Finishing Concrete by Hand or with a Power Trowel? (What's Easier)
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- čas přidán 24. 10. 2021
- #EverythingAboutConcrete #MikeDayConcrete
On this small concrete floor addition I was planning to finish the concrete by hand. It was all going to be covered by tile so it didn't need a "smooth as glass" finish.
As I started finishing, the concrete had a "sandy" feel to the surface and the sun was bearing down on it so I decided to pull out my mini power trowel and finish it with that.
Which way is easier? Check out the video and let me know in the comments.
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I'm a contractor and have been doing concrete floors for over 20 years. The power trowel is definitely the way to go! You guys do an awesome job, and your videos are wicked good too!
easily one of the best concrete guys on youtube. thanks for all you do helping build the US and sharing your work with us on youtube
Im a stone Mason by trade specialising is cement masonry and terrazzo from New Zealand and I've just started working with concrete in the last 6months and I tell you I've learnt so much watching this channel thanks Mike !!
Power trowel is the way to go for sure! Great video as always too.
Awesome job Mike!
Great work as always.
Definitely good choice
Hi Mike...I'm preparing to pour my own garage floor so I'm a regular consumer of your videos. Thanks for sharing your craft with us, I've learned so much in the past couple months going thru videos. Cheers mate.
Glad to help
@hedge685 how’d it turn out? I’m going to do my pole barn. After watching these vids the only thing I’m not confident about is that the batch I’ll order will be exactly the mix I want. I like the slump Mike pours at, it appears it would flatten out ok.
@@wisdomspitter7688 Honestly, I'd give myself a B-minus. I've poured some concrete before but nothing like this Alaskan slab for the garage. Non of my help had any experience and not helping was the rental place did not have the power screed I reserved. Had to screed by hand with lumber and left some low spots. The ready-mix company was great as was the driver that day...both very helpful and patient with us. The mix was spot on with the fiber and water reducer. Placing wore me out and I waited 15 minutes too long to finish edges, but most of the damage was covered by framing.
One of my houses had a power trowel finish in the garage and it was extremely flat and easy to sweep clean, but several butts were impacted when coming in on a rainy day. The next house had the basement floor machine troweled and the garage was hand troweled that resulted in many fewer impacts.
I love the power hook on that mini trowel I would be using that whenever possible..our floors we always made 3 1/2”- 4” on most residential pours.
The hook and crane are a game changer!
Power trowel saves the back build the arm's great job Mike.Tony from Las Cruces New Mexico
Nice I like the frost wall and styrofoam strategy. That was very thoughtful looking out for the tile guy. Another great job!
Thank you!
Tuning in from Hawaii!!! NICE WORK 🤙🏼
Hand finished concrete never ages as well, a power trowel seems to distribute water, sand and cement better so surface stays smoother over time.
You're right, but it's all getting covered with tile on this one.
I would have power troweled it myself too like you said I wouldn't of glassed it up just made sure it was nice and flat nice good love your work guys
I watch and enjoy all your videos 👍
I appreciate that!
Hello from Monday January 24. 2022. 179k subs. all the vids are great to rewatch and always incredibly informative .. HUGE project very cool
Excelente trabajo 👌👌👌 saludos desde Chile 🇨🇱👌💯
Nice job
at 79 years young I would have definitely gone with the power trowel. i didn,t know that the bull float is angled by twisting the handle . so much good info on the internet .
We use a floor squeegee to remove bleed water. It happens in basements allot on poly. We only pour when it’s raining on inside stuff.
i always wonder if that insulation under the concrete is gonna last.
also, loving the channel, ive been binging your video's.
Working smart, is always better than working hard!
I think you made the right decision
Absolutely get the power trowel.i have a 3 ft.one I take to every job no matter what I'm pouring ..it has saved my ass many many times ..good call
Good stuff hell hellyeah brother
Great video as always Mike! It's kinda a game time decision, but I probably would have done the same with so much sand on the surface.... Great job!
Thanks Frank.
Looks like you're up north somewhere. Down in tucson, Arizona most patios and sidewalks are 4". Like anything being built, the size of what its gonna be be used for is a major factor. House floors are usually 5"-6". Footings for a house are about 12"x12". Footings for 88 (8"x8"x16" block) walls, 6ft tall, is 8"x12". Depending on what the engineer says, is what we follow. Typical floors are 4", like patios and such. Different needs call for different design. Sometimes it seems like overkill lol
Hey Mike I hope all is well in Maine! What do you tell a customer if a sidewalk cracks
Hey man my name is Monge I like your videos a lot I did a foundation repair in northen California hired a couple of good concrete guys came up perfect inspector was happy. Do you have any like that? We lift the house a little form new footing and stem wall under old one a little bigger even under a heavy fire place and chimney. Thanks for all the info
Enjoyed the video mike I believe work smarter not harder.
Me too, thanks Kevin!
sup mike, love your video’s and hard work. Where is a good place to Purchase concrete stamps? i’ve been renting stamps for a while now and im looking on purchasing my own for my business.
Great Channel. You should come down here to the Caribbean and teach a seminar on concrete finishing
Set it up and I'll come there!
Yeah we use the same mesh except for we call it stealth fiber
Hey mike just wondering if you have ever tried a float pan.
Machine much easier and 100% flatter. I worked for a company that had us finishing 20+ yard basements by hand. Usually 4 or more passes before finished. After 15 years went to another company and I finally got to use a power trowel. There’s no comparison. I hit the floor east to west, north to south next pass then diagonal the next. Then repeat. We usually burn em up so plenty of passes. By far the floor will be better and flatter with a machine.
I would have done the same thing. Mag it out first to get more of the bleed water off without sealing that in and power trowel smooth. Great video
Thanks Travis!
I’m going to be building an 800 sq foot cabin that will be engineered, the foundation will be a mono slab with radiant in floor heat. I’m wanting to use the concrete as the finished floor, would you recommend a power trowel or just doing it by hand ?
I’ve done a couple of concrete countertops (pour in place) and used a steel trowel to finish them so I do have a little experience but not a lot, I will be pouring a couple of smaller slabs that I can practice on beforehand.
Mag to start is fine. I'd power trowel to even everything out and so it doesn't get away from you since you had all of the bleed water. Finish it by hand so you can get out of there sooner. It's getting tiled, so... once it's flat and solid, no need to go any further. The tile guy is going to put his mortar underneath his tile and level as he goes. I watched the power trowel shake your arms in a few places.... I know what that is🙄.
How good does mortar/grout bond to a polished surface?
Flat is the most important part.
You can always put a hard finish with a power trowel. I've hand trowel alot of small slabs such as that one .. but I would rather power trowel given the circumstances You explained. Thanks for the video
I always like using a power trowel vs hand finish.
Love your videos! Would you ever consider pouring a concrete skatepark?
I consider everything, then make a decision based on that and looking into the specs further.
I prefer a machine finish. The old guys I learned from taught me to, what they called jigging and darby. Because it was nice not having all the handles of a bull float. Of course they make lots of cool tools for getting it down but that’s what was easiest for them. Now they own a bullfloat but they felt if you were hand troweling this was best. My granddad always told me there’s more than one way to skin a cat. I’m 44 and this is the first year I’ve been away from concrete since I was a 13 kid.
If it got up to 80°, it should have been definitely warm enough for that power trial to take care of it I think you did the right thing by hitting it once by hand and in the fall we usually end up chasing the power trial off it by hand because it's getting too cool outside
We do the same here Chris, especially in the shade areas.
if you have the tools on hand its definitely better to work smarter than harder. i however do not own a power trowel so to save the rental fee i would hand finish 400 sq. feet.
thanks for another great video.
we're having the same problem with wire mesh supply in windsor (canada). been going on almost all year.
It's gone from 7 bucks to 18 bucks per 5x10 sheet here.
I like a broom finish when going over concrete. Everyone is different. Just my thoughts
Looking forward to your collaboration with victory outdoor. I wonder if Ryan will add the power trowel to his arsenal!
They are?
He asked me to give him lessons on how to operate it. Maybe soon.
What thickness and psi for garage with lifts
Old power trowel did well though 👍
MIke Haduck and Mike Day, what more do you need
I need a video to tech me to do edges
Is styrofoam good to use in no-frost areas?
I cross it up a couple times and trowlit behind less time, if is going to have tile anyways
Been pouring floors for26 years in southern Maine why do it by hand when it's hot and it's setting up and you have the machine no brainer for me put the machine on it nice job
I agree, thanks Robert!
The only time i finish by hand is if its taking too long to set up because as you know it must be harder or more se to finish with a power trowel than by hand. Sometimes on the smaller ones i will break out the sliders and sell it by hand and move on.
Hey Mike what is the best advice for getting a mirror finished slab ?..........and as far hand trowel or power trowel always power trowel to get a flatter slab
Timing with the power trowel is key, not being too early or late and hitting the slab multiple times with finish blades. flatter is better done with a power trowel.
As a General Contractor I want it level . Think of it as your mom's house , and your reputation and not the $$$$$$$$$$$ . I'd pay more for a guy like this , and plumb , level , square , is our industry standard ! P.S. Great info 👍
I used to drive mixer trucks myself but i always felt it was just a matter of size or surface as to whether or not to break out the power trowel
Both right on!
Hi Mike. Is it possible to just finish with a bull float as it dries. As in instead of using a mag and power trowel can use use the bull float at the times you would use them instead?
No, you'll never get a good finish as the concrete sets up. You'd be better off using a tool called a fresno. Similar to a bull float but kinda like a steel trowel.
never pour under 5 inch, and typically always rebar. busted out enough concrete to find the mess laying on the bottom. power trowel all day any day. hand trowel does look better, but body says power trowel will make you live longer.
Have you ever thought of using a large soft squeeze to pull the bleed water off?? I'm about to do a 10 yard floor in the shade over plastic on a 50 degree day. I bet I'll have a problem with bleed water.
You can use a garden hose. Lay it on the slab and get a guy on each end and slowly pull it across the slab.
I'd say the power trowel is better because it's own weight is also hardening, and smoothing it at the same consistency. Rather the hand finish doesn't apply the constant pressure to compact that last finish.
It does densify the surface better, yes.
2x4 form is 3.5" so the pour average is 3.5". Always wondered when folks say a 4" slab they mean 3.5" or do they ensure 4" in the field and 3.5 at the forms... Thanks for the videos.
Everyone I know also call it a 4" inch slab, I think they might dig the other half inch down maybe.
For exterior flatwork, there is usually a little space between the form and the grade and the grade will be a little lower than the form.
I’d love to help you guys with a pour one day
If I were the customer, I would want it power troweled. I would want the compaction and density you can only get from the machine. But as someone in the trade, I work for a paving company so I don't have to deal with floors. My tendonitis aches just thinking about hand wiping a floor.
Does concrete taste good? It looks like it does lol my favorite smell in the world is rain on hot concrete. Heaven
Machine before Man
Can’t pour a floor less than 6 inches by code in Canada,power trowel I think is the way to go,
I def woulda brought out the machine. No question. But I woulda left it pretty open probably and not finish it too tight so the thinset grabs better
Love your channel Mike
Joe mac
Guernsey channel islands
Power trowel is the only way to go, we power trowel everything.
Squeegee and shop vac would have been a fast way to get rid of most of the water before you started.
Wire mesh is out on the ocean on a boat waiting to dock.
I would worry about the bleed water. Magging it back into the surface is not good for the water cement ratio. If it was outside I would be concerned about spalling. I like to put 2” to 4” of gravel on top of any foam when I pour. It gives the water a place to go. With all that water on top you have the problem of the concrete setting up before the bleed water is gone. Not a good situation.
I'd like that too Guy, no one will gravel on top of poly or insulation here. We have to deal with the bleed water most every day.
I think with the foam I would have done the same thing.
Good call working smarter no harder ,lol!
Bahama strong Construction way in the Bahamas
I think you made the right decision given that it was in the sun and late morning. You had the smaller trowel, so why not!
I agree, it make it pretty easy.
I see when u bull float you don't shake it that's how I was taught but the new crew I'm on do shake it what's the better way
Depends on the slump. We don't have to in most cases.
If it's too smooth and you run the risk to have somebody slip, fall, brake some bone you probably want to brush or roll an anti slip paint over it. I wouldn't bother if it's going to have tiles on top or any other floor covering.
I agree with you Andreas
Power trowel.
I power trowel all finish floors regardless of size
In the winter Matt, we'll hand finish a large basement to keep from getting carbon monoxide poisoning. been there too many times.
@@MikeDayConcrete I used to have a couple ground heaters and poured all winter. Now I shut down around Thanksgiving and rest up for the spring
Definitely easier with the power trowel because your back is straight.
I'm not a concrete guy but the best smoothest most perfect finish I ever saw was finished by hand (hand troweled. not bare handed) . just sayin.
I'm a commercial flooring installer here in alaska and the concrete work here is awful
Work smarter not harder...machine over hand trowel...
Yes, but sometimes hand troweling is faster.
Not everything concrete. You specialize in flatwork.
Always remember the purpose, and always remember overkill.
Definitely Easier. Work Smarter Not Harder
Hey man my name is Monge I like your videos a lot I did a foundation repair in northen California hired a couple of good concrete guys came up perfect inspector was happy. Do you have any like that? We lift the house a little form new footing and stem wall under old one a little bigger even under a heavy fire place and chimney. Thanks for all the info