Old timer told me my broom finish was too rough

Guy walks past my driveway job in Spokane and says 'you're dragging too slow, that's why it's tearing.' Dropped my speed from like 2 feet per second down to 1 foot. First try came out glass smooth. Anyone else get handed a tip that cut their rookie mistakes in half?

2 comments

2 Comments

janab821d ago

Spokane has some serious concrete folks, that's for sure. That slow drag trick saved me a whole summer of bad finishes after I learned it the hard way. It's funny how one small tweak like that can make everything click, same thing happened to me with troweling angles too. Reminds me how many things in life follow that pattern where slowing down actually makes the result smoother, not rougher. What other little tricks have you picked up that felt like they cut your learning curve in half?

jade7381d ago

Actually, I gotta push back a little on that "slowing down makes it smoother" thing with concrete. It's not really about slowing down in general. It's about waiting for the right moment when the bleed water is gone. If you slow drag too early you'll just push that water back up and end up with a dusty mess. Learned that one the hard way too. The real trick that cut my learning curve was learning to read the color change of the concrete as it sets. When it goes from that wet dark gray to a lighter matte shade, that's your window. Made way more difference than any speed adjustment for me.