I finally quit over-troweling my slabs

Everyone seems to think more troweling means a better finish, but I call bs. I've had jobs where I troweled less and the concrete set stronger. Too much troweling brings up too much cream and weakens the top layer. I saw a driveway I did five years ago, and the over-troweled sections are flaking off. My buddy's work, with minimal troweling, still looks solid. Maybe we're just making extra work for ourselves. Let the concrete be concrete.

2 comments

2 Comments

the_stella12h ago

Wasn't there a thing on one of the trade sites about this? I heard a contractor say overworking it brings all the paste up and then that's the weak part that fails. That lines up with what you're seeing.

grace_patel7h ago

Yeah that paste layer is the whole problem. Wait for it to firm up enough that your boot only leaves a light mark before you even step on it. Then just hit it with a magnesium float, no steel trowel unless it absolutely needs it for some reason. You're just closing the surface, not trying to make it look like glass.