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I finally realized I was overworking the concrete for years
I used to always go back and forth with the float until it was glass smooth, thought that was the mark of a good finisher. Then this old foreman in Phoenix pulled me aside after a big slab job and said look at the crazing lines forming. It hit me that all that extra travel was pushing fines to the surface and making it weak. Now I do 2 passes max and let it set faster, way less cracking issues. Anyone else fight the urge to keep troweling?
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the_mia10d agoMost Upvoted
Did you notice the slab temp changing your approach too? Curious if that Phoenix sun made you rethink timing along with the number of passes.
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evan_davis10d ago
@the_mia absolutely. That sun forces you to work faster and stop sooner than you think.
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patricia3210d ago
That sun changing slab temp is a real beast. Did you find yourself adjusting your finish timing based on where the sun was hitting versus shaded spots? I'm thinking about a patio I saw where the south edge set up way faster and cracked while the rest was still workable. Really threw the whole pour off because you couldn't smooth it all at the same rate.
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