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c/concrete-finishers

6

the_faith•1d ago

That time a foreman told me to slow down on a pour in Phoenix

I was on a big slab pour about 2 years ago outside Phoenix, working my tail off to keep up with the pump. The foreman, old guy named Chuck, just walked over and put his hand on my shoulder and said 'kid, if you rush it, you'll be grinding it flat next week.' He didn't yell or anything, just looked at me. I thought I was being efficient, you know, fast trowel passes and quick edges. But he showed me how I was actually leaving tiny ridges that would set up hard and cause a mess later. I had to stand there and watch him work slow for 10 minutes, and his finish came out glassy smooth. Ever had a boss or coworker call you out on your pace and totally change the way you work?

15

wadejenkins•2d ago

Vent: Guy on a jobsite told me to 'just eyeball it' for a 50ft curb

Last month I was doing a curb pour on a parking lot in Phoenix and this older finisher walks over, watches me set up my string lines, and goes 'why you messing with all that? Just eyeball it, it's a curb.' I laughed it off at first cause I thought he was joking. But he kept pushing it, saying I was wasting time and that real finishers don't need all that measuring. I told him straight up I wasn't risking a 50ft run of concrete looking like a roller coaster just to save 10 minutes. He got all huffy and walked away shaking his head. Later I saw his crew finishing a slab and it had a dip you could see from 20 feet away. Has anyone else had some old timer try to sell you on skipping the basic prep work?

25

the_john•17d ago

Pro tip: poured a slab on a hot day and saved it with a wet burlap trick I saw in Denver

My mix was setting way too fast last July, so I draped wet burlap over the fresh slab and kept misting it for about 4 hours, and it stopped the cracking dead, has anyone else tried this for high heat pours?

18

anthonyrivera•20d ago

That one Tuesday where we poured 30 yards in 95 degree heat and the sun set perfectly so we didn't get a single cold joint

I swear the stars aligned or something because the truck showed up early, the crew actually listened for once, and we finished the 4-inch slab at a warehouse in Phoenix with zero cracks by 6pm, but has anyone else ever had a day so smooth it made you paranoid the next job would be a nightmare?

1

the_elizabeth•21d ago

That talk with my dad about his old 1950s bull float made me realize how much we traded feel for speed.

He said 'you kids never learned to read the concrete' and I couldn't argue because I've been using power floats and mix additives for 15 years now, so has anyone else gotten that kind of reality check from an older hand?

14

jamiesullivan•22d ago

Switched from wet curing to curing compound after a job in Tucson last July

I used to hose down slabs every few hours and hope for the best. Then I did a 30 yard pour in 105 degree heat and half the driveway had hairline cracks by day three. Switched to a spray-on curing compound that next job and it saved my butt. No more babysitting hoses all day. Has anyone else had trouble with curing compound discoloring the finish?

8

logan271•23d ago

Took 4 tries to get a broom finish right on a driveway in Phoenix last week

I've been doing concrete for about 3 years now and thought I had broom finishing down. But last week I had a driveway job in Phoenix where the mix was just a little too wet and my broom strokes kept dragging chunks. Took me 4 separate attempts over 8 hours to finally get a consistent finish that looked professional. The homeowner was watching from their window the whole time which made it worse lol. Anyone else have a specific finish that took way more tries than you expected to figure out?

16

juliaa65•24d ago

Had to choose between a bull float and a power trowel for a big slab

Last year on a 4,500 square foot warehouse floor in Spokane, I had to decide whether to stick with my trusty bull float or rent a power trowel. I went with the power trowel because the timeline was tight, and honestly it did a cleaner job in half the time. But I still felt like I lost some control over the finish, especially around the edges where I had to hand trowel anyway. Has anyone else found that power trowels don't handle the tricky spots as good as the old method?

4

abbyhall•25d ago

Swapped from broom finish to stamped overlay on my own patio

I used to just do a basic broom finish on everything because it was fast and I knew it. Last summer I finally tried a stamped overlay on my own backyard slab, about 400 square feet. The prep took twice as long, had to get the concrete cleaner and the release powder just right. But the end result looked way better than I expected, held up through the winter with no cracks. Now I'm wondering if I should offer stamped work to my regular customers here in Omaha. Has anyone else made that switch and found it worth the extra time?

20

ryan_hart38•26d ago

Appreciation post: the $12 concrete edger that fixed my curly edges overnight

Switched from a worn-out 6-inch to a brand new 4-inch radius edger and my curbs went from wavy garbage to crisp lines in one 8-hour pour, anyone else notice a huge difference with a fresh blade?

12

the_hayden•26d ago

The old guy who showed me how to edge with a magnesium float back in 2008

He told me 'stop fighting the concrete, let it tell you when it's ready' and I still think about that on every big driveway pour, anyone else get advice like that that just stuck?

11

gracej99•26d ago

My $200 power trowel blade set that lasted 2 days

Bought those cheap blades from a surplus place in Tulsa thinking I scored a deal, they chipped on the third slab and I had to toss them. Anyone else get burned by off-brand trowel blades?

27

thea_bell•28d ago

Rant: I kept swearing by those expensive powder hardeners until a buddy convinced me to try liquid densifier on a big warehouse floor

Saw the difference in dust control after just 24 hours and now I'm kicking myself for wasting money on the powder stuff for the last 5 years; anyone else made the switch and noticed it curing way more even?

21

the_john•28d ago

Helped a buddy pour a small slab last weekend, his method for bull floating hit different

He just does this slow figure-8 motion instead of the straight back-and-forth I always use, and the surface came out way flatter with less effort. Has anyone else seen guys do it like that, or is this just some weird regional thing?

29

david_palmer•28d ago

Tried pouring wet concrete on a hot windy day. Big mistake.

Last August in Phoenix I thought I could beat the heat. Started a slab at 10am. Wind picked up and dried the surface in minutes. Got crusty before I could finish the finish. Had to grind it down and re-pour 300 bucks worth of mix. Lesson learned. Check weather AND wind next time. Anyone else get burned by weather timing?

8

aaronroberts•28d ago

Spent $400 on a power trowel attachment that barely saved me 10 minutes

I figured a helicopter attachment for my walk-behind would be a game changer for finishing big slabs. Bought one from a dude on Craigslist for $400, thought I was being smart. Took me two hours to rig it up and learn the balance. Only shaved maybe 10 minutes off a 2000 square foot pour and left weird swirls I had to fix. Should have just stuck with my bull float and a finisher on kneeboards. Has anyone else gotten burned by a fancy attachment that sounded better than it worked?

10

barbaradavis•29d ago

I finally figured out why my broom finish was always uneven

For like 3 years I been doing broom finishes and they always looked kinda wavy in certain light. I thought I was just bad at keeping a steady hand or something. Then last month I was finishing a patio in Phoenix and this old timer walks up and goes 'you're pulling the broom too fast, slow it down and let the bristles do the work.' Turns out I was rushing the whole pass trying to cover ground quick. Now I take my time and the finish comes out way more consistent. Has anyone else had a basic technique click way later than it should have?

14

zarat37•29d ago

Tried a power trowel on a small garage slab and it wrecked the edge work

Last Tuesday I poured a 20x22 garage slab and decided to use a power trowel for the first time on a job that size. Every older guy I know swore by hand finishing small slabs for control. I figured they were just set in their ways. Got the machine on there and within 10 minutes it pulled the edges and left a wavy surface near the forms. Took me an extra hour with a hand float and edger to fix the mess. Learned my lesson that power trowels work great on big warehouse floors but not tight residential garages. Any of you guys had the same issue on smaller pours?

13

kevinallen•1mo ago

Stumbled onto a broom finish trick that saved me 2 hours

I was doing a 400 square foot driveway in Tucson last week. Hot as hell, sun beating down. Normally I use a standard push broom and it leaves lines that look okay but take forever to feather out. My helper grabbed the wrong broom, one with stiffer bristles meant for commercial floors. I almost threw it back in the truck. But I was behind schedule so I said screw it and tried it. The stiffer bristles cut cleaner lines with way less drag. Finished the whole slab in half the time and the texture came out more uniform. Any of you guys ever experiment with different broom types for finish work?

26

rowanw91•1mo ago

Wasted $200 on a cheap power trowel that died after 3 jobs

Bought a no-name brand power trowel off a Facebook ad and the engine seized up on the fourth slab. Anyone else been burned by buying budget tools instead of renting good ones?

33

aaronroberts•1mo ago

Cracked open an old concrete manual from 1972 and found a wild stat

I was digging through a box of junk my uncle left me (he poured driveways in the 70s) and found this beat-up Portland Cement Association handbook. It says back then, the average residential driveway used a 1:2:3 mix with 5 bags of cement per yard, and guys were finishing by hand with wooden floats. What got me is the stat that a 6 inch thick slab back then cost about 12 cents per square foot. Can you imagine that today? Has anyone else run across old school specs that blew your mind?

10

averyc94•1mo ago

Threw $400 at a power trowel attachment and it was a total dud

I bought one of those versa-power floating arm attachments for my walk-behind trowel back in June because everyone I talked to swore by them. Cost me $400 and it just wouldn't balance right on my 36 inch pan setup, kept digging in on one side no matter how I adjusted it. Spent two full days fighting it on a garage floor job in Columbus before I gave up and went back to my old manual float pan technique. Has anyone else had bad luck with aftermarket trowel add-ons or did I just get a lemon?

11

ryan_hart38•1mo ago

Blew out a 4 inch control joint on a driveway pour Tuesday

Was running my jointing tool across a fresh slab and the edge just let go about 3 feet in. Had to stop everything, grab a trowel and patch it before it set too much. Customer was watching from the window too, made it worse. Anybody had a slab pop like that mid pour? What did you do?

8

luna261•1mo ago

Just realized half the guys on site don't know how to read a slump cone right

I was on a driveway pour last Tuesday in Phoenix and watched three different finishers grab a sample from the same truck. One said 4 inches, another said 5, and the third called it 3.5. How hard is it to set the cone on level ground, lift it straight up, and actually measure from the high point? Are people skipping the basics now or am I just getting old and grumpy about it? Any others notice this slipping lately?

28

fisher.jessica•1mo ago

Used to hand finish everything with a magnesium float, now I'm all about the power trowel.

Back in 2008 when I started, my old boss would have laughed me off the site if I pulled out a power trowel for a residential driveway. We'd spend hours on our knees in Phoenix heat working a 36 inch mag float. These days I break out the 46 inch ride-on for anything over 500 square feet and it saves me at least two hours of finish time. Has anyone else switched over and found they get a flatter surface with the machine or is it just me?