Formatubes in Victoria, New South Wales & Queensland
Australia’s most well-known product name, The Tubeworks, can happily say it’s a nationally preferred supplier of Formatube with over 14 diameters ranging from the small 150mm ID to the large 1200mm ID Formatube. Formatube is a cardboard tube specifically designed for builders to pour concrete columns above or below ground but also used to create a void in the ground from collapsible soil.
Formatubes
Formatube is a cost-effective method and easy-to-use product that is designed to stand upright, requiring minimal bracing when used as concrete formwork.
The outer surface of a Formatube is impregnated with a plastic coating for water resistance, whilst the inside is coated with an oil lining to prevent concrete from sticking to the Formatube—leaving a smooth, straight-lined concrete column. The Tubeworks currently holds over 700 lengths of Formatubes in our Melbourne plant, with stock lengths of 3 & 4 metres. However, if you are after a longer Formatube, we can join or make a Formatube to your length, with the largest Formatube being 11 metres long.
The Tubeworks designed a new way of creating a better finish on the inside of the Formatube, which we call a Plastitube.
Plastitubes
A Plastitube is where we insert a plastic lining into the inside of the Formatube to remove all spiral marks, leaving a nice Class 1/2 finish rather than the standard Class 2/3 finish a Formatube achieves. Plastitube isn’t a stock size, so please allow our team some time to cut the plastic and insert it into your column, as each diameter has a different cut and number of sheets.
If you require your Formatube to be trimmed down with a plastic liner already inserted, you must ensure you tape up the plastic back to the Formatube to avoid concrete flowing between the liner and the tube wall.
YELLOW & PINK Columns in Victoria
Yellow and Pink tubes are a new, innovative way for above-ground columns that are very light, flexible, and easy to install. The simplicity of the Yellow / Pink is that it ensures extremely high burst strength at a very thin wall thickness, which it relies on for its lightweight, easy-to-strip-off concrete once poured, and it can be poured in most cases at unrestricted pour rates.
Manufactured using a spiral winding technique, the columns leave a slight spiral seam on the inside surface of the tube, although this can be removed by inserting a plastic lining inside the column for a class 1/2 finish. An Ezytube column poured as is leaves a class 2/3 finish.
The semi-flexible wall structure means that the tube wall is forgiving and high, which has resistance to impact; the tube will “spring” back into shape if out of round after transport or other forms of compression. Its small wall thickness allows Ezytubes to be cut on-site with just a knife for on-site projections, conduits, etc. No electric tools are required to strip columns, and there is no risk of electrocution from power tools, giving obvious occupational health and safety advantages.
Yellow / Pink tubes can be fitted with a plastic lining inside the column for a class 1/2 finish. If you must cut the tubes and the plastic, you must ensure the plastic liner is re-taped to the end of the tube to avoid concrete flowing between the liner and the tube wall. Not only can we create a class 1/2 finish with the use of plastic, but we can also assemble column sizes inside the Yellow / Pink tubes as square, rectangular, or other shaped columns. Please give us a call if you wish to discuss further and get a quote.
Yellow / Pink we can create any diameter you desire, with current jobs using 1400mm, 1600mm, and even 1800mm.
Steel Columns
The Tubeworks is proud to announce that it is now in the market as a supplier of steel columns for the construction industry. Made from galvanised steel, our steel columns won’t rust if left outside, with diameters available from 152mm to 1524mm. The Tubeworks’ steel columns can be used both above and below ground, with stripping possible using a grinder.
The strength of these columns can be determined based on gauge, as we have 0.6mm, 0.8mm, 1mm, and 1.2mm available. With stock available in our Melbourne plant, our steel columns can also be made to your building plans, with the largest length so far being 12 metres. Our quick turnaround makes us highly competitive, with delivery happening Australia-wide.
EPH Void Former
The Tubeworks EPH Void Former is a cardboard honeycomb panel used to separate slabs and ground beams from reactive expansive soils. Designed to break down with the absorption of moisture, the EPH will create a void under the slab or beam. The Void Former is made from 400-micron cardboard with a honeycomb cellular core between face sheets, and being made from cardboard, it can be cut with ease. Ranging in different sizes, The Tubeworks holds most sizes in stock.