Just realized I was overworking my concrete for years

I was out on a job in Tucson last summer finishing a driveway and a retired finisher walked by. He watched me for a minute and said I was 'working the cream to death' and it finally clicked. I had always been so paranoid about getting a perfect finish that I was going over it way too many times with the float and trowel. Has anyone else had a moment where an old timer pointed out something obvious you were missing?

2 comments

2 Comments

grant_foster792d ago

Heard the same thing from an old timer on a pour in Phoenix. I was floating the hell out of a slab and he just shook his head and said "you're bruising it, kid." Turns out all that extra work was actually making the surface weaker and causing it to dust and flake later on. Felt like a complete idiot but I learned more in that five minute conversation than I did in two years of reading forums.

linda5002d ago

Oh man, "bruising it" is spot on. I had a guy tell me I was "killing the paste" once and it hit me the same way. You're basically beating the water out and trapping too much air right at the surface when you overwork it. The trick I learned is to let the bleed water do its job and only hit it enough to close the surface, not beat it into submission. A couple good passes with the float and one with the trowel is usually plenty if you time it right.