1. Placing and Finishing Tools and Equipment
Chapter 6
Starts on CCS1-10 page 33

2. Chapter Topics Spreading tools Consolidation or vibrating tools
Laser-guided screeds
Hand screeding tools
Tools for smoothing after screeding
Jointing and edging tools
Hand floats and trowels
Power floats and trowels
Power saws

3. Spreading Tools Amount of hand work needed depends on:
Concrete being placed close to the desired location
Tools for hand spreading include:
Short-handled, square-end shovels
Come-alongs
Concrete rakes
CCS1-10 page 33 LHS

4. CCS1-10 page 33 RHS

5. Consolidating or Vibrating Tools
Consolidation removes the entrapped air, producing concrete with the properties normally expected and desired for concrete slabs.
Equipment for consolidation of slabs:
Internal vibrators
Surface vibrators
Vibrating screeds
Vibratory roller screeds
Laser-guided screeds
CCS1-10 page 33 LHS

6. CCS1-10 page 33 RHS

7. CCS1-10 page 33 RHS

8. CCS1-10 page 34

9. Hand Screeding Tools
Screeding or strikeoff is sometimes done manually with a straightedge consisting of a rigid, straight piece of wood or metal.
Several types of manually operated straightedges including hollow magnesium straightedges made especially for screeding.
Short straightedges are usually made of either wood or magnesium, whereas longer ones are made of steel angles or channels.
Some straightedges are built in such a way that they can be adjusted to provide a crown (or camber) to the surface.
CCS1-10 page 34 LHS

10. Tools for Smoothing After Screeding
Bullfloats
used for FF 20 or less
handle with large piece of wood or metal attached
Highway straightedges
used for FF greater than 20
6 to 12 ft long rectangular metal straightedge
Darbies
long, hand-held floats used in congested areas
CCS1-10 page 34 LHS and RHS and page 35 LHS

11. CCS1-10 page 34 RHS

12. CCS1-10 page 35

13. CCS1-10 page 35 RHS

14. Jointing and Edging Tools
Edgers
Make neat round edges less likely to chip or spall.
Various hand-held sizes and shapes; walk-behind.
Jointers (Groovers)
A cutting edge that makes a narrow groove.
The groove (contraction joint) produces a weakened section that helps cracks appear below the neat, straight joints.
Groove depth should be ¼ slab thickness.
CCS1-10 page 35 LHS and RHS

15. CCS1-10 page 36 LHS

16. CCS1-10 page 36 LHS

17. Hand Floats
Used to remove small imperfections and produce a level, plane surface and prepare surface for troweling
Type of hand floats
Wood
Magnesium
Composition
Wood used for non-air-entrained and high-slump concrete.
Magnesium used for air-entrained and lightweight concrete.
CCS1-10 page 35 RHS and page 36 RHS

18. Hand Trowels
Used in final stages of finishing, after floating, to create hard and dense surface.
As surface hardens, subsequent trowelings are done with smaller trowels to increase pressure on surface.
Fresnos are large, long-handled trowels used to smooth the slab quickly but does not provide a hard, dense surface.
CCS1-10 page 36 RHS and page 37 LHS

19. CCS1-10 page 36 LHS

20. CCS1-10 page 36 RHS

21. CCS1-10 page 37 LHS

22. Power Floats and Trowels
Machines
Walk-behind (3 ft to 4 ft ring diameter)
Riders (6 ft to 10 ft wide)
Blades/attachments
Float blades or shoes: wider than trowel blades
Trowel blades: narrowest blades
Combination blades: for floating and troweling
Pans: circular disks attached blades
CCS1-10 page 37 LHS and RHS

23. CCS1-10 page 37 RHS

24. CCS1-10 page 37 RHS

27. Power Saws
Dry-cut and wet-cut saws with an abrasive or diamond blade to cut contraction joints in large concrete surfaces.
Dry-cut saws
Lighter than wet-cut saws
Permit joint sawing within 1 to 4 hours after finishing
Wet-cut saws
Can cut deeper joints
Joints sawed later than 4 hours after finishing
CCS1-10 page 38 RHS

28. End of Chapter 6