Talked to a 40-year finisher in Des Moines, he changed my float game

Was on a job last Tuesday, pouring a 2,000 sq ft warehouse slab. Old timer named Ray walked over, watched me work the float for a minute. He just said, 'You're pushing the cream, not pulling it.' I had no clue what he meant. He showed me how he angles the float on the back pass, almost skimming instead of pressing. Tried it on the next section, and the surface came out way tighter with less trowel burn. I've been at this 12 years and nobody ever broke it down like that. Anyone else pick up a basic move that made the whole job feel new again? What did it cost you to learn?

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jamesf2618d ago

You ever notice how the old guys always make it look easy, but they never tell you the why behind the move? Ray probably learned that skimming trick from some guy who learned it from a guy who got it beat into him on a job site in the 70s. My guess is it cost him a few blown out knees and a lot of bad pours before someone showed him the angle. That's the real price nobody talks about, the years of doing it the hard way before someone bothers to share the shortcut. That's why those little tips feel like gold, because they're built on a pile of mistakes you didn't have to make.