I always just sprayed and hoped for the best on my residential driveways but last month I had a 30x20 footer in Phoenix that needed to hold up. Threw some wet burlap and plastic on it, kept it damp for 5 full days. The surface is way harder than my usual jobs, almost no dusting at all. Only downside was the extra trips to check moisture but the homeowner texted me a week later saying it looks better than his neighbor's pour from 2 years ago. Anybody else do wet cures on small jobs or just stick to the sealer?
I was finishing a 40 yard driveway in Tulsa yesterday and the rental trowel just quit. No warning, no weird noise, just dead. Had to hand finish the last 15 yards with a bull float and knee boards. Took me 3 hours extra and the customer was standing there watching. Anyone else had a rental machine crap out on them at the worst possible time and what did you do about it?
Had a 10,000 sq ft warehouse floor in Phoenix last month and my arms were dying. Rented a walk-behind with a combo blade from Sunbelt for $150 a day, finished the job in 2 days instead of 5. Anyone else use power trowels for big flatwork or just stick to hand finishing?
I was at Forest Park in St. Louis last Saturday just walking around and I noticed this big concrete patio area near the main pavilion. The finish work on it looked weird to me, like someone used a broom on it but missed big sections. There were these long drag lines that just stopped halfway across the slab, and the edges were chipped up like they didn't use an edger at all. I got down and looked close, and I swear there were little pieces of gravel sticking out of the surface like it wasn't floated right before they broomed it. My buddy who works parks maintenance told me they had a crew come in from out of town about 3 months back to do it. Has anyone else seen city work that just looks half done or am I being too picky about public jobs?
Last week I had a job pouring a 10x12 patio slab. Simple stuff, right? But the ground had a weird low spot that kept filling with water every time we prepped. I kept thinking a little grading would fix it, but after 16 hours of messing with it across two days, I finally just called in a mini excavator for 90 bucks and dug a proper French drain. Has anyone else wasted way too long fighting a simple issue before just throwing the right tool at it?
I was working a residential driveway over in Maplewood last Tuesday and the J-bolts I grabbed from the truck were all 3/4 inch too short. The anchor holes had already been drilled and the forms set, so I had to stop everything, drive back to the supply yard, and swap them out. It set me back a good two hours and the homeowner was watching from the window the whole time. Has anyone else had a supplier mix up hardware like that and had to adjust on the fly?
I always used a power trowel for everything, even small walkways. My foreman, Jim, watched me fire it up on a 4x6 pad last month and just shook his head. He said "you're spending 10 minutes setting up a machine that a hand float can finish in 3, and the hand float won't leave washboard marks." Tried it his way on a driveway apron yesterday and the finish was smoother than any power trowel job I've done. Anyone else find certain tools are overkill for small work?
I was pouring a driveway near Buckhead and the engineer called for a 4 inch slump. I figured it was standard residential stuff, no big deal. But the mix they sent was way stiffer than I expected - took me and my partner nearly 4 hours to get everything screeded and bull floated when it should've been a 2 hour job. Anyone else run into mix designs that sound simple on paper but fight you the whole way?
I bought a gallon of that store brand acrylic sealer for $28 last month to do a small patio job in Austin. Applied it exactly like the label said, let it cure 48 hours, and after the first rain it all peeled up in sheets. Ended up having to grind it all off with a diamond cup wheel, which cost me about 6 hours of labor and another $40 in dust bags. Any of you guys had luck with a budget sealer that actually holds up, or is it always worth springing for the pro grade stuff?
Last week I had a 30x40 foot driveway to finish and I chose to go old school with a hand trowel instead of renting a power trowel for $150 a day. Figured I could save the cash and do it right with my crew but we ended up working two extra hours in the heat to get a smooth finish. Has anyone else skipped the power trowel on a big slab and regretted it?
We were pouring a slab for a warehouse near the 101 freeway last July, and the foreman wanted to dump calcium chloride to speed things up. I argued we'd be fighting flash set and end up with a mess, but he overruled me. Sure enough, we had two guys running finish on a section that went off in under 20 minutes, and the surface looked like a railroad track. Has anyone else had a boss push accelerators when the ambient temp is already pushing 105?
I've been hand floating for 12 years and finally rented a 36 inch power trowel for a 400 square foot basement slab in Omaha. Figured it would save me time but the finish came out wavy in spots and not as smooth as my hand work. Has anyone else had better luck with these things on smaller jobs?
I've been doing finishing for about 8 years now on the residential side. A buddy of mine runs a commercial outfit and asked me to help on a big warehouse slab near Tulsa. I showed up and saw this massive pour spreading out in front of me... it just hit different than a driveway. Has anyone else made the jump from residential to commercial and felt totally out of their element at first?
Last Thursday we had a big warehouse slab pour in Nashville and I ended up doing 10,200 square feet of broom finish by myself between 10am and 4pm. My foreman called BS until he checked the job sheets. Nobody warned me my right arm would be dead for two days after though. Has anyone else hit a crazy square footage number that caught you off guard?
Back when I was just starting out I met this old timer named Ray at a job site in Tucson. He saw me struggling with a bull float and walked over and said "you're pushing too hard, let the concrete do the work." He spent maybe 20 minutes showing me the right pace and how to read the surface. Has anyone else had a random person give them advice that still sticks with you years later?
He was loading up a second wheelbarrow of concrete mix and said he's been pouring for 15 years without a sealer and never gets cracks, so does anyone else skip sealer on residential stuff or am I just wasting money buying the expensive stuff?
I was finishing a big driveway in Portland and the temp dropped way faster than I expected overnight. Had to scramble to get curing blankets on before the frost hit. Now I always keep two extra blankets in the truck just in case. Anyone else had to deal with unexpected weather changes on a pour?
I used to spend forever on my hand trowel edges trying to get them perfect before the mud even set up. Then about 6 months ago an old timer named Hank at a jobsite in Phoenix said I was fighting the concrete instead of waiting for it. He showed me how to rough it in, walk away, and come back for one clean pass. Has anyone else figured out they were doing too much too early?
Poured a 40-yard driveway in Austin and the concrete started setting in the truck before we even got it all out, had to ditch the last 3 yards and explain to the homeowner why his driveway has a cold joint running through the middle.
Rented a power trowel for the first time on a 40,000 square foot job last month. Hand finishing that much slab would have taken me three days, got it done in eight hours. Anyone else switch over to machines for large pours?
Been doing flatwork for about 10 years now and always just went in dry, figured the mix had enough water in it. Mike who's been finishing since the 80s told me I was gonna get cracking near the edges every time if I didn't wet down the dirt first. Tried it on a big driveway job out in Maplewood last month and sure enough not a single crack along the perimeter. Has anyone else had a boss yell something at you that ended up being the best advice you ever got?
Was talking to an old timer from Omaha last week while waiting for a load to show up, and he told me I was running my mix too wet for the weather we've been having. He said the extra water makes the surface weaker and that's why the edges blow out after a couple freezes. Anyone else ever get that advice and actually change their mix because of it?
Back when I was working on a big warehouse slab job in Tacoma three summers ago, the afternoon sun was brutal. The concrete was setting up way too fast and we were fighting it. The lead finisher, a guy named Ray, told me to keep a spray bottle with a mix of water and a little liquid dish soap in my truck. When things started to skin over too quick, a super light mist over the area bought us just enough extra time to get a clean finish without burning it. I still use that trick every July. Anyone else have a simple hack for dealing with fast-setting concrete?