Tembok Carpenter & Building Services
Concrete Formwork in Kent
Engineered timber and ply formwork built to tight tolerances — foundations, raft slabs, retaining walls and architectural feature pours.
What's Included
Concrete Formwork — The Tembok Way
Formwork is the temporary timber and ply mould that holds wet concrete to shape until it can stand on its own.
- Foundation & raft shuttering
- Retaining wall formwork
- Slip and tilt-up systems
- Striking and finishing
What a mould has to hold back
Wet concrete pushes outward on its mould with real force, and that pressure rises the taller the pour. A shutter that bows even slightly leaves a belly in the finished wall, and one that gives way spills the load across the site.
So the mould is built as a structure in its own right: ply faces backed by timber walings, held together by ties through the pour and braced back to the ground with props and kickers.
Setting out to line and level
Before any shutter goes up, the outline is pegged and strung from the drawings, and levels are transferred from a fixed datum. The faces are then plumbed, squared and checked along their length, because concrete records every error permanently.
- String lines and pegs for the outline
- A datum level carried round the site
- Faces plumbed and braced before steel goes in
- A final check of line and level just before the pour
Choosing the face the concrete will show
The inside of the shutter becomes the surface of the finished concrete. Smooth ply gives a clean, even face; sawn boards leave a board-marked texture with the grain printed into it, which suits feature walls and exposed foundations alike.
A release agent is applied to the face so the concrete lets go cleanly, and joints are sealed to stop grout leaking and leaving honeycombed edges.
Openings, cast-in items and striking the shutters
Pipe sleeves, ducts, fixing plates and boxed-out openings are placed in the mould before the pour, because cutting hardened concrete afterwards is slow and can damage reinforcement. The reinforcement itself is designed by a structural engineer and fixed to their drawings.
When the shutters come off is set by the engineer or the specification, not by guesswork. Props under slabs often stay longer than side shutters. Sound shutters are cleaned and reused on the next section.
What the price of a mould depends on
Formwork cost follows the shape of the concrete and the finish it must leave.
- Height and length of walls, which drive tie and prop numbers
- Smooth ply or board-marked faces
- Curves, steps and changes of level
- Openings, sleeves and cast-in items to set out
- How many times shutters can be reused across the job
- Access for materials, pumps and props
- How long props must stay in place under slabs
Areas covered
Concrete Formwork across Kent & East Sussex
FAQs
Concrete Formwork — frequently asked
What is a release agent on formwork?
A coating applied to the shutter face so the concrete separates cleanly when the mould is removed, leaving an even surface.
Can formwork give concrete a timber texture?
Yes. Sawn boards used as the shutter face leave a board-marked finish with the grain printed into the concrete.
Who decides when shutters can be removed?
The structural engineer or the specification sets this. Props supporting slabs usually stay longer than side shutters.
Can pipes be added after the concrete is poured?
It is possible but slow and can damage reinforcement, so sleeves and ducts are usually set in the mould before the pour.
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