I finally stopped power troweling the whole slab wet and my edges quit burning
Everyone on the crew swears you gotta keep the machine moving over the whole pour while it's still wet, and I went along with it for years. Last Tuesday on a 40 by 60 shed floor in Amarillo I pulled the trowel off the edges and let them set up while I worked the middle, and those edges came out flat with no burn marks for the first time in a while. My lead guy gave me a look but the finish spoke for itself when we pulled the forms. Your mileage may vary depending on your mix and the wind, but letting the edge crust over a bit before you hit it again saved me a lot of hand work. I think a lot of us just trowel wet because that's how we were taught, not because it's right. Has anyone else backed off the wet troweling on big flatwork, or am I gonna regret this on the next pour?