Watching a guy screed a patio in my neighborhood made me rethink how I use my magnesium float.

It was on a job over in the west end last Thursday. The guy was working alone on a small slab, maybe 12 by 15 feet. He pulled the screed, then went right in with the mag while it was still super wet, just gliding it flat. I always waited for it to set up more, you know, to get that tight finish. But his way left almost no lines to work out later. He said he picked it up from an old timer who said 'float it when it's still got its shine.' I've tried it on two driveways since and it's cut my finishing time down by a solid 20 minutes. Does anyone else float that early, or is that asking for trouble on bigger pours?

3 comments

3 Comments

palmer.henry1d ago

Wait, so you're saying he floated it right after the screed came off? I always thought that would just push the aggregate down and mess up the cream. Did you notice if he was using a lot of pressure or was it just a really light pass?

craig.reese1d ago

My buddy tried that once and it pulled up a bunch of little rocks.

butler.tessa12h ago

Hold on, he floated it right after finishing the screed? That's a sure way to pull up all the aggregate. You gotta let the bleed water come up and evaporate first, or you're just dragging rocks around.