WHAT IS A POWER FLOAT?
A power float is a specialist machine used to create a smooth, level, and highly durable finish on freshly poured concrete floors. Operated by hand or as a ride-on unit for larger projects, a power float allows our expert team to achieve a dense, professional-grade surface that’s ideal for industrial, commercial, and large-scale residential applications.
At Concrete Flooring Solutions, power floating typically takes place once the concrete has been poured, allowed to partially set, then levelled and tamped. This timing is essential, as it ensures the concrete is firm enough to withstand the weight of the machine without disrupting the slab’s structural integrity.
Each power float machine features a petrol engine or electric motor mounted above a circular rotating pan fitted with finishing blades. These blades are precisely angled (usually between 5 and 10 degrees) to create the desired surface texture, from matt to high-sheen, depending on the project’s performance and aesthetic requirements.
How to Power Float Concrete
Once all the bleed water has evaporated from your concrete slab and the surface is dry enough, the circular pans are used to level the floors, leaving them flat and ready to dry so that your customers and workers can walk or move equipment across them. A professional who is operating the machine will hold the handle at waist height, be slow and consistent, and also walk backwards when using it, so that their footprints are smoothed over as well.
After this stage has been completed, the floor should be finished using the machine’s blades. These rotate at an extremely high speed in order to buff the floors, ensuring that they are polished and hardened to the standards expected.
What are the Advantages of a Power Float Concrete Floor?
There are many advantages to having a power float concrete finish, starting with the fact that the process eliminates the need for more time and materials when applying a power float screed. It is also less labour-intensive and takes less time to complete than using hand trowels, meaning that your floor can be completed faster and will be ready for use sooner.
Because the process involved in setting a power float finish recompacts the concrete, any cracking that is caused by the mixture drying too quickly will be closed up again, and will also be less likely to crack in the future. Power float finishes also eliminate dust because it creates a dense surface finish and polished look, which has an attractive shine that does not look out of place across different work sectors.
Power floated concrete floors are also extremely durable and compact, so they can easily bear the weight of heavy machinery and vehicles. Their smooth surfaces also mean that they are waterproof and easily cleaned, making them perfect for industrial buildings.
If you would like to know more about the benefits of having a power floated concrete floor installed in your business, please get in touch with us today. We will be happy to answer any of your questions.
Where Should You Use a Power Float?
As they are easy to maintain, quick to have processed and look aesthetically pleasing across a range of sectors, there are few places that would not benefit from having a power floated concrete floor. However, due to the fact that they are waterproof and strong enough to hold the weight of heavy machinery, at CFS, we would highly recommend them for settings such as factories, garages and warehouses.
Who Can Use a Power Float?
It is possible to operate a power float by yourself, but this can cause problems if you are inexperienced. It is very important that you know how to use a power float correctly. When it comes to setting a power float finish, specifications can vary, depending on the air temperature and humidity, as well as the materials used in the concrete mix and numerous other factors. It is also possible to misjudge when the floating process should start ‒ if your floor is too wet when the process begins, the machine will tear up the floor, and if it is too dry, it will not effectively trim high spots or fill in low spots.
So, in order to ensure that you are getting the floors you want for your business, calling a professional power float concrete contractor is recommended instead.
We Provide Power Float Concrete Flooring
If you have been searching for a reliably strong and easily maintained polished concrete floor for your business, then please either go to our page for more information, or contact Concrete Flooring Solutions today. We are experts in this industry, and we can install the power floated concrete floor that you need, no matter what the requirements are, and we can also offer you some advice on how best to go about the process.