Doubted the power trowel rental, ate my words on a 2,000 sq ft garage slab

Been hand floating for 15 years, figured a power trowel was just for the big crews with crews of their own. Buddy talked me into renting one last Tuesday for a garage pour in Bakersfield. Took about 20 minutes to get the hang of it, and I'm not ashamed to say that slab came out flatter than anything I've done by hand in the last decade. The thing is heavy though, my back is still sore today. Anyone else fight the rental cost versus the time saved, or is it just me stubbornly stuck in old habits? What model do you guys run?

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sandralee7d ago

The rental cost pays for itself the first time you don't have to redo a finish. My old crew boss swore by them for anything over a thousand feet and he wasn't wrong. That Bakersfield slab with the dry heat probably would have fought you by hand all afternoon. Back soreness is just the price of admission, but your knees and hips will thank you later. Once you go power, it's real hard to go back to floating everything by hand.