Tried the power trowel on a big slab yesterday, bad move

I usually hand finish everything with a magnesium float, but this 40-yard slab at a warehouse in Phoenix was too big to do solo. The power trowel left these weird swirl marks and I spent an extra hour fixing them by hand. Anyone else stick to old-school hand tools over machines?

3 comments

3 Comments

milacraig29d ago

Power trowels need a wet mix and good timing or they'll tear it up. Next time hand float the edges and let the machine hit the middle with some finishing aid.

kim_johnson5129d ago

Learned that lesson the hard way. Nothing like a slab that looks like abstract art.

the_amy29d ago

Blew up my first power trowel job so bad the foreman still brings it up three years later, @milacraig. I figured if the machine could handle it dry it would save me a trip for more water. Spoiler alert it did not. Ended up with a surface that looked like a cat walked through wet concrete on purpose. Hand floating the edges is smart and I wish someone had told me that before I tried to chase the machine all the way to the corners. Finishing aid is worth its weight too, saved my last slab from looking like a crime scene.