Troweled Toppings

By Elizabeth Gillette

It has been said that mistakes in life are what build character, and the same can be said about finishing concrete. Your finishing technique can make the difference between an almost perfect finish with clearly visible blemishes and an artistically rendered hand-troweled surface filled with character.

While self-levelers and stampable overlays are superior when it comes to creating a consistent finish, nothing can beat the artistic appeal of a hand-troweled finish. There will always be some clients who desire a completely smooth concrete surface with no trowel marks at all, but while achieving a flawless finish is not impossible, many others appreciate the hand-troweled finish, much like we enjoy the textures in Venetian plaster or an artist’s brush strokes.

That said, each type of topping does have its time and place, and distinguishing when and where to use which is a decision that can make or break a project.

Trowel-down toppings are usually scratch-coated into the substrate, explains Bruce Newbrough, director of application development and product advancement for Ardex Engineered Cements. Then, a second, very thin (1/32 inch to 1/16 inch) layer is troweled immediately over the surface, with the trowel expertise of the installer relied upon to create the desired look.