Loading…
21
I finally quit over-troweling my slabs
Everyone seems to think more troweling means a better finish, but I call bs. I've had jobs where I troweled less and the concrete set stronger. Too much troweling brings up too much cream and weakens the top layer. I saw a driveway I did five years ago, and the over-troweled sections are flaking off. My buddy's work, with minimal troweling, still looks solid. Maybe we're just making extra work for ourselves. Let the concrete be concrete.
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
the_stella7mo ago
Wasn't there a thing on one of the trade sites about this? I heard a contractor say overworking it brings all the paste up and then that's the weak part that fails. That lines up with what you're seeing.
7
grace_patel7mo ago
Yeah that paste layer is the whole problem. Wait for it to firm up enough that your boot only leaves a light mark before you even step on it. Then just hit it with a magnesium float, no steel trowel unless it absolutely needs it for some reason. You're just closing the surface, not trying to make it look like glass.
6
rosep267mo ago
Totally, that paste layer is such a trap. I wrecked a garage floor learning that the hard way, pushing the finish way too early. Once you bring that weak cream up, it's just gonna dust off forever.
6