c/concrete-finishers

Had to tear out 200 feet of sidewalk because I was finishing it wrong for 8 years

Last spring I was working a job in Lancaster and this old foreman walked by while I was bull floating. He stopped and asked why I was pulling my float back toward myself instead of pushing it forward. I told him that's how my dad taught me and he just laughed. Turns out I was dragging all the cream to the edge and making the whole surface weak. He showed me the difference on a test patch and I could see the drag marks right away. Never once questioned it in 8 years because nobody ever said anything. Has anyone else had a bad habit like that get passed down without thinking?

2 comments

the_spencer•1d ago

Found a cheap fix for super cold days pouring concrete

I had a slab to pour last January in Denver when it was 25 degrees and windy. I couldn't keep the mix warm enough no matter what I tried. Then an old timer told me to mix in some hot water from a kettle instead of cold tap water. It kept the concrete from freezing up on me and the set time was pretty normal. Anyone else ever done this or have a better trick for cold weather pours?

c/concrete-finishers

Had to tear out 200 feet of sidewalk because I was finishing it wrong for 8 years

Found a cheap fix for super cold days pouring concrete

Finally had a pour go perfect last Thursday - not a single sawcut crack

Used to think hand troweling was always faster than power troweling

Pro tip: stop brooming your concrete when it's too wet

Just realized a lesson from a foreman on a pour in Des Moines

Figured out a broom finish trick on a driveway job in Akron that saved me 2 hours

Showerthought: That bridge job in Spokane taught me about finishing water

Had to choose between a bull float and a power trowel on a tight deck pour

Switched from hand troweling to power trowel after a job in Austin.

Hand troweling vs power troweling on a basement floor in St. Louis last Thursday - night and day difference

PSA: Wet edge in July heat almost cost me a whole driveway in Phoenix

That $40 broom handle trick I laughed at actually works

Heard a guy at the job site swear by wet curing for 28 days straight

Heard a guy at the supply yard say something about moisture testing that bugged me

PSA: The way I used to bull float big slabs with a 16 footer by myself is nothing like using that Magnesium dry walk behind now

Switched from a magnesium float to a resin one last month and it's night and day

Rant: Hit 1,000 pours without a single major call back and it threw me off

I visited a pour in Phoenix that made me question my whole finishing approach

Blew out a knee on a parking lot pour in Phoenix last July

Warning: I spent 2 years troweling wet concrete wrong on big slabs near Austin

Shoutout to the old-timer who told me to stop overworking my concrete

TIL a contractor in Denver refused my flat finish because he said it would trap water

Had to pick between rapid set and standard mix for a driveway in Phoenix last July

Noticed a huge difference in driveway finishes after switching to a 10-foot bull float