Advantages over wood or modular forms:
 

1. Forms Easily: Stay-form easily forms into multiple configurations to accommodate shapes for keyways or unusual forms. Stay-form also can be used to form curves or radiuses. To make corner bends, ribs can be notched to a 45-degree angle leaving the mesh between the ribs intact. By bending the remaining mesh to the desired angle, a perfectly formed corner can be formed. Multiple sections of Stay-form can be joined end to end with a 3-inch to 4-inch lap and over lapped one or two ribs to accomplish a side lap. End laps should always occur at a support.
   
   
2. Cuts to Size Easily: Stay-form is shipped in five sheet wire tied bundles. Single or multiple lengths or pieces can be cut utilizing a circular saw with an abrasive metal cutting blade. Snips can also be used to notch small areas or ribs. Stay-form (#66) is manufactured from 25-gage steel that cuts easily.
   
   
3. Easily Penetrated: Stay-form can easily be snipped or punched to accommodate penetrations such as rebars or dowels.
   
   
4. No Surface Preparation before the Next Pour: As the cement paste blossoms through the Stay-form during the vibration process, it ultimately forms a rough surface of ridges. This rough surface combined with the ¾ inch ribs that are spaced approximately 4 inches apart provides the perfect surface texture for the subsequent pour.
   
   
5. No Stripping Required: Since Stay-form is a stay-in-place concrete form, no stripping is required. This means that you can leave the pry bar in the truck. This provides not only a labor savings in stripping cost, but also saves time and money that would be spent cleaning, oiling, moving and storing the plywood or modular forms. It also saves the cost of form release chemicals.
   
   
6. No Hop Scotching Around: Stay-form allows the contractor to anticipate bulkhead locations and place them at the appropriate locations. The contractor can continue tying steel rather than hop scotching to every other pour to allow for stripping forms. By allowing the contractor to continue tying reinforcing steel, Stay-form provides a continuity of work and a cost savings in time on the labor-intensive job. It is always better if a trade can begin a project and work uninterrupted to the completion of their portion of the project.
   
   
7. Pour One Side Today and the Next Side Tomorrow: Since Stay-form stays-in-place and is never stripped, the contractor can pour one side today and the other side tomorrow. Some engineers require forms to remain in place two to three days before stripping of the forms is allowed to proceed. This can add up to many extra weeks that the contractor must spend on the forming portion of the project.
   
   
8. Stay-form Provides Far Better Shear Bonds: Stay-form was compared to B-Matte form board for the forming of bulkheads. Shear bond strength of the resulting joints were tested at 5 days, 14 days and 28 days. The joints formed with Stay-form produced 21 % greater shear bonds at 28 days than the wood formed joints that were roughened or scabbled to ¼-inch depth. The Carlson Test Report is also available as a stand-alone independent document.
   
   
9. Saves Time and Money: All of the above adds up to a savings of time and labor, which translates into a cost savings on every project. The old adage rings true, "Time is money".