Finishing concrete slab

Hi Gents

Looking for reassurance with my plans for finishing the concrete slab for my double garage next week, (5.96m x 6.56m). I've not done anything this big before.

I plan to hire a 5.2m beam screed for levelling and tamping and then use a bull float to get the final finish.

Am I on the right lines?

Dave

have you looked at using a roller striker, you can get them up to ten meters long so you might get a 7.2 so it rides your shutters
and the big floats on the poles try to get a mag float and a trowel, go over it with the mag first to iron out any marks and smooth
the fat then trowel for a fine finish, if you have fibres in your concrete don't over trowel it as the fibres will come to the top and you'll
be left with clumps stuck in the surface.
it will only take two fit people to pull a 7.2m.

Thanks for your reply, Marshman.

One thing I'm not sure about, is the "trowel" you are talking about a long handled one or would I have to paddle through the cement to use it?
Sorry to sound thick about the process.

Dave

they go on click lock poles, you'd need six poles. the trowel are 3 foot wide and up to 8 foot for floats,
i'll post more tonight.

I see, so, after the beam screed or roller striker, I use a mag float and then a trowel.

Looking forward to your post tonight

Thanks

this link shows a picture of a roller striker. http://www.aplant.com/catalogue.aspx?id1=110010 if you've not googled it.
this the mag' bull float. http://www.speedcrete.co.uk/magensium-bullfloat-complete-i102.html
this the trowel although they call it a float its more of a trowel it leaves much finer fat lines compared to the float and a finer finish
you could just use this but you'll get a better finish faster if you use the mag' first.
and if can hire these http://www.speedcrete.co.uk/lightweight-texas-placers-i55.html they make levelling out concrete much easier
than a rake.
I've never seen a beam screeder in use so I don't know how hard they are to get a level finish.
the roller striker takes two to pull, you are out side your shutters on which it runs, it can be hard to pull if you've not levelled your
concrete very well but if you pull up half a meter in front of it you can ride it over it then pull the heap down from the front,
if you've got a hollow you just pull a heap back the other way. it normally takes three passes to get it level, as soon as you stop pulling
any stone that's it any more passes will leave your concrete hollow in the middle.
if you haven't got a spec sheet,
as for a concrete mix if it was for myself then I'd ask about a pad mix this type of mix has a additive to reduce bubble size giving you
a stronger slab and the mix is more fatty and less water comes to the top so you can get a better finish,
order a 60 slump and if its a bit stiff the driver will add a little water.

http://www.aplant.com/catalogue.aspx?id1=110002 the trowel.

That's great, Marshman.

Thanks for all your help.

Dave

One more question.

How long do I leave the concrete before using the float to finish it off?
How can I tell that it's at the right point?

Thanks

Dave

PS Panic just setting in! How do I manage to walk across the slab with the beam screed without breaking my ankle on the re-bar?

how long after ?. as soon as you can, if you find the float is dragging and tearing small holes flick a little water across the concrete.

you'll soon get use to the walk backwards on the bars the holes are normally 200 mm wide unless you go for the tighter mesh
make sure its well supported so it don't bend down were you stand and lift the ends up as this can show in your finish concrete
as it sinks back down.

Thanks Marshman

That's great.

Dave