Am I the only one who thinks we're giving up on hand finishing too quickly?

I've been finishing concrete for over ten years, and lately, I see every crew around here only using power trowels. People say it's faster and cuts down on labor, but I don't buy it for all jobs. Last week, I worked on a curved garden path where a power trowel would have messed up the edges, but a hand float gave it a clean, even look. For things like steps or small pads, hand tools let you control the finish in a way machines just can't. Yes, power trowels are good for large floors, but they make the work feel rushed and impersonal. This shift to always using machines is, in my view, making us forget the skills that set a great finisher apart. We're trading quality for speed, and that worries me. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this change and feels the same.

3 comments

3 Comments

lopez.holly1mo ago

Wait what? You still see crews using hand floats on curved paths? I thought everyone just forced the power trowel into every corner now and called it good. That's wild that you got to do it right. It's like, once you use a machine for everything, you lose the feel for the material, you know? How are new guys ever supposed to learn what a perfect edge even looks like if they never hold a float?

gonzalez.anna1mo agoTop Commenter

Read an article last week about a trade school closing their masonry program. They said students only wanted to learn machine work. It proves your point exactly. Pushing a power trowel into a curve just tears the edge and leaves a mess. You never learn how the mud really moves or sets up. Then a whole generation comes up without the basic skill. It makes the whole trade worse.

the_vera29d ago

Totally get what you mean about losing the feel for the material. Reminds me of this old-timer I worked with years back who could tell the exact set time just by dragging his trowel across the slab. He'd never even look at a watch. Said his hands knew more than any machine ever could. Watching him work was like seeing an artist, not just a guy on a jobsite. That kind of skill just doesn't come from running a power trowel back and forth all day. Makes you wonder what happens when all those guys retire.