I finally compared a power trowel to a hand float on a big slab job

Last week I did a 30x40 garage floor near Denver and used a power trowel for half and hand floating the other half. The power trowel side came out smoother and way more even, but I swear the hand float side had this deeper color and texture that looked better. I finished the whole thing with a broom anyway, so maybe it didn't even matter. Anyone else notice a difference between machine and hand finishing on big pours?

2 comments

2 Comments

terry_lewis217d ago

That's exactly what I found on a warehouse slab near Fort Collins last fall. Machine side was glass smooth but looked flat and kinda dead, while the hand floated section had that richer color and a better overall feel. Ended up brooming the whole thing too so the difference didn't matter for the final walk surface.

julia_patel6d ago

@terry_lewis21 I used to think machine finish was best but your post changed my mind.