Here s what you need to know to shape and smooth fresh concrete into an attractive long lasting surface.
How to smooth finish concrete floor.
Try to move quickly except where noted otherwise so you can finish before the concrete dries especially on a hot day.
A float compacts the concrete surface giving it a smooth look.
With a concrete polisher and the correct grade of smoothing and polishing attachments you can get your rough and raw concrete floor looking smooth and shiny.
Depending on the kind of finish you are looking for you may want to stain your concrete floors a certain color or simply grind smooth and polish them until they resemble smooth tile.
We ll show you the tools and how to use them for each step of the concrete finishing process.
I ve been using a mag float and a steel hand trowel to finish concrete smooth for many years.
How to finish concrete smooth with a power trowel.
Before committing to something like stick on tile which can be a pain to install and replace and doesn t boast much durability or longevity take a look at some examples of a finished concrete floor.
Keep in mind timing is everything when finishing concrete.
Exposed concrete floor and finishes its construction and applications.
There s a technique i use when i finish concrete that makes using a mag float and hand trowel a little easier to learn.
Another problem which seems to be associated with skip floating is that of reinforcement ripple when the surface of the concrete has slight depressions along the line of the top reinforcement often giving it a.
Read more on exposed aggregate finish.
Putting a smooth durable finish on concrete is a skill you can only master with the proper set of tools and practice.
If you have a large concrete floor or slab the best way to get a smooth finish is to use a power trowel.
The resultant finish tends to have a smooth texture similar to that produced by either hand or power floating but it usually exhibits slight ridges between each pass of the float.
Starting too soon or too late greatly impacts the final results.
Swirl finish is one of the most exceptional types of concrete finish that is generated by smearing the concrete surface in a uniformly overlapping circular pattern.