Can You Leave Wood Forms on Concrete After Pouring?

Can wood forms be left in place after a concrete pour or do they have to be removed? When do they have to be removed and why? Many concrete jobs, especially DIY projects, use wood to make forms for pouring concrete. But wood is a porous substance and will absorb water from the wet concrete as well as any surround materials that have moisture.

Wood swells or expands when it absorbs water. If this happens to the wood while it is used for concrete forms, it will likely cause damage to the new concrete in one way or another. If the wood swells, it can change the shape of the project, leave voids where the swollen wood framing was and where concrete should have been. it could break off some of the fresh concrete when trying to remove the swollen boards. It could cause staining from the tannins of the wood.

When using wood to make forms for concrete, plan your forms to be removable after the concrete has begun to harden. This way, the wood has not had enough time to absorb the amount of water it would take to start expanding, and the concrete is hard enough that the forms can be removed without concrete failure.

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00:00 - What happens to wood forms with wet concrete?
00:39 - More advanced form work
00:59 - Why wood forms need to be removed
01:29 - Don't Leave Wood Forms Behind!

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