c/concrete-finishers

Poured my 500th yard of concrete last week and my knees filed a formal complaint

Didn't really track it at first. Just kept a rough count in my head. But last Thursday I hit 500 yards. That is a lot of mud. My knees started making weird clicking sounds around yard 350. Has anyone else bothered to count how much they have poured over the years?

Switched from wet curing to curing compound on a big slab last week

I always used wet burlap and plastic for my driveways, but tried a spray-on curing compound on a 30x40 shop floor. The finish came out way more uniform and I didn't have to babysit it every 4 hours. Has anyone else made that switch and noticed a difference in surface hardness?

I was shocked to learn concrete curing temperature changes the final strength by almost 50 percent

I was reading through an ACI guide last week and found out that if you pour concrete when it's below 50 degrees F, you can lose up to 50% of your 28-day strength if you don't manage the cure right. I always knew cold weather was bad but I didn't realize the drop was that big. We did a driveway pour in Denver back in November and I'm wondering now if we should have waited longer. Has anyone else seen big strength differences from winter pours?

Swore I'd never use a power trowel but got talked into renting one

Spent $85 to rent a power trowel for a 1,200 square foot garage floor last weekend after the boss kept pushing it. Figured it would mess up the finish but it actually saved me three hours of hand work and the surface came out flatter than anything I've done by hand. Anybody here still do all their finishing by hand or has everyone made the switch?

Rant: my bull float handle snapped mid-pour on a driveway in Phoenix yesterday

I was about 30 feet into a 60 foot driveway and the aluminum handle just gave out at the threads... had to finish the rest with a hand float on my knees in 105 degree heat. Anyone else had a handle fail on them?

Had a contractor yell at me for my broom finish last month

Guy told me my finish looked like a cat dragged a rake across it and walked off. Stung pretty bad but he was right, I was rushing the timing on the broom stroke. Went back to that same job site three days later and practiced on a scrap slab. Changed my whole approach to waiting for the bleed water to set just right before pulling the broom. Ever had a customer tell you something that actually made you better at your trade, or did you just write them off?

Still not sold on using accelerator in cold weather pours

I watched a crew in Denver last month dump a ton of calcium chloride into a 30 yard slab because temps dropped to 28. The surface looked great for about 6 hours, then it spiderwebbed like crazy. Has anyone else had that kind of reaction with accelerators on a big flatwork job?

Rant: Took me 3 flat jobs to admit I was using too much water in the mix

I always thought a wetter mix made it easier to finish, but after a job in Austin last month where the surface kept dusting on me, I finally looked at what the bag actually said. Turns out I was adding about a gallon more water than recommended for a 60lb bag, and the difference in the final cure was night and day after I cut back. Has anyone else noticed a major change in strength or color when you stick to the exact water ratio?

Talked to a guy at the supply yard who made me question my whole finish approach

I was grabbing some bags of Quikrete last Tuesday at Builders Choice in Milwaukee and this older finisher named Dave started chatting me up. He said he stopped using a bull float entirely on driveways and just uses a fresno from the start. I thought he was crazy but he showed me a picture of his last job and the finish was dead flat, no chatter marks at all. He told me it saves him about 45 minutes per pour and he gets way fewer callbacks. Has anyone else ever tried skipping the bull float like that or is this guy just lucky?

I finally stopped using expansion joint filler the old way

Been watching guys at the supply yard grab that grey foam backer rod for control joints. They jam it in halfway. No depth gauge. Just shove it in. Then they squirt sealant on top. Two months later it's all cracked out. I measured my last driveway job. 1/3 depth max. That's it. That's the rule. Sealant needs room to flex. Why does nobody check this before pouring money into caulk?

I was dead wrong about wet curing being overrated

Always thought it was a waste of time for small flatwork until I skipped it on a 30-yard driveway in Phoenix last July and ended up with a spiderweb of cracks by day three. Has anyone else gotten burned skipping the cure on a hot pour and changed their mind?

Watched a 6-inch thick slab crack right down the middle at a job site in Phoenix last July because nobody put in control joints.

The crew was rushing to beat the heat and skipped every expansion joint, now I cut mine a day after pour no matter how fast the clock is ticking, what's the worst crack you've seen from skipping a step?

Property manager tore into my broom finish on a driveway last week - was right about the lines

Just realized how long it takes to fix a bull float that's warping on you

I spent three hours yesterday trying to get my bull float to stop dipping on one side during a driveway pour in Phoenix. Turned out the handle was slightly bent from sitting in the sun last summer, not the float itself (which I checked like four times). Took a pipe wrench and some patience to straighten it out, but I lost half the morning messing with it. Has anyone else had a handle warp on them in the heat?

Spent $150 on a used bull float and it paid for itself in one driveway pour

Grabbed a beat-up magnesium bull float off Facebook Marketplace and after a quick handle swap it's finishing smoother than my old wood one ever did. Anybody else find good deals on used tools that just needed a little TLC?

Changed my mind on buying a power trowel after years of hand finishing

I was always a hand float guy, thought power trowels were a waste of cash for small jobs. Then I took a 3000 sq ft warehouse slab in Phoenix last month and my arm nearly fell off by lunch. Buddy of mine loaned me his 36 inch Whiteman and I finished that whole slab in 2 hours flat. Bought a used one the next day for $800 off Facebook Marketplace, best money I ever spent. It cuts finishing time by half and my hand doesn't cramp up anymore. Only downside is the gas smell and it kicks up more dust than I expected. Anyone else switch over later in their career and regret not doing it sooner?

Wasted $300 on a sealer that turned my driveway yellow

Last spring I bought this high end acrylic sealer from the supply house, thinking I was doing my client a favor. Applied it on a perfect 70 degree day like the can said, and within 2 months the whole thing had this nasty yellow tint from sun exposure. Had to grind it all off and redo the job out of my own pocket. Anyone else had a sealer fail on them like that?

Finally gave in and tried the wet layup method after 10 years of fighting dry pours

Been doing driveways and patios for over a decade and always thought wet layup was just a way to get a weak slab. Had a job out in Springfield last week where the mix was drying way too fast in the sun, so I grabbed the hose and gave it a shot. Used about 3 gallons of water per yard and the finish came out smoother than anything I've ever done. Has anyone else had better luck with wet vs dry in hot weather?

Changed my mind about power trowels after talking to an old hand down in Tucson

I always thought power trowels were basically cheating, like you weren't a real finisher if you didn't do everything by hand. Then I was on a job with this guy named Sal, been pouring concrete since the 70s, and he watched me hand finishing a 2,000 square foot slab. He said 'kid, you're just making more work for your back and your finish isn't even that good.' Showed me how he uses a power trowel to get a smoother surface with less effort, and he was right. Anyone else ever have to eat crow on a piece of equipment they thought was for rookies?

Overheard two finishers arguing about wet vs dry curing for a driveway pour in Phoenix

I was at a supply yard yesterday and this older guy swore wet curing with burlap is the only way to avoid cracks in the heat, but the younger guy said dry curing with a spray sealer saves time and still holds up. Got me thinking about all the jobs I've done where I just went with whatever the foreman said. What's your go-to method for really hot climates like that?

PSA: Stop troweling wet concrete like it's buttercream frosting

I was on a driveway pour last Tuesday over in Maplewood and this young guy kept trying to finish the surface before the bleed water had even evaporated. He was smoothing it out like he was icing a cake. The result was this cloudy, scaly mess that looked terrible the next morning. I had to grind off a good 3 feet of it and re-pour. The secret is just waiting, you gotta let that water sit and then hit it at the right time. Have any of you had to fix a job someone rushed like that?

Walked past an old job site downtown from 15 years ago and noticed the finish still looks good

I was over on 5th and Main yesterday grabbing lunch and walked by this parking garage we poured back in 2009. Weather's been rough here in St. Louis with all the freeze-thaw cycles we get... but the broom finish is still holding up, no spalling or cracking near the joints. Made me think about how we used to do things different back then, like we'd spend more time on the mix design and curing. Any of you guys go back and look at old work? What do you notice holds up best?

Had to choose between a hand trowel finish and a power trowel on a 500 square foot garage floor

Last week I bid a small garage job in Omaha where the homeowner wanted a super smooth finish but the slab was too tight for my big power trowel. I went with a hand trowel and used a magnesium float for the final passes, but it took me 4 hours longer than I planned and my wrist is still sore. Has anyone else dealt with choosing between hand and power on a small residential slab that turned out trickier than you thought?

Just realized I've been overworking my concrete on bigger pours

I was on a job in Columbus last month pouring a 40x60 garage floor. Had a helper who used to work highway paving, and he told me to back off the finishing time by about 20 minutes. Turns out I was burning the cream before it even had a chance to set right. Has anyone else gotten better results by just letting the concrete sit a little longer before you start?

I finally saw the difference between a bull float and a magnesium float after 6 years of doing slabs

On a driveway job in Holland last spring I used a bull float on the first half and a mag on the second half, and the texture difference was so obvious 30 minutes later that I had to strip and redo the bull floated side - who else thinks bull floats are only good for getting the basic surface down before switching tools?