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Had a long talk with an old timer in Atlanta last weekend
Was finishing up a driveway in the Buckhead area and this retired guy named Roy came over just to watch. He saw me using a power trowel and asked why I didn't hand finish more. Said he learned from his dad in the 60s that hand troweling gave better control for even light catches. Got me wondering if I rely too much on machines for flat work. Any of you still do big pours by hand or is that just nostalgia talking?
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david_reed2214d ago
Old timers know their stuff. Hand finishing gives you way better control over the final look.
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abby_cooper14d ago
Honestly, "way better control" is exactly it. It's like how people used to really take their time with things, you know? I see it with home cooking too - everyone wants meal kits and shortcuts, but the people who still chop their own veggies and season by feel always end up with food that tastes way more personal. Same goes for music, writing, anything creative. The old ways take longer but you get to actually steer the result instead of hoping a machine gets it right.
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robinp8914d ago
Ask Roy if he meant hand troweling every square foot or just the edges where the light hits. Because I get that old timers have a feel for things, but there's a reason we got power tools, right? You'd be out there for three days on a big slab doing it all by hand. Does he think the trade lost something real or is it just a preference thing? I'm curious about the actual difference in the finished floor, like can you really spot a hand finished driveway from a machine one a year later? Or is it more about the pride in the work while you're doing it?
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