Been floating concrete wrong for 5 years until a guy in Fresno called me out

I was using a bull float with the flat side down like a dummy, didn't realize you're supposed to lift the front edge. A finisher with 30 years experience saw me on a job and asked if I was trying to make mud pies.

2 comments

2 Comments

anthonykim11h ago

Flat float works fine on plastic mixes where you don't want to tear the surface. Lifting the front edge is for when you need to knock down high spots and close the cream faster. Different strokes for different jobs, I've seen guys nail it both ways.

robertsmith22h ago

Hold up, I gotta push back a little on that. For a long time I did it with the float flat and got pretty good results, but I think a lot of it depends on the mix and the air temperature. If you're working with a wetter, stickier batch, lifting the front edge can make it dig in too much and leave lines. Your mileage may vary, but I've had a few old timers tell me a flat float is fine as long as you keep a consistent speed and don't push down too hard.