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Whether you specialize in concrete work, or self-perform this aspect of your projects, careful matching of power trowels to the job size and specs can make the difference between profitability and loss.

"Most of the time, if something happens to the floor, the owner and the general contractor are going to blame the concrete contractor," says Jay Allen, vice president of sales and marketing, Allen Engineering. "He's the guy that's probably bearing the most risk in the process. So he needs to be sure that he has the tools and the equipment to do his job."

Both walk-behind and ride-on trowels can be used for floating and finishing large slabs. However, a number of factors can determine which trowel will be most effective in a given application.

Walking the floor
Most walk-behind trowels come with a single four-bladed rotor. Sizes run as small as 2 ft. (24-in. rotor diameter) with as little as 5 hp, up to 4 ft. and roughly 13 hp. The majority are powered by gasoline engines, although some manufacturers offer specialized electric-powered models.

These trowels are commonly found on residential or light commercial pours involving less than 10,000 sq. ft. a day and/or numerous obstacles or tight spaces.