The formwork sheeting is in direct contact with the concrete and can be considered as a mirror image of the concrete components to be produced. It is the molding element of the formwork and has the greatest influence on the quality of the concrete surface.

The formwork sheeting has to resist heavy stress. It takes up surface pressure and carries it off to linearly acting supports. It is typical of the formwork sheeting that, because of the heavy stress and direct contact with the concrete, it is the part of the formwork to wear first. Sheeting boards and prefabricated wooden panels can be used as sheeting material.

Formwork sheeting of individual boards normally consists of 25 mm thick and approximately 140 mm wide boards. The heartwood side must always lie towards the concrete. Sheeting boards have great advantages because of their easy workability, such as by sawing, planing, boring and nailing.

Disadvantages are:

- the high expenditure of working time required for formwork making,

- the short service life,

- loss of waste wood.

In the event of repeated use of formwork of the same design, such as for foundation strips, sheeting panels can be prefabricated from individual boards using squared timbers as the frame.

The sheeting panels are prefabricated in a workshop. The advantage of sheeting panels is that they considerably reduce the time required for the erection of the formwork on site. The disadvantages of sheeting panels in terms of service life are similar to those of sheeting boards. Normally both types of formwork sheeting are used on site in a combined manner.