Choosing formwork board by price per sheet is how projects pay twice – once in pours lost to delamination, once in the labour of re-facing. The honest selector is reuse cycles matched to the pour schedule, and the glue system that survives the site’s moisture. KaiVoy’s full range is on the formwork plywood page; this guide picks the thickness and grade.
The panel range at a glance
| Panel | Size | Glue | Reuse |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial plywood 12 mm | 1220 × 2440 mm | Interior grade | Fit-out and packing, not formwork |
| Red board / bare 15 mm | 1220 × 2440 mm | Urea (dry use) | Typically 3-5 pours |
| Black film faced 15 mm | 1220 × 2440 mm | MR | Typically 6-12 pours |
| Black film faced 18 mm | 1220 × 2440 mm | MR | Typically 8-15 pours |
| Fair-faced formwork 18 mm | 1220 × 2440 mm | Phenolic WBP | Typically 10-20 pours |
| Shuttering 18 mm | 1830 × 915 mm | Film faced option | Volume shuttering, edges sealed on request |
How to read the table
- Glue decides survival, film decides finish: urea glue (red board) is for short-cycle, dry work where the concrete face is not the final surface; MR film-faced panels carry moisture through a mid-rise schedule; phenolic WBP is for exposed fair-faced concrete where the panel outlives the pour calendar.
- Thickness buys stiffness, not life: the extra 3 mm from 15 to 18 mm shows up as less deflection across the joist spacing – the pages linked above list the span logic per panel.
- Size follows the site: 1220 × 2440 mm (4 × 8 ft) is the export standard; the 1830 × 915 mm (3 × 6 ft) shuttering format is what many Asian and Middle East sites cut and handle.
- MOQ steps with the board: 100 sheets on the film-faced and red board lines, 200 on commercial and 3 × 6 ft shuttering – enough to matter when planning mixed containers with other building materials.
HS codes and shipping
Classification and packing are covered separately in the film faced plywood HS code guide; boards palletize and container-load cleanly, and edge sealing is confirmed at order.
FAQ
Is 15 mm enough for slab formwork?
For typical residential spans with standard joist spacing, the 15 mm film-faced panel covers it; wider joist spacing or heavier pour rates move you to 18 mm for the stiffness, which is also why its reuse range runs higher.
Why does fair-faced cost more per pour?
It costs more per sheet and less per pour – phenolic WBP panels at 10-20 cycles undercut MR panels on cost per use once the schedule repeats. One-off pours rarely recover the difference.
How do we price a container?
Request a quote – Panel mix, sheet counts and destination port – with those three we quote FOB / CFR / CIF and confirm lead time with the mill.