That old timer at the jobsite said my troweling looked 'too pretty'

I was working a driveway pour in Austin last August, and this retired finisher named Bud came by to watch. He told me I was overworking the surface, that my finish looked like a swimming pool deck instead of a driveway meant for trucks. I was using a magnesium float right up to the end, trying to get that smooth, sealed look. He said to back off earlier and let a broom finish do the work for traction. Next week I tried it on a patio, stopping the trowel after the second pass and hitting it with a medium broom instead. The customer actually said they liked the grip better, and it cut my finishing time by almost 20 minutes. Has anyone else had a old school finisher call them out on something that changed their whole routine?

3 comments

3 Comments

danielmason12d ago

Doing less" is the whole secret, just took some old guy to show me.

piper_reed11d ago

Are you telling me the secret to life is just... napping? Because I think I've been overcomplicating things if thats the case. I tried the whole "do less" thing last weekend and ended up just watching TV for like 6 hours straight and felt kinda guilty about it afterwards. Maybe I need to find the right balance or something, because just doing nothing didn't feel super productive or zen to me.

elliotadams12d ago

Funny how sometimes doing less actually gives you a better result, seems like that rule applies to a lot of things.