Vent: Guy on a jobsite in Austin told me I was "too slow" for using a float instead of a trowel

Ngl this still bugs me months later. I was finishing a 400 square foot patio in Austin back in March when this older finisher from another crew walks over and says "you're gonna be here all day with that float." I told him I get a smoother surface this way for stamped work but he just shrugged and walked off. Basically called me slow in front of my own helper. Later I saw his crew's slab had these wavy lines all over it from rushing. Has anyone else had some random dude critique your method like they own the site?

3 comments

3 Comments

thea8571mo ago

Nah, he was probably right though, floats are way slower for big slabs.

veram9914d ago

Oh come on, is that really true though? Floats aren't that much slower for normal sized slabs unless you're doing something crazy with them. I've been using floats for years on medium sized projects and never noticed a big difference. Maybe back in the day with really old hardware, but nowadays it's barely even a thing. People get way too hung up on tiny performance stuff that doesn't matter for most jobs.

rubyschmidt1mo ago

Oh man, that reminds me of the time I tried to use floats to calculate lumber for a gazebo kit and ended up with enough wood for two sheds instead. Still can't quite figure that one out to this day.