Overheard a homeowner say our work was 'just pouring dirt'

I was grabbing rebar at the yard in Tulsa last Tuesday and this older guy in line tells his buddy that concrete work is just pouring dirt and waiting. I didn't say anything, but it got me thinking about how much finishing skill goes into a flat slab. Leveling, timing the cream, knowing when to hit it with the bull float, that's the difference between a driveway that cracks in 2 years and one that lasts 20. Anyone else run into folks who think this trade is all labor and zero craft?

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bailey.xena2d ago

Right, because if it was just pouring dirt, I'd love to see him make his own patio and have it not look like a wrinkled bedsheet by spring. That "waiting" part is doing a lot of heavy lifting, too. Waiting about 45 minutes too long to start troweling is how you get a surface that looks like the moon's crust. Next time someone says that, I just tell them yeah, and painting is just smearing color on a wall. Then I ask if I can watch them do it.