Flatwork FAQs

Slim-Line™ forms have a 2” wide top and base and are made of 12ga steel.  Base-Line™ forms come standard with a 2” wide top and a 4” wide base and are made of 10ga. steel.  Slim-Line™ forms are lightweight and require less excavation since the top and base are both 2” wide. They also are interchangeable with many competitive brands of forms.  Heavy duty Base-Line™ forms offer more durability and stability with the 4” wide base and box style stake pockets.

Both Slim-Line™ and Base-Line™ forms can be configured into numerous curb and curb and gutter specifications. Curb and gutter formwork and specification sheets can be downloaded under the flatwork and curb form home page.

Forms are made to properly support the equipment that will be used in the placing and finishing process. Typically, forms will be made to the following guidelines:

• Equipment weighing less than 3,500 lbs. will require a form made of 1/8” (10gauge) steel.
• Equipment weighing 3,500-12,000 lbs. will require forms made of 3/16” steel.

Our staff will guide you through the form selection process to ensure your forms will meet both your requirements and your project specifications. Approval drawings will be provided for your review and acceptance prior to manufacturing.

Forms are manufactured in 10 ft. lengths. However, forms can be made shorter to help meet dowel specs, or for any other reason. Forms cannot be made longer than 10 ft.

Standard Slim-Line™ forms will have a 2” wide base and Base-Line™ forms will have a 4” wide base. However, both forms can be made with wider bases for more stability.

Top treads are made 2” wide on both Slim-Line™ and Base-Line™ forms.

Slim-Line™ forms are supplied with a “bull-nose” style welded, end connection. Base-Line™ forms are supplied with  a “bent plate” style welded  end connection. End connections can be made sliding style to accommodate the removal/stripping process when using dowel bars.

Yes, we can put dowel holes in forms to the size and location of customer’s specification.

Our staff will help you determine the size of the hole in the form. However, it is a standard practice to have the hole be at least 1/8” larger than the diameter of the dowel.

Plastic, or rubber, grommets and plugs are typically not required for use with dowel bars. The use of grommets does however facilitate the stripping process, in that the grommet can pull out with the dowel bar causing less restriction in the form. Grommets and plugs are available in most sizes. Again, our staff would be happy to work with you in selecting the correct one for your form.

The dowel bar support locates and holds the dowels in the correct location and plane so the dowel doesn’t move during the concrete placement process. Supports also facilitate “stripping” the forms by keeping the dowels aligned with the holes in the face of the form.

Yes, all keyways are made to customer specifications. Keyways can also be punched with dowel or rebar holes if required. Forms and keyways will be punched with three bolt holes for attaching the keyway to the form.

Steel forms are supplied unpainted and not oiled. There may be a very small amount of “mill oil” on forms.

Yes, it is highly recommended that a good, quality form release or form oil be used to preserve forms and help keep concrete from sticking to them.

Replacement stake pockets, wedges and end connections are available for MFC manufactured forms by simply providing us with the size of forms, and a rough date of purchase. Lead times for replacement parts will depend on availability and quantity. Contact teh sales team by e-mail HERE or call the office at 414-964-4550 for assistance with part numbers and lead-times.

Forms are usually made to accommodate both ¾” and 7/8” diameter stakes. 7/8” stakes provide the most holding strength and are less susceptible to bending.

Length of stakes is determined by the height of form and sub-base material they are being driven into. Typically, stakes should be no less than twice the height of the form.

Slim-Line™ forms are available with either 2 or 3 stake pockets for forms 4” – 6” in height. Forms over 6” in height will have 3 stake pocket locations. Base-Line™ forms come standard with 2 stake pockets for forms 4” – 9” in height. Forms over 9” will have 3 stake pocket locations.

3/4" & 7/8" nails stake are recommended for both style forms.

Forms are “nested” together and banded with steel or vinyl strapping. Bundles of forms are usually less than 2,000 lbs. Many form orders will be shipped via a common carrier, van type semi.

MFC will supply an estimated freight quote at the time of order. However, depending on availability of trucks and the fluctuations in fuel prices at the time of shipment, we cannot guarantee the actual shipping charges. Customers are always welcome to arrange their own freight pick-up. We ask that customers arrange all shipments with our shipping office before picking up freight.

Residential deliveries will require equipment for offloading product and will be subject to residential delivery surcharges from the trucking company.

All MFC manufactured forms are ready for use upon delivery and require no extra assembly. However, customers purchasing dowel bar supports or keyways will need to assemble them to their forms. Assembly hardware is provided for dowel bar supports and keyways.

Customers will need to be on-site and have equipment available to offload forms. Delivery drivers usually will not assist in offloading forms and will only wait about 1 hour to get unloaded. Forms shipped on flatbeds will normally require the use of forks to remove them from the truck. Equipment should have lifting capacity of a minimum of 3,000 lbs.

Base-Line™ and steel flexible forms have a maximum height of 24”. Slim-Line™ has a maximum height of 14”.

You can stack Slim-Line™ and Base-Line™ forms in combination to achieve up to 24”.

Be sure to oil with either industry standard form-release prior to pouring, then power wash or scrape and brush forms after pouring.

It is recommended they are stored under cover and out of the elements to help reduce pitting and rusting.

Yes, your forms will rust. A rust inhibitor is recommended to reduce the rusting process.

Orders must be placed through your local dealer of contractor supplies. Click HERE to find your nearest dealer.

Click HERE to find your nearest Metal Forms dealer.

No. Metal Forms is strictly a manufacturer of new forms.

4’-5’ is the tightest radius achievable.

Metal Forms can make custom length forms under 10’ to your specification, but cannot exceed 10’ in length.

Metal Forms can make keyway, dowel bar holes, dowel bar supports, wider base widths, thicker gauge steel, and fixed or sliding end connections. Call us at Metal Forms to discuss your specific application and we can engineer a solution to the form configuration.

 To find out current lead-times, click HERE to e-mail our sales team or call the office direct at 414-964-4550 to speak with a sales person.

The load capacities of the forms are determined by job application, gauge thickness of the form, form height, and pocket style. Please contact Metal Forms to determine your specific requirements and maximum weight capacities.

Slim-Line™ and flex forms come standard at 12ga. steel, Base-Line™ forms are standard at 10ga. steel, however, material thickness can be altered to increase  load capacities on your forms. Please contact Metal Forms for your specific requirements.