Heard a guy at the supply yard say hand troweling is dead and power trowels are all you need

I was grabbing bags of Quikrete yesterday morning and overheard this older finisher telling a newbie that nobody hand finishes floors anymore. He said his crew can do 10,000 square feet in a day with a power trowel and it looks better than anything done by hand. But I've been on jobs where power trowels left those little swirl marks that took forever to grind out, especially on colored concrete. Hand troweling gives you more control around edges and tight spots, no question. So is the old school hand method really just a waste of time now, or does it still have its place on certain pours? What do you guys think for something like a small patio versus a big warehouse slab?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_tara20d ago

Got any pics of power trowel swirls you had to fix?

derek_burns20d ago

Ha, you gotta love guys who act like the old ways are completely dead. I still trip over my own extension cord trying to keep up with a power trowel, so I'm clearly the wrong guy to ask.