My lead finisher said to stop floating right up to the edge and it clicked when I watched him on a driveway in Mesa

Uma Martinez · 2026-10-20T12:30:04.545623+00:00

So I was on a 900 sq ft driveway pour in Mesa last week with a guy who has been finishing for 22 years, and he made a comment that stuck with me. He said I was working too hard trying to float the mud all the way to the forms, and that the edge takes care of itself if you leave a little for the edger. I always thought leaving mud at the edge was lazy, but he walked me through it and my edges came out way cleaner than the ones I did on a patio in Tempe the week before. It hit different because I caught myself getting mad at the edger when the real problem was me moving wet mud where it did not need to go. He has this way of saying things flat, no lecture, just one line while he keeps working, and then it soaks in later. I tried it on the next two pours and my edger quit tearing so much. What do you all do at the edge, do you float right to the forms or leave a strip like he does?

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My lead finisher said to stop floating right up to the edge and it clicked when I watched him on a driveway in Mesa | Concrete Finishers - Chatter Central