The guy who showed me a broom trick on a pour in Phoenix

I was working a big slab at a warehouse in Phoenix back in August, temps pushing 110. Old timer named Frank walks over, grabs my broom, and starts sweeping in a figure-8 pattern across the wet concrete. He said 'you're pushing water, not moving it. This spreads the cream even.' Changed how I finish every slab since. Has anyone else picked up a random tip from a stranger on site?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jennifer1mo ago

Same thing happened to me a couple years back on a garage floor in Tucson. Some random delivery driver was waiting for a signature and watched me struggling with a bull float. He walked over and showed me how to lift the leading edge just a hair on the pull stroke instead of pushing it flat. I was leaving these little ridges everywhere before that. Now I can float a whole slab in one smooth pass without fighting it.

ellis.leo1mo agoMost Upvoted

I picked up a trick a few years ago from an old mason in El Paso. He was finishing a sidewalk and told me to hold my trowel at a steeper angle, almost 45 degrees, to break the surface tension on the cream. I tried it on my next job and it stopped that stubborn dragging mark I always got. Now I start every finish pass with that tilt and it saves me a ton of back and forth. Small thing but it made a real difference.

pat_fisher241mo ago

Always held mine nearly flat. Tried your trick last weekend @ellis.leo. Completely changed my finish.