Rise Wall Applications
Explore the wall applications and project conditions that determine suitability.
Pour a continuous reinforced concrete wall on site, inside PVC formwork that stays in place as the finished face.
Rise Wall Permanent Formwork
In Situ Concrete Walls: Method, Specs and Applications
Rise Wall is a lay flat permanent formwork system for in situ concrete walls on homes, townhouses, apartments and commercial buildings, with suitability assessed for each project. The panels stay in place after the pour, so there is no formwork stripping stage.
What Is In Situ Concrete, and How Does Rise Wall Build It?
In situ concrete is concrete poured and cured in the exact place it will stay, rather than cast in a factory and delivered. An in situ concrete wall is formed, reinforced and poured on site as one continuous wall.
Cast in situ concrete is the same thing by another name. The alternatives are precast panels, made off site and craned into place, and tilt up panels, cast flat on the slab and lifted upright.
Builders choose poured concrete walls because they give one continuous wall with no panel joints between precast units, shaped to the site. The wall is monolithic: one solid piece of reinforced concrete, tied into the footing or slab through the starter bars. Any construction joints, connections and penetrations are detailed for the proposed wall.
Traditionally, that wall needs removable formwork. Timber or steel forms are built, braced and poured against, then stripped, cleaned and taken away.
Rise Wall changes that last part. It uses twin skin PVC panels with internal reinforcement cradles. The panels form the wall cavity and remain in place after the concrete is poured, so nothing is stripped. They are lay flat panels, delivered flat for compact transport and storage before assembly on site. The Vinyl Council of Australia explains how PVC permanent formwork works.
Rise Wall is currently offered for 200mm thick walls. Confirm panel dimensions and availability against your project drawings when requesting a quote. Rise Products is an Australian owned and operated business, and Rise Wall was designed by builders for builders.
Rise Wall is a permanent formwork wall system offered for the wall types in our Rise Wall applications. This page covers the in situ wall itself.
In Situ Concrete Walls
Retaining Walls
Form reinforced concrete retaining walls with engineered footing and drainage details.
Basement Walls
Explore basement wall applications with project-specific waterproofing and drainage.
External Walls
Review external-wall uses, finishes and project-specific design considerations.
Internal Load Bearing Walls
Review structural wall applications, subject to the project design and required performance.
In Situ Concrete Walls
Form reinforced concrete walls poured in their final position, with permanent panels left in place.
Columns, Blade Walls and Lift and Stair Shafts
Discuss structural wall and shaft applications, with dimensions and performance confirmed for the project.
Fences, Planter Boxes and Balcony Upstands
Explore smaller wall applications, with the design, finish and site requirements assessed for the job.
Pits and Tanks
Discuss permanent formwork for pits and tanks with a project-specific water-retaining design.
In Situ Concrete Walls
Featured Product
Rise Wall Water Resistant
Permanent formwork designed for reinforced concrete wall applications where water resistance and project-specific structural performance are required.
Benefits of In Situ Concrete Walls Built with Rise Wall
An In situ Rise Wall gives you one continuous reinforced concrete wall with no formwork stripping stage. These are the differences builders notice first.
One monolithic wall
The wall is one piece of
reinforced concrete, tied
into the footing or slab
through the starter bars.
No panel joints to seal
Because the wall is
poured in place, there
are no joints between
precast units to seal
after it goes up.
Nothing to strip
The PVC formwork stays
as the wall face, so
nothing is stripped,
cleaned or sent back
after the pour.
Lay flat panels
Panels arrive flat and
stack compactly, which
helps on infill and
townhouse sites with
little room to store
material.
To be clear about what it does not change: Rise Wall removes the stripping stage, but curing time, weather and site access still shape your programme, as they do for any in situ concrete. Plan for them in the same way. What changes is the work that follows the pour: on a removable system the crew comes back to strip, clean and stack the forms, and on a Rise Wall that visit never happens.
In Situ Concrete Wall Specifications with Rise Wall
These are the confirmed Rise Wall specifications for in situ concrete walls. Anything project specific, such as wall height, reinforcement and fire performance, is set by your structural engineer.
- Currently offered for 200mm thick walls. The engineer sets the wall thickness for height, loadsand any fire performance.
- Twin skin PVC, delivered lay flat
- Steel placed in the internal reinforcement cradles to the structural engineer’s design
- Lift heights, placement rate and any staged pours follow the current Rise installation instructions and the project engineering
- The PVC face remains. Paint, render, tile or cladding is selected and detailed for compatibility with the panel and project
- Subject to the specified concrete strength and support requirements
Send your drawings with the quote request and the quote confirms the panel sizes, freight and lead time for your walls. Need the full material detail? See PVC formwork. For engineers checking the system, the most useful thing to send early is the wall schedule: each wall type with its height, length, openings and any fire or
water requirement.
Why Choose Rise Products for In Situ Concrete Walls
Rise Products is an Australian owned and operated business, and Rise Wall was designed by builders for builders, so the system is set up around how in situ walls are actually built.
01
Priced Against Your Drawings
Quotes are prepared from the project information supplied, so pricing is based on the actual wall requirements.
02
One system across the job.
The same panels can form party walls, basement walls and cores on the same project.
03
Delivery Confirmed Per Order
Availability, freight and lead time are confirmed for your location and date.
04
Documents for your engineer.
Technical information is available on request for the engineer and certifier.
Rise supplies the system; your builder or concreter installs it, following the current Rise installation instructions and your project engineering.
Which Buildings Suit an In Situ Rise Wall
An in situ Rise Wall can be considered for walls designed as reinforced poured concrete where safe concrete placement can be arranged. Suitability is assessed for each wall and building, so send the wall heights, loads and drawings rather than relying on a storey limit.
Internal Load Bearing Walls
A load bearing wall carries floor or roof loads down to the footing. That load sets the reinforcement, so the engineer designs bar size and spacing for each wall. A party wall between two homes also has fire performance requirements, which must be confirmed for the specified wall construction. See internal load bearing walls.
Insitu Concrete Walls
In situ concrete walls are poured and cured in their final position on site. This is the general case, and the other seven applications are variations of it. The deciding condition is safe concrete placement access along the wall line. See in situ concrete walls.
External Walls
An external wall is part of the building envelope and faces the weather. With Rise Wall, the PVC formwork remains as the wall face after the pour. The deciding condition is the finish the design calls for, since some specifications require a masonry, rendered or off form concrete look. Any finish must be selected and detailed for compatibility with the panel. See external walls.
Retaining Walls
A retaining wall holds back soil where the ground level changes. Rise Wall can be considered for retaining walls subject to project engineering, forming a poured, reinforced wall tied into an engineered footing. The allowable retained height, footing, reinforcement and drainage depend on the site conditions and design. Read more about retaining walls.
Basement Walls
A basement wall retains soil below ground and has to keep water out of the room behind it. Rise describes basement walls as its “most common application”. The waterproofing, joints and drainage must be detailed for the project; the formwork alone does not keep a room dry. See Rise Wall Water Resistant and our page on basement walls.
Column, Blade Walls and Lift/Stair Shafts
A blade wall is a narrow, deep structural wall that works like a flattened column. Columns, blade walls and shaft walls repeat floor after floor on apartment and commercial buildings. Fire performance must be checked for the specified wall construction, and lift shaft dimensions and tolerances must be agreed with the structural designer and lift supplier before installation. See columns, blade walls and shafts.
Fences, planter boxes and balcony upstands
An upstand is a short concrete wall that rises from a slab edge or balcony. A balcony upstand, planter box or boundary fence is low, but often repeated many times on one project. Suitability for small jobs depends on the wall size, access and installation setup, so send the total wall length, height and access details for assessment. See fences, planter boxes and upstands.
Pits and Tanks
Pits and tanks hold water in, which is the opposite problem to a basement. An on site detention (OSD) tank stores stormwater on a property and releases it slowly into the drainage system. The deciding condition is the water retaining design, since pressure acts from inside the wall. See pits and tanks.
Planning a commercial or industrial retaining wall? Send the design to discuss whether Rise Wall suits the proposed application, and see more on our completed projects page.
How a Rise Wall Retaining Wall Is Built
- Design The wall is engineered for its height, loads and any fire performance, and priced against your drawings.
- Footing or slab The footing or slab is poured with starter bars standing on the wall line. Their position and spacing must match the drawings.
- Delivery and site readiness Lay flat panels are delivered and stored. The builder confirms set out, starter bars, safe access and concrete placement.
- Panels Panels are connected along the wall line over the starter bars, with openings for doors, windows and services set out as they go up.
- Reinforcement Steel is placed inside the panels to the engineer's design.
- Brace and pour The wall is braced and poured in accordance with the current Rise installation instructions, the project engineering and the approved pour plan.
- Cure and finish. The concrete cures inside the panels and the PVC face stays as the wall surface.
With removable formwork, work carries on after the pour: forms are stripped, cleaned, stacked and returned, and the face may need making good. Rise Wall leaves that stage out. Confirm the required track, connections and bracing, and who supplies them. See the Rise Wall difference for installation photos.
In Situ, Precast, Tilt Up or Blockwork: Choosing the Right Wall
The right method depends on the wall, the finish it needs and the access on site. Here is how an in situ Rise Wall compares with the methods builders weigh it against.
| Method | Where it is made | Joints | Often chosen for |
|---|---|---|---|
| In situ with Rise Wall | Poured on site in PVC formwork that stays | One continuous wall | Walls shaped to the site with no stripping stage |
| In situ with removable formwork | Poured on site; forms stripped after | One continuous wall | Walls that need exposed off form concrete |
| Precast concrete walls | Cast in a factory, craned into place | Joints between panels to seal | Large repeated panels with crane access |
| Tilt up panels | Cast flat on the slab, tilted upright | Joints between panels | Large flat walls on open sites |
| Large flat walls on open sites | Large flat walls on open sites | Mortar joints | Sites with a blocklaying crew |
When an In Situ Rise Wall May Not Suit
- The specification requires an exposed off form concrete face, because the finished face is PVC.
- Safe concrete placement cannot be arranged at the wall.
- Switching from the documented structural system would need significant redesign or programme changes.
Compare the time each takes in our article on precast and onsite poured walls, or read how core filled blockwork is built.
In Situ Concrete Walls FAQs
In situ concrete is concrete poured and cured in the place where it will stay, rather than cast elsewhere and delivered. “In situ” means “in position”. It is sometimes written as one word, so an insitu concrete wall is the same as an in situ concrete wall.
In situ walls are poured where they will stay, while precast concrete walls are cast in a factory and lifted into place by crane. Tilt up panels sit in between: cast flat on the slab on site, then tilted upright. Precast and tilt up walls have joints between panels that must be sealed.
The main disadvantages of in situ concrete are formwork labour, curing time, weather and site access. Traditional forms must be built and stripped, concrete needs time to gain strength, and rain or heat can delay a pour. Rise Wall removes the stripping stage; it does not change curing, weather or access.
No. The PVC formwork stays in place. Rise Wall is permanent formwork, so the panels remain as the face of the wall, and there is no formwork to strip, clean or return.
The PVC formwork remains as the wall face after the pour. Any paint, render, tile or cladding is selected and detailed for compatibility with the panel and project. The wall does not have the exposed face of off form concrete walls, which comes from removable formwork.
Rise Wall is currently offered for 200mm thick walls. Wall thickness is set by the structural engineer for the height, loads and any fire performance, so confirm panel dimensions against your drawings when requesting a quote.
Concrete gains strength over days and weeks, and the rate depends on the mix and the weather. Your structural engineer specifies the strength the wall must reach before it is loaded, and the programme should allow for it.
A Rise Wall needs an engineered footing with starter bars left standing on the wall line. The engineer designs the footing for the ground and loads, and the starter bar position and spacing must match the drawings.
The cost depends on wall height, length, thickness, reinforcement, openings, site access and the installation scope. Request an itemised quote covering panels and any concrete, labour, equipment and delivery. Our blockwork and permanent formwork cost comparison shows how the methods compare.
Yes, subject to the design. Rise Wall can be considered for party walls, garage walls and walls on a slope. Published Rise projects include residential work in North Narooma and Surrey Hills. A party wall between townhouses also has fire requirements, which the engineer and certifier confirm.
Get a Quote for Your In Situ Wall
Send us your drawings, or the wall type, heights and lengths, with your project location and required delivery date, and we will price your walls in Rise Wall. Delivery availability, freight and lead times are confirmed for each order. Building in Greater Sydney? See formwork suppliers in Sydney
