Watched a crew in Portland finish a driveway with a power trowel and I still think it's a lazy way out.

They were doing a big stamped job on a new build off Burnside. The foreman swore by the power trowel for the base slab, said it saved two hours. I get the speed, but the finish looked too uniform, almost plastic. You lose the subtle texture and feel you get from a hand float. My old boss would have called it cheating. Anyone else stick with hand tools for the final pass, or am I just being stubborn?

3 comments

3 Comments

linda_wood2mo ago

Too uniform" is what you want for a base slab before stamping, idk. Saving two hours on a big pour isn't lazy, it's just smart.

rileyl982mo ago

Saving two hours isn't lazy, it's just smart" is exactly it. I see this everywhere now, where people call basic efficiency cutting corners. Like using a leaf blower instead of a rake, or a pressure washer. It's not about being lazy, it's about not wasting your own time on stuff that doesn't need the extra effort.

verafoster1mo ago

The stamped crew actually ran a power trowel on the base slab not the finish layer, so the uniformity helps the stamp bond right. Hand floating a base coat would leave inconsistent texture that messes with the release and stamp pattern.