Today you can have a driveway that looks like stone, or bricks, and it all comes in the form of concrete detailing that is now available. In the case of patios, there are stamping designs. All kinds of new innovations can be learned from your local expert in artificial grass company alabama consulting. In other cases, you can have concrete walls and columns also poured appearing as tile, stone, or brick, and this is all due to the type of concrete formwork.
Concrete formwork is the system of boards and supports that support the concrete until it cures because concrete is aggregate, e.g. a coarse gravel and sand, cement which serves as the binder, and finally water. As such, concrete is initially a heavy slurry material from the aggregate and water mass. The forms need to be a material that can withstand this pressure and weight. Usually a contractor needs sturdy form boards which have to be reinforced with braces so that the forms don’t bulge. The concrete flows and adapts to the shape of the formwork desired by the contractor. Depending on the design, the formwork must perform its’ job both to hold the concrete’s shape and then to impart the concrete detailing desired. Hence, your finished concrete work is only as good as the concrete formwork. Also since concrete curing is a chemical process, if you don’t treat your forms with “formoil”, then you won’t be able to remove your designer form easily which will cause damage to the intended design work.
Since concrete needs to flow into nooks and crevices for the design work, you have to have the correct slump. This is the percentage breakdown of components for the concrete to flow correctly. Your expert in concrete consulting will also be able to tell you the needed mix. If the proper recipe is not followed the concrete can fail structurally and/or decoratively.
Even with a designer driveway, you have to have good formwork. Usually a contractor will use at least one inch thick plywood for a form board. Yet even then, the forms still have to be reinforced every 16 inches or 2 feet with a brace anchored into the ground. The mass of the concrete is pushing out and wants to flow everywhere, so to have that clean driveway edge, the formwork walls have to be extremely sturdy to withstand the pressure. This is very important when you start to stamp the surface of your patio for concrete detailing. As the concrete cures, but is not totally dry that is the time to start stamping and as you are pressing the pattern into the concrete your formwork has to hold. The saying so goes that “your concrete project is only as good as your formwork.”
