Realized I was overworking my finish on every pour for years

I was on a big garage slab job in Spokane last fall, and the homeowner's kid, maybe 10, asked why I kept going over the same spot. I told him it had to be perfect, but he just said 'it looks wetter there now.' That was it. I was pulling up cream and adding water back by over-troweling. Anyone else have a simple moment that changed a bad habit?

2 comments

2 Comments

violay2717d ago

Kids have a way of cutting right to the truth, don't they? My own wake-up call came from my wife watching me frame a wall. She asked why I was fighting a board so hard, and I realized I was trying to force a piece that was just plain bowed. I was adding work instead of picking a better stud. It's funny how a simple question from someone not in the trade can make you see your own mistake clear as day.

the_kai16d ago

Good point, @violay27, though I'd argue your wife was in the trade the second she started watching. A fresh set of eyes is a tool, just like a level. We get so locked into the process we forget the goal, which is a straight wall, not winning a fight with a bad board.