Stripping the basement walls

Today the formwork removal work for the walls of my basement has begun. I was just at the construction site and saw that the workers are inserting huge amounts of steel mesh between the formwork panels :mad: I didn’t want to look stupid on site, so here is the question now: What is this steel mesh actually good for and when and how do the workers remove the mesh again? Because steel is really expensive. Is it pulled out while the concrete is still wet? Because I don’t really want to pay for chiseling it out and I haven’t found a suitable item for this in the cost estimate. Should I stop the work before I get ripped off by the construction company here? I hope someone can help me quickly. Thanks in advance, Georg

Pardon, I'll start like this: I'm not entirely sure if the question is serious - but I take it very seriously. The steel grids are reinforcement mats and naturally remain in the concrete, that’s how it becomes reinforced concrete. Concrete can withstand compression well, but little tension, hence the steel-concrete combination. I assume that instead of stripping formwork, placing formwork is meant.

Whether more has to be paid depends on the contract. If it is a lump-sum contract with a reinforced concrete basement, no additional costs should be expected.

A recommendation: If the construction is at the beginning, as it seems, and there is no experience with building - which is no shame - the involvement of an external construction supervisor should be considered. Otherwise, throughout the entire construction period there will be points at which you doubt; at some point, even a forum won’t help anymore.

Hello Baucoach,

... I'm not quite sure if the question is meant seriously - ...

I feel the same way, which is why I didn't address it ...

It is (unfortunately) an increasingly common phenomenon: building combined with zero knowledge (where else from, as a layman), plus trying to be as cheap as possible and cutting out the only available helping hand – experts – for cost reasons :mad:

Kind regards