How to Pour and Finish Concrete

Laying down concrete and finishing it properly is more finesse than you think and requires less talent than you probably envision. Anyone can lay down concrete successfully by following the right steps.

Be prepared before the concrete arrives. Establish your perimeter and interior screeds. If you are pouring a slab, then the outside form boards of your slab are natural screeds. Since the outside form boards are likely far apart, you will need to create some interior screeds that will guide you in leveling your slab. Reference the image associated with this step. Notice the 2x4 interior screed that this crew has set up to help them level the concrete. The screed rail, in the hands of two workers, is pressed onto the screeds and then dragged back to level out the wet concrete.

Dump the concrete. If you are lucky and the chute of the concrete truck can reach out into your form work, then work the chute to dump the concrete directly where you need it. If not, fill a wheelbarrow or two at a time with concrete and begin to dump it into your form work. Start in a corner and work your way out.

You can use a concrete pump truck, however, if you are a novice, the pump is going to dispense the concrete far faster than you will be able to manage it. Stick with the wheel barrow, it has worked for centuries.

Use the shovel and metal rake to initially level out the concrete dumped from the wheel barrow. Even though this process is rough, try to get as close as possible to the finish concrete level. This will make the next steps much easier and more efficient.

Begin to establish the final level of the concrete with a screed rail. Two people can work the screed rail and one person behind can rake the excess that is pushed back by the screed rail. Sometimes you will need to move the screed rail in a back and forth sawing motion to push the concrete. This step is the heart of the process for laying down concrete.

Time to bull float. With much of the concrete laid down with the screed rail, it is time for the bull float process. The bull float is a very wide trowel with a long extension handle. It works to push down any large aggregate at the surface of the slab and bring up the fine sand and cement that provide a nice finish.

Once the bull floating is complete, let the concrete set up before the final finish process. This set up period allows the moisture to rise up from the concrete and evaporate on the surface. This can take time, so take a break but don't leave the work site. You have to keep your eyes on the concrete.

Once the concrete has set up and water on the top has mostly evaporated, begin the final float. If you are doing a large slab area, you will need a kneeboard to rest on while you scoot around finishing the concrete. Use a windshield wiper motion with your arm nearly fully extended and finish evenly back to the base of your knee board. Remember to keep your trowel flat. Start with a magnesium trowel to smooth out and fill in low spots and finish with a steel edge trowel.