Chose a $30 steel trowel over a $100 magnesium one and regretted it

Last month I had to resurface a 400 sq ft patio in Columbus. Grabbed a cheap steel trowel from Home Depot instead of dropping the cash on a good magnesium one. That thing rusted up in two days and left streaks all over the finish. Had to grind it down and start over. Cost me an extra 6 hours of work. Has anyone else had a cheap tool cost them way more time than it saved?

2 comments

2 Comments

drew_patel5716d ago

You said "chose a $30 steel trowel over a $100 magnesium one" but steel trowels actually have their place for different finishes. Steel is better for hard troweling and getting that super smooth final pass, while magnesium is for floating and bringing up the cream. Sounds like you just grabbed the wrong type of trowel for the job, not that steel is automatically the worse choice.

diana_black2216d ago

That's kind of how a lot of things go - you pay with money upfront or with your time later. It's the same with cheap paint brushes or even a bad kitchen knife.