TIL you don't always need a power trowel on small pours, and my arms paid for it last week

Skyler Grant · 2026-10-08T04:45:04.752241+00:00

Everyone on here says you gotta burn in a machine finish on anything bigger than a sidewalk, but I did a 14x20 garage apron in Wichita last Thursday by hand and it came out flatter than most machine jobs I've seen. My foreman bet me $50 I couldn't hit a 6 foot straightedge with no more than a 1/8 inch gap, and I proved him wrong after about 4 hours of hand floating and a magnesium trowel finish. The trick was pouring at a 5 inch slump instead of the 7 they wanted, then waiting an extra 40 minutes before I started working it. Yeah my shoulders were wrecked for two days, but the homeowner said it was the best looking slab on the block. I get why guys lean on power trowels for speed, but on smaller jobs the hand finish gives you way more feel for the cream. Am I crazy for thinking we got too dependent on machines for anything under 400 square feet?

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TIL you don't always need a power trowel on small pours, and my arms paid for it last week | Concrete Finishers - Topic Shares