Gulf Construction Online - Meva’s AluFix proves ease of use at college

Scaffolding & Formwork

AluFix formwork was used to construct a four-storey building at the English College.

Meva’s AluFix proves ease of use at college

01 December 2019

Lightweight formwork from Meva was used for the construction a new academic building at the English College in Dubai, thanks to its ease of use which is boosting its popularity in various projects worldwide.

The German firm’s well-known hand-set formwork AluFix was recently used by the UAE-based contracting firm City Diamond Contracting for the construction of the four-storey building at the college. The new building with a regular floor height of 4 m was built using the tried-and-tested formwork system.

Highlighting the advantages of the formwork system, a spokesman for Meva says, as the AluFix frame formwork does not need to be assembled on the spot – as would be the case using beam formwork – customers profit from shorter rental periods and require fewer workers.

In addition, easy handling was the most convincing feature of the AluFix hand-set formwork, he says. “Its light weight and the ergonomic grip profile enables the formwork to be used easily without a crane. For example, the new generation of AluFix with dimensions of 1.35 x 0.9 m and equipped with the alkus all-plastic facing weighs only about 24 kg. This more or less corresponds to the weight of comparable plastic formwork. At the same time, the hand-set formwork with closed aluminium profile provides a high degree of stability and durability,” the spokesman elaborates.

Its convincing high-quality cured-powder coating makes it easier to clean and reduces the concrete adhesion, according to him. “Equipped with the familiar alkus all-plastic facing, it ensures top-class concrete quality even after many applications, as the facing does not absorb water. It does not swell or shrink and can be repaired using the same material,” he adds.

As a reliable and flexible partner for joint project planning, Meva was also able to convince the customer, and delivered an ideal solution for complex planning requirements. During new construction at the English College, the lightweight hand-set formwork AluFix was used to form a sump pit as well as parts of the raft foundation.

“Planning the formwork in this area required a great deal of ingenuity on the part of the Meva engineers. The first step was to pour an initial foundation. The plan was to then create a side shutter on the same day in order to directly continue the raft foundation at a higher level. As the concrete foundation had not yet fully set at this point of time, the single-sided stop end required had to be created without loop anchors or support frames,” explains Meva engineer Ric Jayson Mendoza.

As Meva’s experienced formwork experts also work on-site during their projects, they are able to develop viable solutions together with the customers. “We connected a number of flange nuts to long steel struts and welded them to the lower end of the rebars. They thus act as a foundation anchor and support the formwork,” he explains.

A convincing feature of the modular AluFix hand-set formwork system is its optimised height increments for efficient forming without extensions up to a height of 3.5 m. This enables the lightweight aluminium formwork to be used with even greater ease, Mendoza adds.