willow244•12d agoProlific Poster

Serious question, is power troweling really better than hand finishing for small slabs?

I was reading a post on another site where a guy swore power troweling ruined his 4x6 patio pour because it left swirl marks that wouldn't buff out. But then my boss says you're wasting time if you don't power trowel anything over 10 square feet, it's just faster and gives a harder surface. I've been hand finishing small stuff like walkways and steps for 3 years now, and I get a nice consistent finish, but it kills my knees and takes twice as long. Last week we did a 8x10 slab and I tried the power trowel for the first time, and I'll admit it was smooth and flat, but I still worry about marking it up on a visible job. Has anyone else run into problems with power trowels on smaller residential work, or do you think it's just about technique?

2 comments

2 Comments

john_johnson7512d ago

Technique is everything with a power trowel, you just gotta feather the edges right so you don't dig in and leave marks. On a small slab like that I'd still hand finish it though, too much risk for something the homeowner will stare at every day.

john_johnson7512d ago

Yeah "too much risk for something the homeowner will stare at every day" is exactly it. I had a buddy who tried using a power trowel on his own driveway pad, just a little 10x10 section. He figured he'd save time and it'd be good enough. Thing looked like a cat walked across it fresh after a rain. Every single edge had a gouge line and the surface was all wavy in the light. His wife made him grind it down and re-pour the whole thing. He said it took him longer to fix than if he just did it by hand in the first place. Power trowels have their place on big warehouse floors, not on a little slab where someone will notice every flaw.