A Step-by-Step Guide To Finishing Concrete Like A Pro
Whenever the idea of getting a construction or renovation accomplished originates, selecting the best-quality concrete mix remains a top priority. Among the hundreds of building materials used for construction purposes, concrete is most commonly and widely used worldwide. Its popularity as a paramount material is wide because of its properties comprising strength, versatility, reflectivity, and durability. These properties make it a preferred choice for both domestic and commercial projects.
Selecting the best-quality construction materials and finishing it off like a pro is forever desired to get an elegant afterlook. Finishing is an imperative step during the installation of flooring to set the concrete mix correctly and prevent chipping. Not only it makes the floor look flawless and smooth, but also provides protection and lessens vulnerabilities to unwanted cracks.
In this educational write-up, we will discuss the concrete finishing process steps to get you the finest and smooth afterlook:
Concrete Finishing Steps To Get A Flawless And Elegant Look:
Finishing involves following strategic tactics and techniques to ensure a levelled surface. Let’s get to know them better.
1. Get Superior Concrete Mix:
Before you get started with concrete finishing, you need to contact a superior building material provider near your location. Dry-mix and wet-mix mortar are the two most common and widely used concrete mixes for building projects. Dry-mix mortar comprises getting all the ready-to-mix items, including sand, cement, functional additives, and gravel on the construction site. Then the different materials are mixed proportionally with water to make a slurry paste. Also, you can get ready-mix materials to reduce dependency on labour. It is also environmentally friendly as it reduces wastage by a significant amount.
Along with selecting superior building materials, you need to select a reliable transportation mode as well. You can get items delivered through motorised buggies or wheelbarrows and volumetric or truck mixers. The technology of truck mixing has significantly made mixing more precise. The materials are reserved and carried in different compartments trailed on a volumetric mixer to the construction site. You can get the mix ready in desired proportions and get the exact amount needed.
2. Pour And Smooth The Concrete Surface:
After thoroughly mixing and obtaining the concrete pour either via a volumetric mixer or hand mixer. The mix should be poured at places and evenly spread to avoid leaving places with less or no building mixture. Now, it is time to level out the freshly placed material and bring excess water to the surface to dry out. To do so, a concrete tool known as darby is used.
A darby is a flat and long levelling tool used to level the material equally at places. Remember to use it right after concrete pouring, to level the surface. It is useful to produce a smooth and dense surface and not an uneven or rough surface.
3. Use A Screed To Level The Concrete Mix:
With concrete even pouring and smoothening out, screeding is the next step to heading towards finishing concrete like a pro. Screeding is the process of striking off excess and flattening building material into a levelled flat layer. It intends to fill in the large gaps in the material getting installed. Also, it foresees if any high spots need to be removed or smoothened.
A flat board, popularly known as “screed” is moved in a sawing motion to bring the top surface to a proper-looking finish. Once the process of concrete screeding is done, voids left over the surface are filled with building material. To obtain smooth surface results, the pour needs to be filled uniformly.
4. Smoothen Out The Concrete Mix By Using A Float:
Next in the finishing steps is to level up the concrete surface with the help of a float. A float is a powerful tool used to smooth and level the concrete surface once the surface water has evaporated. This tool is used to push the building mixture down and encourage the moisture to rise. As it helps in levelling the surface by removing surface imperfections.
Also, it compacts the building material at the surface in preparation for forthcoming concrete finishing operations or tasks. A float comes in different sizes and designs. You can get a small or a large float with a long handle depending on the surface dimensions. Floating can be performed both with the help of a machine and a hand. It all depends on the technology you want to incorporate into the finishing process. A magnesium float is highly recommended if floating is done using hands.
5. Trowelling To Finish-It-Off:
Getting that elegant and flawless finish to your concrete is a time and labour-intensive process. After screeding and floating, now it’s time for trowelling. The only way to give concrete a smooth finished look before it dries out. Trowelling smoothens and evens the surface of freshly poured building material. It also helps to harden the concrete by levelling the surface equally and increasing its density.
When it comes to trowelling technique, both a hand and a powerful tool can be used to get it done. On one side, where hand trowelling offers more precision, powerful machines are considered faster, time saviour, and more efficient. Small-scale construction projects can go for hand trowels, but large-scale projects should highly consider potent or even ride-on trowels.
Conclusion
To achieve a smooth, elegant, and flawless surface, you must put effort into following the steps mentioned above. There is no chance that you will be left with an uneven surface only if you follow the steps properly. Superior quality concrete along with tools like a screed, float, and trowel, is needed for all project types and sizes.
Look around and get everything you want from the best provider to accomplish your construction project. Alongside follow these steps to finish it off like a professional. The Thames concrete is one of the leading providers of superior-quality concrete and finishing tools. You can contact us and get all the construction essentials to avail success in finishing your establishment project.
