A finisher in Tulsa handed me his edger and told me to feel the slab before I touched a float, and I've done it ever since

Alice West · 2026-10-05T02:05:04.640916+00:00

I was 19 and green as grass, working a 40 by 60 shop pad pour outside Tulsa for a guy named Ray who had been finishing since the 70s. He walked me onto that slab about an hour after the last screed pass and had me kneel down and lay my whole hand flat on it, then asked what I felt. I said it felt wet, and he said no, feel it, so I sat there with my palm down for maybe 30 seconds and finally picked up that the surface was stiff underneath but still had a little bleed water sheen on top. Ray said that is your clock ticking, and if you cannot feel it you will be chasing the steel all day and burning your arms out. I still see guys on jobs jump straight on a power trowel because the concrete looks dry from standing height, and then they fight it for 3 hours and stand around blaming the mix. I swear half the bad finishes I have seen come from someone who never once got on their knees. Anybody else work under an old timer who made you learn a slab by hand first, or did everyone here just get thrown on a bull float on day one?

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A finisher in Tulsa handed me his edger and told me to feel the slab before I touched a float, and I've done it ever since | Concrete Finishers - HW Forums