10
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?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
pat_harris12d 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.
4
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.
1