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Pro tip: spent 3 weekends chasing a birdbath in a 6x8 slab in Grand Rapids
I poured a small patio slab in Grand Rapids back in March and got a birdbath right in the middle, about a quarter inch of standing water. I blamed my float work first, then my mix, then the base, and wasted two full Saturdays reworking it each time. Turned out my screed board was bowed about 3/16 of an inch in the middle, which I only found by laying a level on it after my buddy Rick asked if I'd checked the board itself. Three weekends on something a $40 straightedge would have caught in 30 seconds. What's the dumbest tool issue that cost you a whole pour?
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gracec161mo ago
Poured a small pad for my shed last fall and kept getting this low spot near one corner that I swore was the subbase. Reworked the gravel three times, rented a plate compactor twice, and was about ready to blame the cement truck. My neighbor wandered over with his coffee one morning and asked why my screed pipe had a dent in it. Sure enough, a golf ball sized ding right where the low spot kept showing up. I felt like such a moron standing there holding a bent pipe I'd used on like six other jobs without ever looking at it. Worst part is I still have that pipe leaning in the corner of my garage because I can't bring myself to toss it.
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amy_anderson1mo ago
That pipe is basically a haunted object now, you can't toss it because it's the only witness to the crime. Here's the thing nobody ever brings up though: a bent screed pipe doesn't just mess with your low spot, it also changes how the whole pipe rolls, so your high spots might've been off too and you never even knew it. That pad could be wavy as hell in places you never checked because you were so locked in on that one corner. @gracec16 honestly keeping it in the garage is the right call, every time you walk past it you'll remember to eyeball your tools before a pour instead of after. Cheap lesson, ugly trophy, fair trade if you ask me.
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