c/concrete-finishers

Appreciation post: An old foreman showed me the burlap drag method on a big outdoor slab in Phoenix last July and it completely changed how I finish warm weather pours.

We were fighting the sun with a 6 yard pour and he just grabbed a wet burlap, dragged it slow across the surface before floating. Has anyone else tried this for getting a uniform texture when it's over 100 degrees?

Tried a magnesium float on a driveway last Tuesday and the surface came out way smoother than any steel trowel I've used before

I was worried about it gumming up but the cream lifted right off and left this nice closed finish, has anyone else had good luck with magnesium on flatwork or is it just me?

Just found out how much silica dust you actually breathe in on a dry cut

Saw a study that said you're inhaling over 100 times the safe limit in under 10 minutes without a wet saw or vac, which explains why my buddy's cough got so bad after three years on the crew has anyone else gotten checked for silicosis yet?

That wet burlap trick on hot days actually saved my pour last August

I was finishing a 30-yard driveway in Phoenix last August. Temps were 108 and the slab was setting up way faster than I could keep up. I remembered an old guy telling me to keep wet burlap soaked and laid over the edges while I worked the middle. It bought me an extra 20 minutes of working time before the sun got to it. No more fighting crusty edges before I can even run the bull float. Anyone else use this on hot pours or do you have a better method?

Old timer told me to wet the ground before pouring and I thought he was nuts

Back in 2005 I had this guy Jerry, must have been 65, who kept saying to spray down the subgrade before you pour. I figured he was just being old school and wasting time. First big job I did without doing it, the slab cracked right down the middle in under a week. Ever had a simple piece of advice come back to bite you because you thought you knew better?

The job at the Johnson house in Oak Park taught me something about power trowels

Last month I poured a big patio and walkway for the Johnsons out in Oak Park. Beautiful day, good mix, everything looked perfect. But about 20 minutes into finishing I noticed the concrete was setting way faster than I expected. My power trowel was bogging down and leaving these ugly swirl marks. I kept fighting it, adding more water to the edges, making a mess. Finally I stopped, scraped the whole thing off with a rake, and started fresh with a slower mix. The homeowner watched me do $300 worth of concrete removal and asked if I knew what I was doing. I told him I was learning. That second pour came out glass smooth with just a hand float and a magnesium darby. My power trowel stays in the truck for small stuff now. Anybody else found that hand tools beat machines on certain size jobs?

Spent a whole day trying to fix a spiral crack on a stamped patio

Last Tuesday I poured a 500 square foot stamped patio outside Austin. Everything looked good until I pulled the forms and saw a spiral crack running from the control joint into the middle of a fan pattern. I tried patching it with a colored slurry mix but it just made the crack stand out worse. Then I spent 4 hours grinding it down and resealing the whole section to blend it in. By the time I was done it was dark and I had to push the final broom finish to the next morning. Total waste of a day for a crack that probably could have been avoided if I had used a mid-pour release agent. Has anyone else run into cracks that look like they were cut with a laser but show up at the worst spot?

Pro tip: stop floating your driveways when it's too hot out

I was on a job in Phoenix last July, air temp was 104, and this other crew poured right at noon. They started finishing and by the time they hit the second pass the surface was already crusting over. Ended up with a dusty, weak surface that looked terrible and they had to tear out 30 yards. I always wet down my forms and subgrade first, then start my pour early like 6am or wait until evening. Has anyone else dealt with surface crusting from high heat or am I the only one who sees this?

Walked into a Home Depot in Phoenix and saw the wildest concrete finish

I was grabbing bags of quickrete for a sidewalk job last weekend and this guy had poured a small pad right in the middle of the parking lot. He did a broom finish that looked like ocean waves going every direction, not just straight lines. I asked him why and he said it was for a art project about "chaos" or something. Has anyone else tried a non-standard broom pattern on purpose?

Overheard a neighbor yell at his contractor about a broom finish gone wrong

I was grabbing lunch at a sandwich spot off Exit 14 yesterday and some guy was losing his mind on the phone because his new patio had these deep rake marks (like an inch deep in some spots). Made me think about how easy it is to mess up the timing on a broom finish if you're rushing. Has anyone else had a customer freak out over a texture they didn't expect?

Pro tip: Wet curing for 7 days still gave me spider cracks on a garage slab last tuesday

I did the whole slow wet cure with burlap and misting every 4 hours, but the control joint spacing was 12 feet apart and I think that's where I messed up, has anyone else had spider cracks show up even with good curing because of joint spacing?

Rant: A homeowner called me out for using the wrong broom finish

I was finishing a driveway in Austin last Tuesday when the homeowner came out and said my broom lines were too deep for his taste. He pointed to a photo on his phone and insisted it should look like glass with just a whisper of texture. I explained that a light broom on a 4-slope driveway means someone's going to slip in the rain, but he didn't care. How do you handle customers who don't understand that function has to come before the look?

Spent $400 on a power trowel attachment and it paid off on one job

I dropped $400 on a ride-on trowel attachment for my walk-behind last month, which felt like a lot for a side gig. But I used it on a 3000 square foot warehouse floor near Tulsa and knocked out the finishing in half the time I usually take. Anyone else ever drop cash on a tool that seemed pricey but ended up saving your back?

Hit 1000 linear feet of exposed aggregate this month. Kind of torn on if it's worth the extra hassle.

Hand trowel vs power trowel for small garage floors - which one gives a better finish on a tight budget?

I spent $150 on a power trowel for a 20x20 garage last month but ended up switching back to my hand trowel halfway through because the machine left too many swirl marks, and now I'm wondering if it was just me or if anyone else has had better luck with one or the other for smaller jobs?

Changed my mind about using acrylic sealers after a job in Tucson

I always used solvent-based sealers. Thought acrylics were for amateurs. Then I did a driveway for a guy who builds pools out in the desert. He told me the UV out there eats solvent sealers in under a year. Cracks like crazy. I looked it up online from a concrete contractor forum out of Arizona. Found a study from a testing lab in Phoenix. Acrylic sealers actually flex better in extreme heat. Let the concrete breathe too. I tried a water-based acrylic on my own patio six months ago after that. Still looks good. No peeling. Has anyone else made the switch from solvent after hearing something similar?

Spilled a whole bucket of mix and learned a weird trick by accident

I was pouring a small pad for a garden shed last Tuesday and my boot caught the edge of a 5 gallon bucket. Dumped probably 30 pounds of wet mix right onto the gravel I had prepped. Instead of messing with shoveling it all back up, I just shoved a broom handle through it and dragged it around like a giant paste. I ended up using that to patch a low spot near the foundation and it actually leveled out smooth after I troweled it. Has anyone else ever reused a big spill like that or am I just lucky it worked?

First time a homeowner hugged me after a stamped patio job

Old guy in Akron watched me power wash and seal his 20 year old slab, then said 'that's the best it's looked since we poured it' and gave me a bear hug. Anybody else get weirdly personal reactions from customers on basic maintenance work?

I switched from hand troweling to power trowels about 5 years back and it changed my whole approach to finishing slabs

Back when I started out in the trade around 2008, I used to do everything by hand with a magnesium trowel. It took forever and my knees would be shot after a big pour like a 30x40 garage floor. Then I worked a job down in Austin in 2019 where the foreman had us using a power trowel for the final passes. I was skeptical at first because I thought hand work gave you more control. But after three tries with that machine, I noticed the surface came out way flatter with less effort. I still use a hand trowel for edges and tight spots, but for the main area the power trowel saves me about 2 hours per pour. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a difference in their finish quality?

Had to pick between a fast cure additive or waiting an extra day on a patio pour last Friday

I was doing a big patio job in Phoenix and the forecast showed rain coming Sunday. Had to choose between using a calcium chloride accelerator or just covering it and hoping for the best. Picked the accelerator because the customer was already mad about delays. Big mistake. The surface set too fast and I got a ton of craze cracking. Looked like a spider web by the end of the day. Anyone else get burned by accelerators on hot days or am I just an idiot?

That guy who swears by adding dish soap to the mix? I owe him an apology

I was pouring a small patio last month in Tucson and this old finisher told me to add a squirt of dish soap to my mix for better workability. Thought he was pulling my leg honestly. Gave it a try on a whim and the stuff floated out like butter, no joke. Has anyone else tried this or is it just a weird desert trick?

Just saw some numbers that changed my mind about fiber mesh

I always thought fiber mesh was just a gimmick for small slabs... then I read a study from the ACI that said properly dosed fiber can cut crack width by 60% compared to no reinforcement. Has anyone else actually tested this on a big pour, like over 2,000 square feet?

Why does nobody dampen the substrate before pouring?

I watched a crew pour a 40x60 slab last week and they didn't wet the ground AT ALL before dumping the concrete. The dirt sucked all the moisture out and we got crusty edges within 20 minutes. Has anyone else had to deal with fixing slabs where the finisher skipped this step?

Wasn't sold on color hardener for years, but my last patio job changed my mind

I used to think color hardener was just a fancy way to charge extra for something that would fade or look fake. For like 15 years I stuck with plain gray or just acid stain after the pour. But last spring a customer in Naperville wanted a terracotta colored patio and didn't want to do stamped overlays. I finally caved and tried a brand called Butterfield Color, mixed it in right after the screed. I gotta admit, the color went all the way through and it didn't wash out or chip like I expected. After 8 months it still looks the same as the day we finished. The customer even sent me pics after a heavy rain and it looked solid. Has anyone else had good luck with powder hardeners holding up long term, or did I just get lucky?

Concrete finisher told me my broom finish was too aggressive, took me a while to agree

Guy with 30 years experience walked by my driveway pour last month and said my broom strokes were digging too deep, leaving grooves that'd hold water. I was mad at first cause I thought a rough finish meant better grip, but after a rain I saw he was right, the puddles sat there for hours. Anyone else get feedback that stung at first but turned out to be solid advice?