Old foreman convinced me to ditch the power trowel on small slabs

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?

2 comments

2 Comments

richard_sanchez437d ago

Is this really that serious though? A 4x6 pad is barely worth pulling the extension cord out for, let alone dragging the machine off the truck. I've seen guys set up the power trowel for a 3x3 stoop and it's like watching someone unbox a whole new kitchen just to toast a bagel. But I mean, hand floating a driveway apron smooth is nice and all, but if you're doing a 20x30 slab you'd be an idiot to not use the power trowel. Jim might be old school but he's not wrong about washboard marks though, I've seen those on plenty of jobs where guys rode the machine too fast.

abby_chen7d agoMost Upvoted

Used to roll my eyes at guys dragging out power trowels for small jobs but your point about washboard marks made me reconsider.