Old timer on a job in Tucson gave me a trowel talk I still think about

Was doing a garage pad out in Tucson last spring, this guy in his 70s walks up from the house next door and just watches me finish for like 10 minutes. Finally he says 'you're floating it too much, let the cream come to you' and walks off. I was annoyed at first, figured he was just some retired dude with opinions. But I tried his way on the next pour, backing off on the trowel passes and waiting longer between them, and the surface came out way tighter. I still catch myself overworking small slabs when I'm rushed. Anyone else had an old hand give you one line that actually stuck and changed how you finish?

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nina_johnson866d ago

See, I always thought the opposite was true. More passes means you're working the surface flat and pulling the fines up to close the pores, and that's how I got my best finishes when the mix was hot. Maybe his trick works in Tucson's dry air, but out here I'd worry about the cream drying on you before you even get a chance to trowel it.