Switched from hand troweling to power troweling on my last garage slab

I always thought hand work gave you more control, but after watching a guy finish a 400 sq ft floor in half the time with way less joints, I finally gave in. Tried a ride-on for a small strip mall job in Austin and the density difference was NIGHT and day. Anyone else fight the switch for years like I did?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai_west1h ago

Night and day difference" is exactly right. I read a test once where they compared cores from hand finished vs power troweled slabs, and the power troweled ones had way less surface porosity. Makes sense when you think about it, the machine puts way more pressure down and works the cream in deeper. My back used to kill me after a big hand job, but now I just stand there and steer. Still keep a hand float handy for tight spots though. Your mileage may vary on smaller pads.

price.jake1h ago

Man that same principle applies everywhere, like how a decent pressure washer beats scrubbing a driveway by hand every time lol.

angela_dixon1h ago

Took me forever to finally let go of the hand stuff too. Guess my back was too stubborn to admit the machine was just plain smarter than me.