Capability · 08

Formwork,
set out right.

Vertical and horizontal formwork for residential, commercial and multi-residential builds across Melbourne. Suspended slabs, walls, columns and stairs — set out from engineer's drawings, stripped and cycled on program.

Available as a full scope we deliver — or by the crew, on your site, under your program. See labour crews →

From the field Suspended slab formwork — Cardabuilt, Moorabbin · Formwork · 2025

Overview

Good concrete is a formwork problem.

Every concrete element that comes out clean, square and to dimension is a formwork job done properly. Every one that doesn't — the bow, the honeycomb, the line that's out 20mm — that's a formwork job done badly. We treat formwork as the precision trade it is, not the throwaway one.

Our formwork crews run residential slabs, townhouse suspended slab programs, commercial basement walls and column work, and stair formwork on multi-storey builds. Setout from engineer's drawings, stripped and cycled to program, and signed off against the structural before the pour.

Scope

What we deliver.

Suspended slab formwork — form decks, tables, props, post-tensioned slab support
Vertical formwork — walls, columns, shafts, core walls, blade walls
Horizontal formwork — slabs on ground, transfer slabs, beams
Stair formwork — straight, half-turn, quarter-turn, cantilevered
Slab edge, plinths, upstands, pour strips, construction joints
Architectural concrete — off-form finish detailing, rebate and chamfer formwork
Pool and water-tank formwork — blade walls, slabs, skimmer and plant pits
Edge protection, handrails and fall-arrest systems to formwork perimeters
Strip, clean and cycle management — maximising form reuse without compromising finish
Coordination with steel fixers, concreters, and the certifier pre-pour

How we run it

Setout is the whole game.

A formwork crew that can't read the structural drawings is a crew that'll pour concrete you have to demolish. We run experienced formworkers who set out from engineer's drawings, check grids and levels before the first panel goes up, and flag a clash on day one — not after the pour.

Pour dates are promises. On multi-pour programs — townhouse suspended slabs, commercial basement cycles — the whole job runs off the strip-and-cycle rhythm. We plan it, we commit to it, we deliver it. Concreters don't stand around waiting for forms.

Safety-critical trade. Formwork is height work, impact work, and fall-arrest work. SWMS, edge protection and fall-from-height systems are day-one, not bolted on. Our inductions are current for every head on site.

Under one roof. When the job also needs carpentry, framing or structural work, one contractor handling formwork and carpentry simplifies the coordination — one program, one director, one point of accountability.

Scope fit

When to call us.

Townhouse and multi-residential developments with continuous or suspended slab programs
Commercial projects with basement walls, core walls, column and stair formwork scope
Residential jobs combining formwork with a wider carpentry package under one contractor
Pool, water-tank and retaining-wall formwork as part of a residential build
Builders who've been burned by formwork subbies missing pour dates

FAQ

Common questions.

Do you supply formwork gear or is it hired?
Both models. We own core formwork gear and run a hire relationship for specialist or oversized panels. Either way, the line item is transparent in the quote.

Can you handle post-tensioned slabs?
Yes, in coordination with the post-tension specialist. We set the formwork, the PT contractor installs and stresses, we manage the strip.

What heights are you insured and ticketed for?
Standard working-at-heights scope — fall-arrest systems, edge protection, harness work. Project-specific SWMS produced before we turn up to induction. Height tickets current across the crew.

Can you scale a formwork crew for a multi-pour program?
Yes. We scale deliberately — same lead formworker across the whole scope, right crew depth for the pour rhythm, no random day-rate top-ups.

Got a formwork scope?
Send it through.

Engineering drawings, program and start date — we'll come back with an itemised price and a realistic pour schedule.