Table of Contents
How does a concrete float work?
Floating has to be done on virtually every concrete job after concrete is poured and leveled. (Leveling is usually accomplished with a screed.) When done properly, floating pushes the aggregate down into the concrete and encourages moisture to rise, helping the concrete dry and creating a smoother surface.
What can I use as a concrete float?
If you’re working on a large area of concrete, you might need to use a bull float – a large metal float with a detachable handle – instead of a darby. Push the bull float in one direction only across the concrete, keeping its front edge slightly above the surface by raising or lowering the handle.
How do you make concrete float?
The typical concrete mix designer for use as a building material is sand, aggregate stone and cement mixed with water. In place of gravel or sand, mix in fine glass beads. The beads are strong but much lighter than sand and stone. The glass beads are about 10% the density of water which helps the concrete float.
What’s the difference between a trowel and a float?
Trowel the surface Hold the trowel almost flat and swing it in large overlapping arcs while applying pressure. Float the concrete when you’re done grooving and edging (Photo 6). Floating removes the marks left by edging and brings the surface one step closer to a final finish.
How long do you wait to bull float concrete?
Darbying or bull floating should be done immediately after “screeding”, or after the concrete has been tamped if tamping was done. This process should be finished before excess moisture or bleedwater appear on the surface.
How do you smooth out concrete after it dries?
These are the 4 steps in how to smooth concrete after it dries: Remove all imperfections on the surface. Vacuum up all debris and apply the adherent. Apply a new layer of concrete. Sand the surface and wash the concrete. Apply a layer of vitrifier to protect the concrete.
What may occur if a slab is floated too soon?
More often, premature finishing or improper first (bull floating) or second floating results in trapping rising bleed water and air below the top surface of the concrete (Image 2). When this occurs, the resulting weak or soft zone below the surface causes the top surface of the concrete to flake or scale off.
How long after pouring concrete can it rain?
If the concrete is still fresh (around 2-4 hours after pouring), it’s important to cover the surface to protect it. However, once the concrete has been finished (between 4-8 hours after pouring), and has set hard enough for walking on, the effects of rain should be minimal.
What is the purpose of troweling concrete?
With every concrete pour troweling is important, because it allows the concrete to continue the process of finishing the concrete and squeezing residual water out of the concrete. Removing any excess water out of the concrete decreases the chances of the concrete cracking.
Why does cement float on water?
Cement is in colloidal form of powder. which floats due to surface tension of water. simple. The density of the cement ranges from 1000 to 1300 Kg/Cum.
What is a floating concrete slab?
Floating slabs are concrete slabs that are laying over the ground, without any kind of anchoring, as if it simply sits on it and floats. The main application of floating slabs is to use as a base foundation for sheds, manufacturing workshops, home additional room, or garages.
What is concrete screeding?
Straightedges are used to “strikeoff” or “screed” the concrete. This process removes excess concrete and brings the top surface of the concrete to proper grade. This step in the finishing operation is the most important in producing a true plane surface and takes place immediately after the spreading of the concrete.
What is a float used for in plastering?
Floats are used during the plastering process to make sure that every part of the wall is as flat and smooth as possible – known as floating.
What are the different types of trowels?
2. What are the different types of trowels available? V-Notch Trowels. A V-notch trowel – as the name suggests – has V-shaped edges to it. U-Notch Trowels. Specialty Trowel – Margin Trowels. Specialty Trowel – Flat Trowels. Specialty Trowel – Bucket Trowels.
What happens if you dont trowel concrete?
If you haven’t done this before or only done it, a few times you are likely to make two mistakes; troweling too soon and troweling too much. Both of these have the effect of pulling fines and water to the surface. This can lead to a weakened surface, tiny cracks, and a white dusty surface.
How do you make concrete smooth and shiny?
For this, you need to put a small amount of elbow grease on the area and sprinkle baking soda over it. Then use a damp cloth to rub around the area to make the area smooth and shiny again. Most of the time, you will be needing to follow this technique to make the concrete surface look shiny and smooth.
How long does it take concrete to fully cure?
Concrete typically takes 24 to 48 hours to dry enough for you to walk or drive on it. However, concrete drying is a continuous and fluid event, and usually reaches its full effective strength after about 28 days.
Can you pour concrete directly on dirt?
Long story short, yes you can pour concrete over dirt.
Can rough concrete be smoothed?
Smooth rough concrete with concrete resurfacer. Avoid having to smooth rough concrete with an aggressive concrete grinding machine and choose instead to resurface the concrete. Apply wet concrete resurfacer on top of old concrete to create a smooth overlay that gives your patio a fresh, new look.
Can you sand concrete smooth?
It is possible to sand concrete with regular sandpaper. If your concrete surface has minor imperfections, you will want to use grit size between 80 and 120. For an almost perfectly smooth concrete finish, consider using an even higher grit somewhere between 200 and 400.
Can you grind concrete smooth?
If you have any type of concrete surface, it can be smoothed with a concrete grinder to achieve the desired look using common concrete grinding techniques. It works on rough concrete surfaces, resulting in a smooth and stylish finish.
