FORMWORK OF CONCRETE (BAGESTING)

FORMWORK OF CONCRETE (BAGESTING)

Concrete is a mixture of water with aggregates gravel, sand, and cement. This mixture will become harden and can be used as part of a construction structure based on a particular design. Therefore, a formwork (bagesting) is needed as a framer of that design. In that sense, a formwork is only used as an assistive device that costs money.

As an assistive tool, formwork is often ignored and created without adequate consideration regarding its strength. The major concern is often the cost of making the formwork. This condition sometimes make the formwork mould the structure incorrectly and even can result in a structural failure as can be seen in the below picture:

This is a failure of formwork (bagesting) in which one formwork's module had failed to sustain the weight of concrete mixture/paste. It was because the supporting pillars of the plate (known as stagger) were arranged within a relatively long distance with each other. Therefore, the load in each plate was way over its limit.

In other condition, the formwork can also bend and result to an uneven surface, lead to a convex appearance. This instance is undesirable because there will be more concrete mixture needed to construct the structure, i.e. flatten the surface. In fact, in the extreme case of total failure, all concrete mix becomes waste and useless. Therefore, despite its main function as an assistive tool in construction, formwork (bagesting) should not be overlooked. Subpar performance in formwork (bagesting) should be avoided through a more detail technical calculation and standardized making process. Doing so will ease the structural work and eventually lead to construction that fit with the initial design. Moreover, great formwork (bagesting) will also ease the subsequent finishing work.