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Switched from a hand float to a power trowel on my last flatwork pour in Tulsa
I used to fight with hand floats for hours on garage slabs until I rented a power trowel for a 1,200 square foot job last week and cut my finishing time by over half, anyone else make the switch and notice a big difference in the final finish?
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pat_harris3mo ago
@blairm77 probably bought stock in power trowel companies after that first rental, am I right? The thing about Tulsa summers is that the concrete sets so fast you barely got time to hand float a small patio before it's already crusting over. I watched a buddy try a power trowel on a 90 degree day with a wet mix and ended up chasing a washboard pattern around the whole slab like a dog chasing its tail. Hand floaters might talk about "feeling every low spot" but last time I checked my knees still ache from crawling around that hot concrete. It's a trade off for sure, but I'd rather run a machine pass in ten minutes than spend all day hunched over trying to fix a bad pour.
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rowanw913mo ago
One power trowel job doesn't prove it's automatically better though. I've seen guys get lazy with them and end up with washboarding and uneven spots because they didn't walk a pass correctly. Hand floating forces you to feel every low spot and work it in, a power trowel will just glide over problems if you don't know what you're doing with the blades and pan setup. Plus if your mix is a little wet or you're fighting a hot sun in Tulsa that thing can turn into a mess real fast.
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