A power trowel is a piece of equipment that is often used on job sites and construction sites today, for the purpose of high end concrete laying. It is also known as a power float. It is quicker and more effective that achieving a trowel finish by hand.
There are many brands of electric power trowel available on the market however the most widely used are from Wacker Neuson or the Husqvarna Group where a high quality Honda gx engine is incorporated.
Wagman metal products are a great supplier of blades, pans and accessories.
A powerfloat is used to smooth, and to some extent level a newly concrete floor. The process smooths high spots and fills low spots in the slab, all while compacting the surface, hardening it as it goes.
The process of compacting the surface brings laitence to the surface. This is often referred to as the ‘cream’ or the ‘fat’ of the concrete and it is this that produces the beautiful, swirly and cloudy pattern that is left on the concrete surface.
Power floats come in many different sizes depending on the size of the slab and the areas that are being worked on. Walk-behind power trowels are typically used on jobs smaller than 5,000 square feet and range from 24 to 48 inches in diameter.
The smaller size makes them well suited for working around obstacles or for applications with access issues, such as finishing basements or garage floors.
For large jobs with square footage of 5,000 or more, it’s much more efficient to use a ride on machine for most of the works. Ride-on power trowel machines are more powerful and cover significantly more square meterage than their walk behind counterparts. In fact, an 8 foot ride on machine can do the work of roughly 3 men with smaller walk on power trowels in the same amount of time.
Some companies will power float a concrete and then apply a resin or epoxy coating to the surface. This cannot really be compared to polished concrete as it hasn’t been through the mechanical process of diamond polishing
It has to be said that the process of power trowelling the concrete slab is not an easy one. The timing has to be just right as the concrete needs to be wet, but strong enough to take the weight of the power float and an operative. If the concrete is too dry, the surface will not smooth out and you won’t get the laitence rising as you need it too.
Wagman metal products are a great supplier of blades, pans and accessories.
A powerfloat is used to smooth, and to some extent level a newly concrete floor. The process smooths high spots and fills low spots in the slab, all while compacting the surface, hardening it as it goes.
The process of compacting the surface brings laitence to the surface. This is often referred to as the ‘cream’ or the ‘fat’ of the concrete and it is this that produces the beautiful, swirly and cloudy pattern that is left on the concrete surface.
Power floats come in many different sizes depending on the size of the slab and the areas that are being worked on. Walk-behind power trowels are typically used on jobs smaller than 5,000 square feet and range from 24 to 48 inches in diameter.
The smaller size makes them well suited for working around obstacles or for applications with access issues, such as finishing basements or garage floors.
For large jobs with square footage of 5,000 or more, it’s much more efficient to use a ride on machine for most of the works. Ride-on power trowel machines are more powerful and cover significantly more square meterage than their walk behind counterparts. In fact, an 8 foot ride on machine can do the work of roughly 3 men with smaller walk on power trowels in the same amount of time.
Some companies will power float a concrete and then apply a resin or epoxy coating to the surface. This cannot really be compared to polished concrete as it hasn’t been through the mechanical process of diamond polishing
It has to be said that the process of power trowelling the concrete slab is not an easy one. The timing has to be just right as the concrete needs to be wet, but strong enough to take the weight of the power float and an operative. If the concrete is too dry, the surface will not smooth out and you won’t get the laitence rising as you need it too.
