Concrete Finishing Tips For Beginners | Power Troweling Floors

[@DiscoFang]

That saw is amazing. The 2nd big benefit after saving the time of a second trip back is the apparent lack of dust with cutting the fresh floor. That's a win.

[@Jack.333]

Hi Mike, I am an old guy and an armchair foreman. "Float" will be the official terminology. " Shine out" is Official as well You are a KZbin legend now Thanks

[@MikeDayConcrete]

John, thanks for that. That's the crete language we use also.

[@jeffersonmarshall3926]

A tip: you can watch movies at kaldroStream. Been using them for watching all kinds of movies during the lockdown.

[@nikolaigerardo1168]

@Jefferson Marshall Yup, been using kaldrostream for since december myself :D

[@hassantate1271]

@Jefferson Marshall definitely, have been watching on kaldroStream for since december myself :)

[@yopappy891]

Hey Mike, just wanted to shout out a Kudos to your crew they do an extraordinary job, your very fortunate to have such a great bunch of workers. Thank you for the videos.

[@MikeDayConcrete]

Mike, thanks for that. They are a great crew.

[@bradhill4590]

Blued out and burned is what they call it here. Another great video. You're the most professional I've found on KZbin by far and I try to watch all your videos. Still looking for that tool truck tour video.

[@govsux1]

Mike you should explain more about the angle of the blades... It's never mentioned. You start out more flat then add more angle towards the end pass correct?

[@brandonbrandon4077]

Thats the most important part

[@danr355]

Going to be doing my own 20x20 slab for my carport. Will break it into two sections to make it more workable. I dont want to buy the knee skids, is it possible to walk on the concrete when it sets up to trowel it so it comes out smooth. Thanks

[@dylanmcclane5945]

No

[@whiteninjatiger1]

Hello Mike I just recently had a 24 x 30‘ garage floor poured with key ways 10 x 12 sections. Guy use the power trowel to leave me a smooth finish, but it’s not exactly smooth smooth there’s a cavities as I call them also at the doors he said he angled to lower water if it came in to come back out with a problem is when you shut the door there’s a 2 inch to 1 inch to 2 inch gap, because one of the key ways is in the way I don’t think it was done, right . Cording to your other video I watched people who use it too soon or wait too long tend to debits or work sinks in. I think he did that as well. The only solution I see is a have to come in and vinyl patch by the doors I shouldn’t have to do that with a brand new floor thoughts, thank you your videos you’re helping

[@justinwilliams5847]

Hey Mike, ive just started finishing. All our work is indoors because we build prefabbed walls. I like how you mentioned you float it when your feet only sink 1/8 to a 1/16. We use a pan to float our walls and ive got that down. I start running into issues because i second guess myself and think "no its not ready to trowel" because i dont want to hit it to early. When is the best time to hit it with the power trowel after you floated it? I liked your video and really enjoy finishing and am just looking for more advice.

[@francispiotrowski8885]

Very informative, I learned a lot watching the video

[@hooley2869]

We call it blacked out, thanks, love all your videos,

[@andrewcunningham2747]

Thank you for making these videos man. I’m a union carpenter and have been dying to pick up more finisher concrete jobs. You don’t know how much I appreciate your videos!

[@MikeDayConcrete]

Thanks Andrew!

[@frankwhite1328]

Hey Mike great info brother! Another awesome tutorial! The company I work for does a lot of commercial work, so they have to be flat or super flat. The best and most flat floors I've ever been apart of have all been hit with pans. Some we've even rechecked, or check rodded. Restraightened anyway, whatever tool you want to use. Even an 8 ft channel can restraighten. But when you have guys like your team laying it down, I doubt you would need to restraighten. You guys eat floors like that for a snack I'm sure. Thanks for your time and sharing what's taken you years and a lot of hard work to learn. Keep them coming brother

[@MikeDayConcrete]

Thanks Frank, I appreciate your comments and supporting the channel.

[@frankwhite1328]

There are alot of hacks out there Mike. Guys that take no pride in their work. Im all about the details. You were talking about people noticing edges. You nailed that too brother. I clean up every job I'm on, every day. That goes so far with people. I believe it is little things like that which seperate the best, from the rest. My goal is to start my own thing in the next couple years. If you have an email id like to ask you a few questions, if you have the time. I can only imagine how busy you must be. Thanks again for everything brother

[@mikeferguson9087]

I appreciate your time putting these videos out there. I'm an expert at some things but finishing concrete isn't one if them. Thank you. Keep em coming!

[@MikeDayConcrete]

You bet

[@bartekplisner67]

Hi There... Im doing The same Job in Poland. There a little diffrences in technique that we are using. Great Job 👍👍👍

[@psidvicious]

What are the differences?

[@MikeDayConcrete]

Yea, what are the differences? Be interesting to know.

[@psidvicious]

@@MikeDayConcrete Maybe he means ‘little difference’ in that there is hardly any difference?

[@Michael_Kerstein]

good lookin floor good looking girls ... boy you got it made ... really dig'n this channel and i just stumbled on it today

[@tristanlattie6944]

My dad taught me if it’s shiny it’s polishing a slab if it’s turns dark it’s burning a slab I’ve only been working concrete for 4 years

[@threebuck3846]

Have your ever had problems with expansion when saw cutting to soon? I’ve heard of it leaving a bump in the concrete right on the saw line.

[@sescher4487]

Nice video, would have liked to see what settings of blade pitch and speed of rotation. But good anyway, thanks

[@MikeDayConcrete]

I got that training in The Concrete Underground. That link is in some of my newer videos if you want to check it out.

[@seanbryers29]

Shinen out! we call burnin up! Edges comment on so true 👍we pay alot of attention to edges

[@fastmustang8959]

Thank you !

[@MikeDayConcrete]

You're welcome!

[@jsesanchez3]

Hey mike ur daughter gets it in man there’s not much female finishers u should get her on that machine so she can learn I like watching ur videos u give out a lot of info much respect bro

[@MikeDayConcrete]

Thanks Jose, maybe this summer she'll start power troweling.

[@jsesanchez3]

Mike Day Everything About Concrete thanks for replying back mike take care man

[@davidvuchetich3045]

I’m building a home….. is every job commonly power troweled? I apologize for being naive but should I expect this for my flat work on my new build?

[@MikeDayConcrete]

Yes, most all new homes and garages are power troweled.

[@IroncloudMetalworks]

Y’all do great work!! I love DIY but a nice slab is hard to do by yourself.

[@jimhendrix7776]

hey mike, quick question! if i plan to epoxy a garage floor, do i need to even trowel?

[@MikeDayConcrete]

Troweling make the surface a lot denser than if you just leave it bull float. Better in the long run.

[@jimhendrix7776]

@@MikeDayConcrete sweet thanks :).... So better to to trowel and grind down?

[@brentmack51]

@@jimhendrix7776 thank you Jimmy for that Q I'm doing my first 24x26 with in a week or 2 great question guess I'll be on my knees all day

[@brentmack51]

@@MikeDayConcrete and thank you Mike. I miss the 207

[@pnutmal]

We call those float shoes and we call it burning it out . Here in south east Missouri . I used to have my own concrete business for 14 yrs. I had a 3 ft. Allen 9 hp egder mainly for panning , a 4 ft. Whiteman and a 6ft. Wacker neuson rider . Now I'm a Foundation Foreman for a large commercial concrete company . The company I work for has everything from 10 ft Riders down to two foot edging machines . They have all different brands but the owner swears by Whiteman .

[@MikeDayConcrete]

Whiteman's good, I have 9 of them also.

[@tylerwatson5007]

What did you use for your chase cuts

[@brandonisaiahsexton6533]

Last pass, here in Louisville Kentucky we call burn it out. Just knocking the fuzz off we call it

[@stanhargrove4753]

In St. Louis we call it burning it in I do commercial concrete so we usually have 4 machine guys on riders 2 on a pan machine 2 on the blades machines one will seal it all up nice and the other guys burns it in

[@chancehill6733]

Hey Mike, my name is Chance Hill and I’m from Arizona. I’m a beginner to finishing concrete and enjoy your videos. I would like to have some tips for beginners for Finishing concrete?

[@michaelfountain7034]

Hey Mike really appreciate your videos you've helped me a lot .maybe you already have a video out that I haven't seen but I was wondering if you could do a video on power troweling up clothes from start to finish using combo when to get on it when to tip your blades exedra the whole nine9. I would really appreciate. Thanks

[@dakotadahonky]

We don't call it shining it out in southern ky we call it slicking it

[@didisaythat4230]

Hey, Mike. I purchased a used 46" multiquip power trowel. It doesn't seem used very much but when I used, it seems to want to fight against me pretty hard to one direction. I've used several machines before and can tell that it's alot of excessive resistance. Is there a way to calibrate it or is something probably bent?

[@brandonnoble976]

Check the angles of ur blades. Could be off a smidge. Which makes it fight u

[@psidvicious]

-“Shined-out” = “Burnt-out” where I come from. Love a floor, burnt-out to a mirror finish. -I’ve seen finishers use the pizza pans before, but I would say more than 95% of the time, they’re using blades.

[@MikeDayConcrete]

My guys didn't like the pans. Just brought up using float blades then finish blades. I'm lucky, they're both excellent finishers.

[@psidvicious]

@@MikeDayConcrete The pans seem like such a great idea at first thought, but everyone always seems to go back to the blades 🤷‍♂️

[@aarongrabowski5620]

I like the pan just for the simple fact that it keeps the machine cleaner for when i start to finish

[@dubbes4821]

We call it' burning 'out here in Australia when it's the glass look

[@flav1290]

Mike Do you use steel fibres in concrete? Once power floated, will the slab be free from projecting fibres? You are doing a great job!!! Thank you

[@MikeDayConcrete]

No steel fibers around here. Only micro-fibers, polypropolene.

[@psidvicious]

I’ve only used steel fiber on one job in my life and that was for the driveway of a loading dock at a trash recycling center. If you’re thinking about using them, just be aware that they rust at the surface.

[@flav1290]

psidvicious Thank you for your reply.

[@cdnconcrete392]

Can you please do a blade pitch video?

[@publicserviceannouncement4915]

Here’s a tip I learned for saw cutting: when you have to cross a cut with another cut, put pieces of cardboard where you cross cut and you won’t get chips or pull stones.

[@MikeDayConcrete]

That's what we did. Maybe I didn't show my guy doing it in this video.

[@tylerspencer1468]

Or fill it with dust from first cut

[@kellyinfanger9192]

We call those contraction joints or control joints. The concrete shrinks to open them up - hopefully controlling the situation so more cracks don't open up randomly. I teach people to keep the sections proportional, such as - 3' wide sidewalk gets cut every 3'', your 14 by 26 garage gets cut in half (13 x 14), etc. An expansion joint would be one with expansion material in the joint - desirable outside where the sun will heat it causing more expansion than the contracted gap can handle. Indoor work has no need for anything more than contraction joints.

[@lighthouselighthouse]

That's a cool video bro . What's the concrete cuttingi machine name..

[@erniewhite9595]

You should probably mention that pans are usually run with ride on trowels because of the extra torque required , yes it can be run on a walk behind but have fun with that.

[@benjaminkki]

Hi Mike. When you use floating blades, do you use them completely flat or pinched? And if tilted how high angle?

[@smffab2868]

In my experience you start the blades flat on your first pass, then a lil angle on next pass, the more it sets up the more you pitch the blades up till you make you last pass

[@nycmetalworks1974]

The technical term we use for cement finish when the sand heats up enough to burn is Burnishing.

[@ChrisOfAllTrades]

How many square feet can a regular guy power trowel before it gets too much? I have 3200 sq. ft to do and not sure if i can handle it myself or if i need a second guy

[@unknown3313]

depends on the weather and sun. just get a guy to hit edges by hand and save yourself the headache.

[@benclifton3653]

We call it burning it in qld Australia

[@brucehendrickson6920]

We say that we are burning the finish when it turns dark at the end of the finish passes. Also we say the the concrete is setting not drying. Minnesota

[@powshredder3716]

you didnt go over tilting the blades?

[@anthonyhernandez2396]

Boren superior ...are the best power trowels in my opinion

[@stephensheren1283]

Here in Michigan, first pass is breaking the concrete, then finishing, when it starts to shine, that’s burnt. Just what I call it anyway.

[@dakotakidd8081]

Also on the first we keep blades flat

[@aarongrabowski3775]

Breaking it open is what I call the first pass with the power trowel.

[@dylanmcclane5945]

Nothing better than a working women

[@idicalidical5343]

I rented a Wacker last year which died halfway through the finish on a 1000sf. Never again. Forty miles from the rental store and they offered to bring out a replacement, but it was already game over at 85F so onto the hand trowels we went. The Texas Barndominium guy swears by retrofitting his trowels with go kart CVT transmissions, ever try it?

[@BeingInTheMessiah]

Was in Honda's fault or Wacker's?

[@johnkioto4670]

Why does the machine look like it is bouncing around does that mean the slabs not flat ?

[@nayto1390]

Most likely the birds blades are a bit out of balance I reckon mate

[@jameskloer4657]

Burned in is what we call it when it gets blackend.

[@ashleylebeau6047]

I've heard I called " burning it" when it gets a sheen

[@lone_gun_g7274]

Opening up the slab. To burning it in

[@scottgarner628]

We call that there burnin it in my friend

[@dakotakidd8081]

We call it opening up the first time around

[@tylerspencer1468]

We call it burned where I come from

[@MikeDayConcrete]

Awesome Tyler!

[@michaelstewart4087]

When it turns black we call it burning

[@fringleball8953]

I call it polishing

[@chaserice5696]

We call it killed out lol

[@BrandonDriver-y1q]

We call it burning

[@elmorefuller2629]

We call glaze

[@DylanSmith-lz3qt]

Burn it in