A foreman in Denver told me to stop overworking my wet mix

I was grinding out a long driveway in Aurora last spring and kept troweling the same slab, trying to get it glass smooth. He walked over and said, 'You're burning the cream, kid, back off or you'll delaminate it.' I pulled back and the finish actually came out better, but I still fight the urge to touch it up too long. Has anyone else had a boss or old timer teach them a trick that goes against your gut?

1 comments

1 Comment

milar4618d ago

That old timer knew what he was talking about. The wet mix has a sweet spot and once you mess with it past that point, you're just pulling fines to the surface. Troweling too long makes the top weak and it flakes off later. Trusting the clock over your gut is the hardest part of learning this trade. Now I set a timer on my phone and walk away when it goes off, no matter how the slab looks.