Formwork
Formwork is the temporary outer shell into which freshly mixed concrete is placed. We set it for walls, columns, downstand beams and slabs, align it plumb and true, and brace it against the pressure of the fresh concrete.
Master builder for structural shells
Structural shell work in Erkelenz. Formed, reinforced, poured.
A structural shell is not built in one go. It rises lift by lift. We set the formwork, place the reinforcement, pour the concrete and build up the masonry until the structure stands and carries. For private clients, developers and architects in Erkelenz and across the Heinsberg district.
- Footing to gable
- Formwork, steel and concrete in one hand
- Run by the master builder himself
Erkelenz, Kreis Heinsberg
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- Founded
- 2008 by Viktor Knop
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- Led by
- A master mason and concrete builder
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- Scope
- Footing to gable
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- Working area
- Erkelenz and the Heinsberg district
Why build solid
Mass is no accident. It is formed first.
What ends up as a wall was a void made of boards, frames and ties beforehand. The formwork decides the dimension, the edge and the surface long before the first cubic metre of concrete flows. That is why every shell we build starts at the formwork rather than at the pour.
On behalf of private clients, developers and architects we build complete structural shells from the footing to the gable. Detached houses, apartment buildings, office buildings and industrial buildings have passed through our hands since 2008.
Concrete forgives nothing that the formwork got wrong.
- The edge
- is made in the formwork
- The load capacity
- sits in the reinforcement
- The dimension
- is checked before the pour
What we do
Six operations, one shell
Everything between the excavation and the roof connection comes from one company. That removes handovers and keeps the site on rhythm.
Reinforcement
We carry out individual and complex reinforcement to drawing. Mesh, bar steel and prefabricated cages are placed, lapped and set off with the cover the design calls for.
Concrete work
Footings, ground slabs, walls, stairs and floor slabs. The concrete is placed, compacted, screeded and cured so that it reaches the strength the structural design requires.
Masonry
Masonry is used wherever the required result is better achieved in architectural, structural or technical terms than in concrete and reinforced concrete. We build basement, external and internal walls.
Stairs
Solid flights and landings are formed, reinforced and poured together with the element they connect to. Cast in place rather than fitted in afterwards.
Earthworks and civils
Excavation, spoil, backfill and everything below ground level. A structural shell begins below zero, not at the ground slab.
How it runs
One lift after another
This is how a construction stage runs with us, from setting out to striking the formwork. Every lift is checked before the next one starts.
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Setting out and drawings
We work through the construction and reinforcement drawings, take dimensions on site and settle what the formwork has to achieve at this point.
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Setting the formwork
Panels are placed, coupled, aligned, tied and braced. Nothing continues until plumb, line and level are right.
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Placing the reinforcement
Steel to drawing, with spacers, laps and anchorage lengths. The reinforcement is inspected and released before the pour.
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Pouring
Concrete goes in layer by layer and is compacted. Lift height, temperature and curing follow the element and the weather.
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Striking
Once the concrete has gained strength the formwork comes off, the surface is checked and the next stage is prepared.
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Masonry and handover
Walls, lintels, slabs and a clean connection for the following trade. The shell stands and is ready to hand over.
We keep you posted on the state of your project and stay available for questions.
Formwork
The form that holds the concrete
Formwork is the temporary outer shell into which freshly mixed concrete is placed. It carries the full pressure of the wet pour, sets every edge, and stands exactly as long as it takes for the concrete to carry itself.
- Frame formwork
- For basement walls, storey walls and columns. Panels are coupled, aligned and tied against the pressure of the pour.
- Slab formwork
- Beams, props and decking for floor slabs and downstand beams, propped until the slab carries itself.
- Purpose made formwork
- Where no panel fits, we build the form from boards and beams to measure. For openings, odd angles and connections to existing structures.
- Striking time
- The formwork comes off when the concrete has gained the strength for it. The element decides that, not the calendar.
Enquiry
Tell us about your shell
One sentence about the project, the location and a number we can reach you on. Everything else we settle on the phone or on site.
Short and direct
- A person answers you, not a ticket system.
- For a firm quote we need the project, the location, the timing and any drawings you already have.
- Partial packages are possible: formwork only, reinforcement only, concrete only.
Received
Your enquiry has reached us. We will come back to you on the number you gave.
Site board
What a KNOP structural shell contains
KNOP Bauunternehmen Erkelenz
- Elements
- Footings, ground slab, basement walls, storey walls, columns, downstand beams, slabs, stairs
- Construction
- Concrete and reinforced concrete, masonry, or both in one structure
- Formwork
- Frame formwork, slab formwork and purpose made formwork
- Reinforcement
- Mesh, bar steel and cages to the reinforcement drawing
- Building types
- Detached houses, apartment buildings, offices, industrial buildings
- Conversions
- Garages, walls, openings, repairs, refurbishment, extensions
- Plant
- Our own cranes and our own vehicle fleet
- Responsible
- Viktor Knop, master mason and concrete builder
The scope is agreed per project. We also take on single packages.
On site
Photographs from our own archive
Formwork, steel, concrete and masonry on KNOP Bauunternehmen sites. Tap an image to see it large.
All photographs come from the picture archive of KNOP Bauunternehmen.
Clients
Who we form for
Private clients
Your house, one contact. We take on the complete shell and explain every step before it happens on site.
Developers
Several units on the same rhythm. We work to your programme and flag any slippage as soon as it is foreseeable.
Architects and planners
Built to your drawings. Anything that will not work out in the formwork we raise before the pour rather than after it.
Questions
What clients ask first
What belongs to the structural shell?
The shell covers the load bearing and space forming parts of a building: footings and ground slab, basement and storey walls, columns, downstand beams, slabs and stairs, plus the masonry going up. Fit out, windows, building services and roof covering are not part of it.
Will you take on the formwork alone?
Yes. Formwork, reinforcement and concrete work are also carried out as single packages when a developer or another contractor provides the rest of the shell.
You are based in Monheim am Rhein. Do you still build in Erkelenz?
Yes. The registered seat is Monheim am Rhein and the work is carried out across the Heinsberg district, Erkelenz included. The company moved there in 2019 in order to widen the area it serves.
When can the formwork be struck?
Once the concrete has gained the strength required for it. That depends on the element, the concrete class, the temperature and the curing, and it is decided on site.
Do I need my own drawings?
For construction, yes: we build to construction and reinforcement drawings. If they do not exist yet, we tell you in the first conversation what is still missing for a firm quote.
How is it best to enquire?
Call, or write a short note about the job. What helps is the project, the location, the intended period and any drawings that already exist.
Working area
Erkelenz and the Heinsberg district
Erkelenz is the reference point of this page. We work across the whole Heinsberg district and beyond it wherever the distance suits the project.
Places we drive to
- Erkelenz
- Heinsberg
- Hückelhoven
- Wegberg
- Wassenberg
- Geilenkirchen
- Übach-Palenberg
- Gangelt
- Selfkant
- Waldfeucht
Your town is not on the list? Ask anyway. The project decides, not the postcode.
The next pour starts with a phone call
Tell us what is to be built. We will look at the drawings and come back with what you need in order to decide.
- Phone
- 02165 171 666
- Company
- Knop Bauunternehmen GmbH
- Address
- Frohnstr. 43, 40789 Monheim am Rhein
- Working area
- Erkelenz, Kreis Heinsberg
Kreis Heinsberg
Structural shell work in Erkelenz
Anyone building in Erkelenz decides with the structural shell everything that follows it. Dimensions, wall thicknesses, openings and connections are fixed here and can only be corrected later at a price. KNOP Bauunternehmen builds complete structural shells in Erkelenz from the footing to the gable, with formwork, reinforcement, concrete and masonry in one hand.
The company was founded in 2008 by Viktor Knop, a master mason and concrete builder, and he runs it to this day. The work is carried out for private clients, for developers and for architects, in new build as much as in conversion: garages, walls, openings, repairs, refurbishment and extensions belong to the programme just as a complete new build does.
Besides Erkelenz we work across the Heinsberg district, among others in Heinsberg, Hückelhoven, Wegberg, Wassenberg and Geilenkirchen. For a first quote the project, the location and any existing drawings are enough.