Trades
– The plan should permit other trades to perform their work efficiently
and minimize interruptions in placing.
Among the precautions that can be taken to
ensure formwork function as it suppose to be
are as follow:
- Material used for the construction of formwork must fulfill the
specification.
- Formwork is fixed firmly & properly
- Construction area must be protected to prevent vandalism of formwork.
- Warning sign must be put up at the area where the formwork is fixed to
prevent entrance of people that may damage the formwork.
- The formwork must be inspected before the concrete is poured.
 How to increase the speed of conventional
construction?
1. Use slipform techniques where possible especially when lift core
is present (in high rise). Cores control the vertical rise speed
2. Arrange for a large area pouring of floors (avoid cold joints),
continuous operation
3. Introduction of pre-cast elements where possible (especially in
horizontal locations)
4. Simplification of floor details – less varieties in bar size and
spacing
5. Prefabrication of slab reinforcement (especially when using
mesh reinforcement)
6. Use of straight bar reinforcement
7. Repetition as much as possible in formwork and falsework
allows less labour intensive method
 Concrete Form Design
1. Wall and column forms
For vertical forms, design load consists of the lateral pressure of
the concrete against the form. ACI recommendation:
a. Vertical rate of placement 2.1 m/h or less
p = 7.2 + [785R/(T + 18)] where
p = lateral pressure (kPa)
R = rate of vertical placement
T = temperature (0C)
Maximum pressure ;
143.6 kPa for columns, 95.8 kPa for walls OR 150h (h = height of
form) whichever lesser
Minimum pressure;
28.7 kPa
 Concrete Form Design
b. Vertical rate of placement 2.1 m/h – 3.0 m/h
p = 7.2 + [1154/(T + 18)] + [244R/(T + 18)]
Maximum pressure ;
95.8 kPa OR 150h (h = height of form) whichever lesser
Minimum pressure;
28.7 kPa
c. Vertical rate of placement more than 3.0m/h
p = 23.6h
Minimum pressure;
28.7 kPa
 Concrete Form Design
Conditions ;

When forms are vibrated externally, it is recommended

that twice the design load of equation a. & b. to be used

When a retarder, pozzolan or superplasticiser has been

added equation c. should be used

When concrete is pumped from the bottom, equation c.

should be used together with a minimum additional
pressure of 25% to allow for pump surge pressure
 Concrete Form Design
2. Lateral load for slab forms

H = 0.02 x dl x ws where
H = lateral force applied along the edge of the
slab (kN/m)
dl = design dead load (concrete + formwork) (kPa)
ws = width of slab perpendicular to the form edge
(m)
Min pressure = 1.46 kN/m
 Concrete Form Design
2. Lateral load for wall

Wall Height, h (m) Design Lateral Force Applied

at top of form (kN/m)
Less than 2.4 (h x wf/2)

2.4 m to 6.7 m 1.46 OR (h x wf/2) whichever

greater

6.7 and over 0.358 h OR (h x wf/2)

whichever greater

wf = wind force prescribed by local codes but minimum of 0.65 kPa

(in Malaysia under MS 1553)