Concrete Form Work

Project: Devil’s Slide Tunnel – Custom Crown Forms Pacifica, California
UFP Plant: Thornton, California

Jared Hillier, concrete forming specialist, from Thornton, CA, helped a customer out of a hole when an entire forming system purchased from another company couldn’t be manufactured and delivered on time. The contractor needed UFP’s help for the Devil’s Slide Tunnel project, a twin-tunnel arrangement that will help reduce highway overflow traffic and create a shorter route. Each tunnel is more than 4,000 feet long.

When it was obvious that the first company could not come through for the project, the customer approached Jared with two design pictures and asked UFP to build the forms. After 22 forms were delivered, the customer called with a rush order for 11 more—all manufactured in less than a week.

Jared and his team at the Thornton plant worked with UFP’s Engineering Department to design and manufacture a custom form. The customer was pleased with UFP’s excellent service, fast reactions and turnaround, and with the quality of the forms.

This is one example of how Universal Forest Products helps customers take form, pour after pour.

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Need help on a project? Set up an appointment with a concrete forming products specialist in your area. Call 866.730.3249 or e-mail concrete@ufpi.com.

Let UFP help you take form pour after poor–visit UFPIconcrete.com

DESIGN OF THE TIMES
UFP is committed to delivering the most innovative designs and to engineering the most suitable, cost-effective concrete forms for the job. Whatever the size of your application, Universal will develop and build concrete forms that meet your construction goals.

Universal’s skilled engineering department works closely with our national concrete forming team to help bring new designs and ideas to the table, to solve problems, and to ultimately make you and your concrete forming project look good, pour after pour. With technical drawings and creative concepts backed by structural engineering and 3-D modeling, Universal will help make your project a solid success.

View drawings and 3-D models.
Contact a concrete forming products specialist.

Universal Forest Products delivers all of your concrete forming product needs coast-to-coast from California and Texas on to the shores of Virgina ...and straight to your job site. Direct from our lumberyards or from the mill, we'll provide you with the forming products that help you take form—pour after pour. Whether it's a run-of-the-mill forming project or a custom job, UFP is here to help you and your project look good. Our team of product experts will work with you to fulfill your needs on time and within budget.

UFP's wide range of innovative concrete forming products is just right for your formwork and shoring project needs. Universals forming products include dimensional lumber, architectural form plywood, wet curing blankets and floor protection material, concrete forming panels, OSHA-approved wood scaffold planks, engineered wood products, plated trusses, beam sides, edge forms, forming boards, load transfer products and even Gates Concrete Systems.

Need a concrete form designed? UFP's engineering department will design or engineer custom wood forms to meet your unique needs.

Concrete slabs curl due to the effects of temperature variation between opposing surfaces of the slab. Concrete slabs may curl when the top surface of the slab is cooler than the bottom surface. The cool surface shortens due to thermal shrinkage, which may deform the perimeter of the slab section upward as the temperature of the bottom surface of the slab stays at a higher temperature. On the other hand, the top surface will expand when it is heated (such as with intense sunlight), which may relax curling or cause reverse curling. Reverse curling is when the concrete slab deforms downward instead of upward.

Concrete slabs warp due the effects of moisture variation between opposing surfaces of the slab. As the top surface of the slab dries, the volume change causes the surface to shorten while the bottom of the slab stays moist. Because the bottom surface stays moist, there is little or no shortening due to the effects of drying. Again as the top surface of the slab shortens and the bottom surface does not the edges lift.

Concrete Hydration
UltraCure wet curing blankets have numerous advantages in preventing slab curling and warping. First is has deep hydration capability. When properly installed, the UltraCure blanket provides a fully saturated surface, helping the concrete to achieve more complete hydration at the surface than other products. Unlike other single-use blankets which tend to dry out after 3-4 days, UltraCure NCF (Natural Cellulose Fabric) provides constant hydration and maintains a 100% relative humidity condition on the slab for the entire 7-day curing period (with proper installation).

Secondly, this wet curing blanket feature non-staining, super absorbent fibers that effectively trap water and serve as a hydrating reservoir for the slab as it cures, reducing moisture loss at the surface which can lead to curling.

UltraCure NCF also features a semi-transparent white poly backing, which provides constant visual reinforcement that the slab remains wet for the entire curing period. The poly backing retards evaporation from heat and wind, both of which can lead to curling at the edges of the slab.

Lastly, the superior water retention ability of UltraCure NCF allows the blanket to absorb more than 46 gallons of curing water per 1,600 sq. ft. roll, providing the critical moisture required for the long term wet curing of concrete surfaces. With typical application and proper installation, the superior absorbency demonstrated by UltraCure NCF means there's no need to re-wet the slab. UltraCure NCF is designed to stay wet, lay flat and reduce moisture loss.

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Universal has teamed up with Gates & Sons, the leader in labor-efficient concrete forming systems, to provide solutions for a wide variety of commercial concrete forming projects. Both UFP and Gates specialize in custom forms built to meet your job specifications, but with Gates. Let Universal Forest Products and Gates help you save time and money on your next concrete forming job.

From column forms to concrete wall construction forms, UFP and Gates Concrete Forming Systems have a safe, fast solution for your custom concrete forming needs. Best of all, Gates forming systems are available for lease or purchase through UFP’s national concrete forming products network.

Our concrete forming products team works directly with Gates to provide solutions for your column forming needs. Column forms using Gates Lok Fast Column Clamp is a great great choice for both custom one-time pours and for multiple-column pour projects like parking garages, high-rise structures, highway bridges and more. Gates column forms can be ganged for higher columns, which will save time and overall project cost.

About Gates & Sons
Since 1948, Gates has been supplying the concrete forming industry with streamlined system-based solutions for concrete forming. Gates & Sons is the industry leader in pre-assembled forming systems in the U.S. A Gates motto is, "Make your forms fit the job. Don't try to make your job fit the forms." UFP and Gates are of the same mindset: We want construction companies to think of their job as a custom job, because chances are, it is.

On the job site, the old adage "time is money" has never been more true than it is today. With crews looking to trim costs at every turn, they also want to deliver a quality product. When your job calls for it, Universal Forest Products has a wide variety of concrete forming options to maximize your crew's performance.

UFP offers dimensional lumber, panels, engineered wood products, plated trusses and beam sides. And because we operate our own fleet of trucks, we'll deliver your forming material on time to your job site in full or partial truckloads.

Our concrete forming dimensional wood is perfect for beam sides, walls, forms and stakes. It's made from treated lumber and available in all grades and sizes—including cut-to-length. Dimensonal lumber is also ideal for retaining walls.

Beam sides and edge forms can be pre-built or custom-built to exact specifications. They are suitable for support beams and are available in HDO, MDO, BB and PSF Phenolic surface finishes. The ends of the beam sides overhang to allow for proper concrete release.