My old boss in Phoenix said something about broom finishes that stuck with me

He told me, 'A good broom finish isn't about the broom, it's about the timing of the pull.' We were finishing a 40 yard driveway and I was rushing. That one line made me slow down and watch the sheen on the concrete more than the tool in my hand. What's one piece of advice that changed how you work a finish?

3 comments

3 Comments

leewalker26d ago

My first foreman in Texas always said to keep your trowel flat as a pancake on the final pass. He'd make us hold a nickel under the blade to prove it wasn't angled. That pressure and flat angle closed up the surface way better than digging in with the edge.

blair_nguyen26d ago

My uncle worked concrete in Arizona and had this whole speech about trowel angles being like a handshake. Too steep and you're aggressive, too flat and you're weak. He'd actually demo it on the hood of his truck with a trowel and a glob of mud. That nickel trick is solid though, it forces you to feel the right pressure in your wrist. I saw guys who angled their trowels just wreck a finish by pulling up fines.

laura_chen4126d ago

That handshake idea from @blair_nguyen's uncle is spot on. It's all about reading the slab's feel, not just holding a tool a certain way.