Kneeboards
Flat boards finishers kneel on to spread their weight while working a fresh slab by hand.
Plywood or plastic panels about two feet long with handles, used in pairs so the finisher can lift one, slide it forward and kneel again without sinking. They let hand floating and troweling start once the slab holds a light footprint, and the marks they leave are troweled out as the finisher backs away. Getting on a slab too early with kneeboards leaves dents that never fully close.
It's taking a thumbprint, grab your kneeboards and start edging the far side.
Also heard as
- knee boards
- kneelers
Related terms
Floating
The finishing step that levels, compacts and opens the surface of a slab once the bleed water is gone.
Fresno
A long-handled steel trowel finishers swing across a slab from its edge to smooth it without walking on it.
Edger
A hand tool that rounds and compacts the edges of a slab along its forms so they resist chipping.
Power trowel
A gas or electric machine with rotating blades that floats and trowels large concrete slabs.