Am I the only one who picks a hand float over a power trowel for small driveways?

I know everyone loves their power trowels for big slabs but for a regular 10x40 driveway I still grab my hand float every time. Did a job last month in Denver where the homeowner wanted a smooth finish and I used a magnesium hand float start to finish. Took me about 3 hours longer than if I'd used the power trowel but the finish came out way cleaner with zero swirl marks. My partner was giving me crap about it calling me old school but the customer actually pointed out how smooth it looked compared to their neighbor's pad that was done with a machine. I think sometimes we lean too hard on the power tools when the hand tool does a better job on smaller stuff. Anyone else find hand floating gives you more control on residential work?

3 comments

3 Comments

park.miles1mo ago

You're not wrong, sometimes slow and steady really does win the race.

shane_hayes1mo ago

Yeah that "slow and steady" thing applies to so much more than running. I've noticed it's usually the people who take their time with things that end up doing them best in the long run.

aaron_mitchell1mo agoTop Commenter

That "take their time" bit you said, @park.miles, just reminded me of this guy I used to know. He spent two whole years slowly teaching himself guitar from YouTube videos, barely playing for anyone. Now he's in a band that's actually pretty good, while everyone who tried to learn fast gave up after a month.