c/concrete-finishers

Hot take: I used to dump all my washout water down a storm drain in Phoenix until a city inspector flagged me.

He pulled up and asked where my containment setup was, and I realized I'd been breaking the law for 5 years without knowing it. Anyone else ever get caught off guard by a local regulation like that?

2 comments

taylor82•3d ago

Vent: customer told me my broom finish was too rough and made me redo it

Had a homeowner in Orlando last month say my broom lines were catching her dog's paws. I dropped down to a medium-bristle broom and started pulling the finish in one direction instead of back-and-forth. Any of you guys run into picky clients asking for smoother texture?

2 comments

taraw16•6d ago

Picked a steel trowel over a magnesium one for my final pass on a 40-yard slab yesterday

The steel left a way tighter finish with those early morning temps around 45 degrees, and the customer actually pointed and said 'that's exactly what I wanted' - has anyone else found steel works better in cooler weather?

2 comments

barbara278•9d ago

Blew a 4-inch slab pour last Tuesday. Still trying to figure out what went wrong.

Had a job at a driveway in Tulsa where the whole thing cracked straight down the middle 6 hours after finishing. I used the exact same mix I always use, 4000 PSI with fiber mesh, and the temp was fine at 72 degrees. My only guess is the subgrade wasn't damp enough when I poured, but I didn't think it would matter that much. Has anyone else had a fresh slab crack that fast from dry ground underneath?

2 comments

charles_chen93•11d ago

Compared a bull float vs a power trowel on a 700 square foot garage slab yesterday

I was finishing a garage floor in Phoenix and decided to use my magnesium bull float instead of dragging out the power trowel for the whole thing. The surface came out way more level and with almost no chatter marks compared to the last job where I went trowel-heavy too early. Anyone else find themselves sticking with hand tools more for smaller residential slabs?

2 comments

taylor_flores•11d ago

Unpopular take: hand troweling beats power trowels for garage floors every time

I know everyone loves their power trowel for speed, but I did a 40x60 garage slab near Austin last week and finished it by hand. The control you get over the edges and corners is way better, plus I caught a low spot my buddy missed with his machine. Has anyone else had a power trowel leave ripples they had to fix after?

2 comments

skyler_anderson65•12d ago

Found a hack for keeping broom finish lines straight on long drives

Was doing a 60 foot driveway in Austin last month and my broom keep wandering off line. Tried using a 2x4 as a guide but it kept shifting. Finally grabbed a string line and a couple of those little plastic spring clamps from the hardware store. Clamped the string to the edge forms and ran the broom right alongside it. Total game changer for keeping those lines parallel on big stretches. Anyone got a better way to keep from drifting on super long pours?

2 comments

patwest•13d ago

Surprised by the carbon footprint of concrete finishing on a big Chicago job

I was on a big parking lot pour near O'Hare last month and got to talking with the safety guy about emissions. He showed me a report from the city saying concrete finishing equipment like our trowels and grinders can put out as much CO2 per hour as a small delivery truck. That really surprised me because I always thought it was just the trucks hauling the mix that were the problem. Turns out our gas-powered tools add up fast when you run them 8 hours a day on a site. Has anyone else looked into electric trowels or thought about switching to battery powered stuff to cut down on that?

2 comments

harperwright•14d ago

Learned a hard lesson on a driveway pour in Phoenix last July

The sun was hitting the slab so hard that the edges started crusting over before I could even get the bull float on it. Has anyone else dealt with extreme heat messing up your timing on big flatwork jobs?

2 comments

matthewh28•14d ago

Unpopular opinion - sealed concrete floors look worse after 2 years than a good broom finish

I did a residential garage floor in Phoenix about 18 months ago where the homeowner insisted on a high gloss sealed finish. Looked amazing the first week, but after a year and a half of cars and foot traffic, that seal is peeling in spots and showing every scratch. Meanwhile, I did the neighbor's floor with a standard broom finish and a basic sealer, and it still looks solid. We push this polished look too hard for places that actually get used.

2 comments

cole_davis47•15d ago

Had my doubts about the power trowel blades from Harbor Freight

I was running a 900 square foot garage floor in Denver last Tuesday and my usual brand was out of stock, so I grabbed a pack of their 48 inch combo blades on a whim. Figured they'd wear down in twenty minutes, but they actually held up through the whole pour and left a finish that surprised me. Has anyone else found a decent cheap blade that doesn't fall apart or am I just getting lucky?

2 comments

bettyk53•16d ago

That cracked slab job taught me patience the hard way

I took on a stamped concrete patio last month near Austin and figured I'd have it done in two days easy. But the base prep took way longer than I thought because the ground was still soft from all that rain we had. I ended up spending almost 5 hours just compacting and re-grading before I even thought about pouring. Has anyone else had a simple job turn into a full day of fixing someone else's bad base work?

2 comments

the_joel•16d ago

Debate with my crew: is wet saw cutting faster or slower than snap cutting for 4-inch slab work?

I just read on the ACI forums that wet saws actually waste 15% more time on clean-up than snap cutting saves on placement, but my foreman swears by the wet saw for 20-yard pours over 200 feet, so which side are you on, been doing this 12 years and still split?

2 comments

henry_moore55•16d ago

Took me 8 hours to pour a 6x6 slab because I forgot the vapor barrier

Went to pour a small patio slab last Wednesday and halfway through the truck was already here before I realized I never laid down the vapor barrier underneath. Had to stop the pour, get the crew to pull up the wet mix, and roll out the 6 mil plastic while the driver waited. Has anyone else had a brain fart like this that added a bunch of time to a simple job?

2 comments

sarahh48•20d ago

Had a chat with a 30 year veteran at the supply yard that threw me off

Was picking up a load of 4000 psi mix yesterday and this old timer starts asking about my finishing schedule. He said I was troweling too early and too often (which I thought was the whole point, right?). Told me to let the concrete breathe a bit and only hit it twice after the initial float. I tried his method on a 12x12 pad this morning and it came out smoother with way less effort. Has anyone else gotten a game changing tip from a random guy at the yard?

2 comments

richardknight•20d ago

Got a big slab pour coming up next week and I'm second guessing my mix design

I'm finishing a 30x40 garage floor for a guy out in Ankeny, Iowa starting next Tuesday, and I was planning on using a 4000 psi mix with fiber mesh. But after talking to another finisher at the supply yard yesterday, he said I should switch to wire mesh for that kind of footprint. Has anyone done fiber on a slab that big and had issues with cracking?

2 comments

the_beth•21d ago

Shoutout to the foreman who showed me why I was burning my edges

I tried using a magnesium float on a big slab in Phoenix last June because I saw it in a magazine. Ended up with edges that dried out way too fast and a crusty surface that looked like a mess. The foreman walked over and said 'You gotta keep it wet and work that cream in slow, not fast like a trowel.' Has anyone else had a tool change their finish without realizing the trick to using it?

2 comments

janac59•22d ago

That week when the heat index hit 106 and we still poured a driveway

We were finishing a 60-yard driveway in Phoenix last July and the concrete was setting up faster than we could work it. The customer kept bringing out ice water, but the real lifesaver was the wet burlap we kept throwing over the slab to buy us an extra 10 minutes. Anyone else have to fight the sun on a big pour like that?

3 comments

gavincampbell•24d ago

Overheard a foreman say broom finish is for amateurs, walked off the job

I was on a patio pour in Phoenix last Tuesday and this foreman from another crew starts running his mouth about how broom finish is lazy work. Said real finishers only do exposed aggregate or stamped. I’ve been doing broom for 12 years and it holds up way better in the heat here. You guys think broom finish is actually looked down on or was this guy just blowing smoke?

2 comments

loganburns•25d ago

I was dead set on using that spray-on sealer till I saw a crew's slab peel up

Been using the same solvent-based sealer for years, figured nothing could beat it. Then last Thursday I was walking past a jobsite over on Maple Street where they were fixing a driveway. The finisher pulled up a big sheet of sealer that had just delaminated from the concrete. He told me it was because the sealer didn't breathe right in their climate. That got me thinking about how much moisture we trap under those things. Now I'm looking into water-based options with better vapor permeability. Anybody had good luck with a specific brand that doesn't bubble up on you?

2 comments

the_fiona•27d ago

Heard a guy at the job site say he never bullfloats more than 20 minutes ahead of his crew

I always thought you had to stay way ahead, but after trying it on a 30-yard driveway last week, my finish came out way more consistent. Anybody else keep a tight window on their bullfloat timing?

2 comments

nathan545•27d ago

Unpopular opinion: power trowels aren't always better than hand finishing

I was on a job in Portland last month where a guy brought in a brand new power trowel and tried to finish a 400 square foot patio. He left ridges everywhere because the concrete was too stiff, and I had to go behind him with a hand float to fix it. Has anyone else found hand tools work better for smaller or trickier pours?

2 comments

nina_clark•1mo ago

Poured a slab for a backyard patio last Tuesday and watched it crumble in the rain

I was finishing a 12x16 slab in Portland when a surprise storm hit about 20 minutes after I troweled it. The surface got all pitted and soft, and I had to tear out half the pour the next morning. Anyone else had a fresh slab ruined by weather and have a trick to protect it fast?

2 comments

evan_dixon67•1mo ago

Old foreman told me my edges looked like crap for years

I used to finish my edges with a regular trowel, thought they were fine. Then a foreman on a big warehouse job in Denver pulled me aside and said my edges looked like a 5 year old did them. He showed me how to use an edger with a consistent arc and actually finish the edge before the surface gets too hard. It took me about 3 jobs to really get the hang of it but now my edges come out clean every time. Has anyone else had to unlearn bad habits from early on?

2 comments

the_riley•1mo ago

Old timer told me to stop using a broom on fresh concrete. Tried a magnesium float instead and wow.

Was finishing a driveway in Phoenix last month, maybe 60 yards. Guy who taught me 20 years ago came by, watched me brush finish it, just laughed. Said I was making it rougher than it needed to be for residential. Handed me his old magnesium float, told me to go over it one more time while it was still setting. The color evened out, no drag marks. Felt like I been doing it wrong my whole career. Anyone else switch tools late in the game and regret not doing it sooner?

2 comments