OPERATING MANUAL

October 2009
COFFOR SERVICES S.A.
21, rue de Chantepoulet
1201 Geneva, Switzerland
tel. +41 22 716 1616 - fax +41 22 716 1610
www.coffor.com - info@coffor.com

Operating manual October 2009

BUILDING WITH COFFOR

TABLE OF CONTENT
1. TRACING AND PREPARING ..............................................................................3!
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2. PLACING PANELS..............................................................................................6!
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3. FIXING COFFOR PANELS..................................................................................9!
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4. FINAL ADJUSTMENT .......................................................................................13!
5. OPENINGS.........................................................................................................14!
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6. INSERTING REBAR ..........................................................................................18!
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7.USING SINGLE COFFOR PANELS FOR HIGHLY RENFORCED WALLS ......21!
8. FRAMING OF COLUMNS AND BEAMS...........................................................23!
9. EDGE CLOSING ................................................................................................24!
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10. CONDUITS.......................................................................................................25!
11. CHECKING BEFORE CONCRETING .............................................................26!
12. CONCRETING .................................................................................................27!
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13. WALL FINISHING ............................................................................................30!
EXHIBIT 1: CONSTRUCTIVE INSTRUCTIONS....................................................32!
EXHIBIT 2: LINTEL AND BEAM ..........................................................................33!
EXHIBIT 3: COFFOR TO BUILD ROOFS .............................................................34!
EXHIBIT 4: WALL/FLOOR CONNECTION ...........................................................35!

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Operating manual October 2009

1. TRACING AND PREPARING

1.1) TRACING ON THE SLAB
WITH A CHALK BOTH SIDES OF THE WALL

1.2) NAILING WOODEN BOARDS

One board required

Nails

2nd board optional

Interior Walls

Exterior Walls

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Operating manual October 2009

1.3) PLACING PROPS AND SUPPORTS

Maximum distance between props or supports is 3 m

Anchoring
Anchoring
screwsscrews
or use or
reserves
use
reserves
wires
floor
wires
from the
floorfrom
in a the
secure
in a secure
manner
manner (4 mm
diameter wire

Adjustable support

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Operating manual October 2009

THESE SUPPORTS ARE MULTIFUNCTIONAL.

THEY SERVE AS VERTICAL ALIGNMENT,
STABILIZER FOR THE PANELS AND THEY
ALSO SERVE AS WORKING PLATFORM.
ANY KIND OF SUPPORT CAN BE USED WITH
COFFOR
PROVIDED
SECURITY
IS
MAINTAINED.

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Operating manual October 2009

2. PLACING PANELS
2.1) STARTING FROM THE ANGLES AND THE OPENINGS

(TEAMS OF 2 PEOPLE)

Temporary fastening
with wire

The length of starter bar is increased by 15

cm because they are not necessarily aligned
with the C profiles of the panels.
+15 cm

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Operating manual October 2009

2.2) GAP BETWEEN COFFOR PANELS

The gap between 2 COFFOR panels should not exceed 1 cm.

Maxi 1cm
2.3) WHEN COFFOR PANELS IS NOT WIDE ENOUGH
- SOLUTION 1: L < 20 cm, place a strip of rib lath

Screws on C profile OR use steel wire

Rib lath

Direction of rib lath

YES
OUI
YES

Horizontal ribs

NO

Vertical ribs
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Operating manual October 2009

- SOLUTION 2: 20cm > L > 20 cm, use a wooden boards screwed or fastened
with steel wire to the C profile

Midle of wall
End of wall

- SOLUTION 3: Cut the panel to the required size with a circular saw (not
recommended as more time consuming).

Pre-cut COFFOR panel

2.4) FASTENING OF PANELS TO EACH OTHER

It is recommended to fastern adjacent panels with wire to one another every
60-80 cm approximately. Preferably it is the C profiles that are fastened to the
adjacent panel.
During the alignement process, they are already connected to one another.

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Operating manual October 2009

3. FIXING COFFOR PANELS

3.1) SOLUTION WITH WOODEN BOARD

1 Fixing wooden boards horizontally every 0.80 - 1.20 m,

preferably on both sides.

Overlapping
min 0,50 m

O, 80 - 1,20
m

Boards are screwed

or fastened

!
!

Each panel should be fixed horizontally with screws or steel wire spaced every
0.80 m -1.20 m
Overlapping of 2 wooden boards should be minimum 0.50 m

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Operating manual October 2009

2 Final fixing

Fix props on the board

with screw or wire
4 mm

3 Fix boards on both side of the panel top

Boards screwed,
fastened with wire or
with clamp

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Operating manual October 2009

3.2) SOLUTION WITH L CHANNEL

1 Fixing steel tubes or L channel (with holes) to the COFFOR

straightener every 0.80 1.20m, preferably on both sides :
Overlapping
minimum 0,50 m

1.20 m

L channel is screwed

or fastened

!
!

Each panel should be fixed with screws or wire spaced every 0.80m -1.20 m
Overlapping of 2 L profiles should be minimum 0.50 m

2 Final fixing
(Can be done simultaneously while fixing
the L channel)

Fix the prop to the L

channel with screws or
fasten with wire
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Operating manual October 2009

3 Fixing channels on both side of the panel top to align the panels

2 L channels screwed
or fastened on top

ALTERNATIVELY, ROUND TUBES 50 mm CAN REPLACE

WOODEN BOARD OR STEEL L CHANNEL

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4. FINAL ADJUSTMENT
ADJUSTING VERTICALITY OF THE COFFOR PANEL

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5. OPENINGS
5.1) DOORS

1- Placing panels on both

side of the door

2- Placing L channels or
wooden board

3- Placing props

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Operating manual October 2009

OR

4- Use a COFFOR
panel as lintel

4- Use traditional wooden

board for lintel

COFFOR panels with special heights can be ordered from the factory or cut on site
with a circular saw
To adjust the panel length to the required size, see paragraph 2.3 WHEN PANEL IS
NOT WIDE ENOUGH

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Operating manual October 2009

5.2) WINDOWS
SOLUTION 1: PANELS PLACED ON BOTH SIDE OF THE OPENING

1- Place panels on both

side of the opening

3-Place Apron

2- Place L channels or
wooden board
Placichannels or wooden
board Mise en place des
cornires ou tasseaux

4- Place mock-up (leave

1cm on 4 sides)

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Operating manual October 2009

OR

5- COFFOR lintel fixed

with channel or board

!
!
!

5- Traditional formwork
for lintel

See Exhibit 2 for placement of lintel

COFFOR panels with special heights can be ordered from the factory or cut on site
with a circular saw.
To adjust the panel length to the required size, see paragraph 2.3 PANELS TO
SHORT

SOLUTION 2: CUTTING COFFOR PANELS

(solution when labour cost is expensive compared to material cost)
1- Placing all panels
2- Fixing them with channels or boards
3- Cutting the opening with a circular saw

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Operating manual October 2009

6. INSERTING REBAR
SEE THE ANIMATED POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

(With COFFOR, rebar is placed after panels are positioned)

6.1) REBAR IN CURRENT PORTION OF THE WALL
(NORMALLY NON NECESSARY UP TO 5-STORY BUILDINGS)

Anti crack welded wire is not necessary with COFFOR

6.1.1 HORIZONTAL REBAR

Slide horizontal rebar over the connectors.

Attach from the outside horizontal rebar to the
COFFOR panel

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Operating manual October 2009

6.1.2 VERTICAL REBAR

REBAR GROUPED BY PAIR TO BE ORDERED OR FASTENED ON SITE

Top
connection

Slide rebar grouped

by pair into COFFOR

Bar !5

Bottom
connection

Rebar by pair

View from top

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Operating manual October 2009

6.2) REBAR FOR ANGLE WALL AND CROSSING WALL

SEE CONSTRUCTIVE INSTRUCTIONS FILE

6.3) REBAR FOR LINTEL AND BEAM

SEE EXHIBIT 2

6.4) REBAR FOR COFFOR ROOF

SEE EXHIBIT 3

6.5) CONNECTING WALL AND FLOOR

SEE EXHIBIT 4

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Operating manual October 2009

7.USING SINGLE COFFOR PANELS FOR HIGHLY

RENFORCED WALLS
In situations when walls are very renforced, the rebar are placed FIRST and then the
single Coffor panels around.

Rebar already in place

Single COFFOR panel

1. PLACE THE SINGLE PANELS TO THE RIGHT POSITION AGAINST THE

REBAR ALREADY IN PLACE
2. TIE TUBES (OR L PROFILES OR TIMBER) HORIZONTALLY TO THE C
PROFILE OF THE PANELS EVERY 50 CM
3. THE HORIZONTAL TUBES ARE TIED ON BOTH SIDES
4. TIE THE HORIZONTAL TUBES FACING EACH OTHER WITH 4 MM WIRE
MAKING SURE THAT C PROFILE JUST TOUCHES THE REBAR

WHEN CONSTRUCTION IS DONE WITH SINGLE SIDE COFFOR

PANEL, THE DISTANCE BEWTEEN HORIZONTAL TUBES AND
VERTICAL SUPPORTS OR TUBES IS REDUCED :
- 0.80-1.20 M TO 0.50 M FOR HORIZONTAL ALIGNMENT
- 3 M TO 1 M FOR VERTICAL ALIGNMENT

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Operating manual October 2009

5. PLACE VERTICAL SUPPORTS ON ONE SIDE EVERY 1 M.

6. TIE EVERY TUBES TO THE VERTICAL SUPPORTS
7. ADJUST THE SUPPORTS TO MAKE SURE THE PANELS ARE STRICTLY
VERTICAL
8. ANCHOR SECURELY THE VERTICAL SUPPORTS TO THE FLOOR WITH
SCREWS OR WITH RESERVE WIRE ( 4 MM DIAMETER) FROM THE FLOOR.
9. CLOSE THE EDGES

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Operating manual October 2009

8. FRAMING OF COLUMNS AND BEAMS

Coffor can be used to build columns and beams. The technique is identical as the
one for building very armed walls. Coffor single panels are used and placed after the
rebar.
Single panels are folded using a wood plank that is placed in parallel to the profiles
according to the dimension of the column or beam to build. It is recommended to use
two single Coffor panels.

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Operating manual October 2009

9. EDGE CLOSING
9.1) OPENINGS
See SECTION 5.
9.2) WALL EDGE
Using plank

Plank screwed
To C profile

Using rib lath

Rib lath screwed

to C profile
(horizontal ribs)

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Operating manual October 2009

10. CONDUITS

1- Cutting the rib lath with

Shear or circular saw

2- Fixing reserves to tubes coming from the floor

Reserve placed by
the electrician

Conduit coming from the floor

3- A complete floor can be done in one day

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Operating manual October 2009

11. CHECKING BEFORE CONCRETING

BEFORE CONCRETING, IT IS NECESSARY TO CHECK:

WALL ALIGNMENT

CLOSING OF CORNER, EDGES OF DOORS AND WINDOWS

REBAR POSITIONING

THE SECOND WORK RESERVES RE COMPLETED

THE GROUND AREA AROUND THE COFFOR PANELS IS CLEAN

THESE STEPS ARE IMPORTANT FOR A GOOD AND CONSISTANT QUALITY

WORK

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Operating manual October 2009

12. CONCRETING
12.1) FROM THE FLOOR BEING CONSTRUCTED
(SLOWER METHOD BECAUSE A PLATFORM IS NEEDED)
Type of concrete
Normal concrete
Slump around 12-18 cm
Aggregates 0/20
Pouring
With a bucket
With a pump with a two-throw bend to reduce the speed of the concrete flow
Diameter of the nozzle should be less than 10 cm.

Place starter bar

Two-throw
bend

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Operating manual October 2009

12.2) FROM THE UPPER FLOOR

USING TRADITIONAL FORMWORK OR PREFABRICATED
FLOOR OR HOLLOW-CORE FLOOR
Traditional formwork, prefabricated
or hollow core slab

COFFOR exterior side higher

to eliminate edge formwork

Formwork crossbracing

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Operating manual October 2009

POURING
Concrete is poured
on the floor
Concrete is pushed with a
shovel, or use of a ramp

12.3) VIBRATING

!
!

External vibrating with a wooden hammer (preferably)

Inside vibrating possible - diameter of the needle < 25 mm

The needle should stay 40 mm away from the rib lath

Stop vibrating as soon as chalking starts to come out

12.4) SMOOTHEN THE SURFACE

The panel surface should be roughly smoothed and the excess chalking going
through the rib lath be recuperated.

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12.5) CONCRETING THE WALLS AND THE UPPER SLAB IN ONE PASS
To optimize concreting time and quality of construction, it is recommended to pour in
the same pass the walls and the upper slab. This will provide a concrete monolithic
structure of the best quality.
This implies of course that rebar reinforcement of the upper slab must be set before
concreting the walls

13. WALL FINISHING

Traditional or projected finishing, plaster

Any cladding is possible: wood, stone, plasterboard, etc.

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Operating manual October 2009

EXHIBITS

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Operating manual October 2009

EXHIBIT 1: CONSTRUCTIVE INSTRUCTIONS

SEE THE CONSTRUCTIVE INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL

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EXHIBIT 2: LINTEL AND BEAM

1. PLACE THE COFFOR LINTEL

2. TIE THE COFFOR LINTEL TO THE TWO ADJOINING COFFOR WALLS AT
THE 4 CORNERS OF THE LINTEL WITH WIRE
3. PLACE THE HORIZONTAL REBAR
4. PUT THE U BAR FROM BOTTOM AND TIE THE U BAR WITH THE
HORIZONTAL REBAR
5. FIX THE COFFOR LINTEL WITH HORIZONTAL TUBES AS NORMAL WALL
PANELS
6. CLOSE THE BOTTOM WITH TIMBER

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Operating manual October 2009

EXHIBIT 3: COFFOR TO BUILD ROOFS

To build a slab or a roof with COFFOR a single side panel must be used.
1. Timber is placed horizontally every 150 cm.
2. Supports are placed under the timber approximately every 200 cm..
3. The horizontality is checked.
4. Timber is placed perpendicularly to the timber that is attached to the wood
supports approximately every 50 cm.
5. The single face Coffor panels are placed on the timber. The C profiles of the
panel should be perpendicular to the direction of the timber underneath it. The C
profile will be used as a support for the rebar.
6. One should not walk on the Coffor mesh where there is no timber directly
underneath it.
TIMBER

TIMBER
SUPPORT

7. The rebar are added according to the civil engineer calculations.

8. The concrete is poured with a pump or with a shovel. The slump should not
exceed 10-15 cm (max).

The COFFOR panels that will support the slab will preferable have the exterior face
higher tht the interior face of the thickness of the slab. The exterior face of the
COFFOR panel will therefore replace the edge formwork.

For a roof having a slope greater than 30 degree, normal double sided COFFOR
panel must be used.

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Operating manual October 2009

EXHIBIT 4: WALL/FLOOR CONNECTION

4.1) SLAB/CONTINUOUS FACADE WALL
1) THE COFFOR PANEL ACTS AS EDGE SLAB FORMWORK
THE EXTERIOR SIDE IS HIGHER TO
ELIMINATE THE EDGE FORMWORK
THE SLAB FORMWORK IS IN TRADIONAL PLYWOOD, COFFOR SINGLE SIDE
OR PREFABRICATED

Starter bar

Plywood
Coffrage
contre plaqu

Slab

2) REINFORCING THE SLAB

Based on the engineers calculalations

Standard
Standard
reinforcement
reinforcem
ent

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Operating manual October 2009

3) PLACE THE COFFOR PANEL ON THE STARTER BARS OF

THE UPPER FLOOR

COFFOR panel

4.2) SLAB/FACADE WALL

1)

THE COFFOR PANEL ACTS AS EDGE SLAB FORMWORK

THE EXTERIOR SIDE IS HIGHER TO
ELIMINATE THE EDGE FORMWORK
THE SLAB FORMWORK IS IN TRADIONAL PLYWOOD, COFFOR SINGLE
SIDE OR PREFABRICATED

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Operating manual October 2009

2) REINFORCING THE SLAB

Plywood

Prefabricated
Prefabric
slab
ated

4.3) SLAB/INTERNAL WALL

THE SLAB FORMWORK IS IN TRADIONAL PLYWOOD, COFFOR SINGLE SIDE

OR PREFABRICATED

Plywood

Prefabric
Prefabricated
slab
ated

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3) REINFORCING AND CONCRETING THE SLAB

Upperd'acier
reinforcement
layer
Nappe
suprieure
Traditional
Traditionalreinforcement
reinforceme
Lower reinforcement
layer
Nappe
d'acier infrieure

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Operating manual October 2009

4.4) SLAB - CONTINUOUS INTERIOR WALL

1) THE FORMWORK OF THE SLAB IS IN TRADITIONAL PLYWOOD, COFFOR
SINGLE SIDE OR PREFABRICATED

Traditional plywood

Prefabricated

2) SLAB REINFORCEMENT AND CONCRETING

Upper
Upperreinforcement
reinforcementlayer
layer

Lower
Lowerreinforcement
reinforcementlayer
layer

Traditional
reinforcement
Traditional
anchoring

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Operating manual October 2009

3) PLACEMENT OF THE COFFOR PANEL ON THE STARTER BARS OF THE

UPPER FLOOR

COFFOR
panel

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