We’ll dig deeper, certainly, but for you, your customers and those not yet acclimated to the what’s and why’s of concrete forming (conform), here’s a primer:

What is conform?  Concrete forming panels or conform are paper overlaid substrate panels (typically plywood) used for concrete forming.

What’s the upside to using conform?  Conform is host to a variety of benefits over raw BBOES Plyform panels, namely it:

• enables significant panel re-use, as panels are easily removed from dried concrete surfaces and the overlay keeps water from seeping into and undermining substrates.  This significantly reduces material and labor costs, and eliminates a lot of unnecessary jobsite waste
• ensures a consistent, quality surface (a variety of surface options are available)
• boasts serious environmental benefits, as it enables the use of sustainably harvested trees, is available with FSC®-certified papers and can contribute to LEED credits for material re-use and waste reduction

How is it made?  Resin saturated papers are applied to substrates during manufacturing to create an indelible bond and enhance panel durability.  The amount and chemistry of the resin is determined based on end-use application.  Arclin, for example, creates a variety of overlays for use with virtually any type of concrete construction, concrete mix and jobsite factors.

What do I need to know about selecting the right conform for a job?  Here’s a quick view of the types and applications of conform panels from Arclin (our competitors’ overlays may differ somewhat; we’re happy to answer any of your questions about the right panel type for your job.

We’ll dive into more details with subsequent issues of Conform Inform and blog posts.  Let us know what you want to know — or what you think would be helpful to your downstream customers.