Concrete Finisher

Though writing “2 cool 2 be 4 gotten” in fresh cement might be a popular pastime of graduating middle school kids everywhere, it’s one of the things that really get your blood boiling if you’re a Concrete Finisher. Your anger at this childish prank comes from being part of the team that lays the concrete that ends up in finished sidewalks, patios, and roadways.

As the title suggests, the work of a Concrete Finisher is one of the last steps in the concrete laying process. If you’re a Concrete Finisher, you come in after the Concrete Masons have completed their tasks, which include building the forms and overseeing the actual cement pouring. After the concrete has been smoothed, it becomes your responsibility to ensure that it won’t crack later in its life.

To do this, you run a tool between the poured concrete and the form, rounding the sides of the concrete. You also make strategic grooves and indents along the concrete expanse, which help eliminate cracks as well. The two main tools you use are the edger and the groover. Sometimes, though, your responsibilities are added to those of the Masons, meaning they do both their job and yours.

When you work as a Concrete Finisher, you should be fast like lightning. Concrete is pretty fickle stuff and has a small window of time between pouring and hardening. You need to be able to bend and stoop quickly, getting your work completed before it’s too late.