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

2 Comments

elliot_miller221mo ago

Read a blog post from a commercial finisher once who said most guys get taught edges wrong because their first foreman just tells them "make it look good" instead of showing actual technique. That Denver guy sounds like a legend for taking the time to show you the arc method properly. Funny how those little corrections from someone who knows their stuff can completely change the game on a simple thing like edging.

patricia_wells1mo ago

Took me a while to realize my edges looked like crap because my first foreman thought "make it look good" was actual instruction. Guess he figured I'd learn by magic or something.