Noticed a real difference in my finishes after slowing down the float pass

Been finishing flatwork for about 8 years now, mostly driveways and patios in the Sacramento area. Last month I had a big slab pour, 40 yards, and I decided to try something different. I usually push the bull float fast to get ahead of the bleed water, but this time I slowed way down, took my time with each pass, overlapping about half the float width. First slab looked decent, but the second one, where I really stuck to the slow pace, came out with hardly any drag marks or trowel streaks. The surface felt slicker when I ran my hand over it after hardening, and the customer even commented on how smooth it looked compared to the neighbor's new walkway. I think the slow float evens out the cream better before the hard trowel. Has anyone else tried this, or do you mostly rely on timing and mix design instead of float speed?

1 comments

1 Comment

alex82012d ago

Slow floats changed my game too, way less drag marks.

-1