Chat with a retired finisher about why he never used power trowels

I was talking to this old timer named Dave at a supply shop in Denver last week. He said power trowels take the feel out of the concrete and he could always spot a machine-finished slab by how dead it looked. Made me wonder if I lean on my power trowel too much and miss the natural finish. Any of you guys ever ditch the machine for certain jobs?

2 comments

2 Comments

lily5117h ago

Wait, this guy actually ditched power trowels for good on every job? That's wild, I can't imagine going back to hand finishing for anything bigger than a small walkway. I mean, I kinda get what he's saying about the feel being different, but giving up the speed and consistency seems like a huge leap.

karen_sanchez1013h ago

Man that just hit me hard... You're telling me a guy actually gave up power trowels for good? That's crazy. I've been using one for the last 5 years on almost every slab and I never even thought about what I might be missing out on. Dave sounds like he knows his stuff though if he can spot a machine job from across the lot. Concrete is alive and I guess if you're running a power trowel over it you're just polishing a dead fish basically. Makes me want to try a hand finish on my next little patio job just to feel the difference for once.