Serious question about hand troweling vs power troweling for small garage floors

I did a 2-car garage slab in Phoenix last Saturday, about 500 square feet. I brought my power trowel but the extension cord reach was a pain and the guy wanted a swirl finish anyway. So I just grabbed my magnesium hand trowel and did the whole thing by hand in about 2 hours. The finish came out way flatter than the power trowel jobs I've done on bigger slabs. No burn marks, no chatter lines, just smooth concrete. I think the power trowel is overkill for anything under 800 feet. Anyone else notice hand troweling gives better control on residential garage work?

3 comments

3 Comments

bennett.mason25d ago

Power trowels are way faster and you just got lucky with that pour.

susan_bell25d ago

28 years running a crew and hand troweling still beats that wobble every time.

grantf7311d ago

So @susan_bell, you done a side-by-side timing test on this?