Forms are a very important part of the construction process. Often, you will need forms for concrete pours, adobe blocks, or CEBs. Forms come in all shapes and sizes and are designed specifically for the material to be used. The nice thing about forms is that you can design complex shapes and styles into the construction without having to carve hard to work materials like stone and concrete.

Form systems are usually made out of easy to mold materials, like fiberglass, plastics, metal or wood. To make a mold using these materials means that the detailed work can be done in a soft, workable medium. You can work out the kinks and features without having to rebuild the building.

Concrete forms need to be strong and need to be able to hold that strength for at least a few days. Wood is a good material, but metal is better. Recently, many forms have been made with inflatable plastics. These forms are easy to transport, setup, and modify. They are rather fragile, however, and if the form deflates prematurely, you risk loosing the structure. Their advantages are impressive, though, and some of the largest concrete buildings have been built with this method. Imagine inflating a form, spraying it with concrete and reinforcement, and letting it dry for a few days. Yes, that's right, a finished building in a few days. No other forming system can be set up so quickly.

The other approach to forming is to form a small piece of the building at a time, like with block construction. The forms then don't have to be big or strong or durable. With bricks, there are several designs and options, depending on the strength and details required. The basic idea here is transportability. Make your bricks in a central place, and then transport them to the building site. This is advantageous when the building site is not located on a decent material for construction.

Forms can be any shape required, but thought must go into how the material will release from the form. Roof shapes should always be arched, and never flat. This is accomplished with an arched form that is implemented from below the material. Releasing in this instance is very easy, drop the form from below.

Using forms takes some practice to be able to see how a form will perform under pressure of the wet material. Once reinforcement is planned and installed correctly, forming can greatly increase the speed and efficiency of your construction process.