Concrete finisher

AKA cement mason

Works with concrete, which includes placing, finishing, protecting and repairing concrete.

A concrete finisher, also known as a cement mason is a tradesman who works with concrete, placing, finishing, protecting and repairing concrete in engineering and construction projects. Concrete finishers are often responsible for setting concrete forms, ensuring they have a correct depth and pitch. Concrete finishers place the concrete either directly from a concrete wagon chute, concete pump, concrete skip or wheelbarrow. They spread concrete using shovels and rakes, sometimes using a straightedge back and forth across the top of the forms to level, the freshly placed concrete. After levelling the concrete, they smooth the surface using either a hand trowel, a long handed “bull float” or powered floats. After the concrete has been leveled and floated, concrete finishers press an edger between the forms and the concrete to give a chamfered edges that is less likely to chip.

Construction workers are employed in the construction industry and work predominately on construction sites and are typically engaged in aspects of the industry other than design or finance.

Concrete is a construction material that consists of cement (commonly Portland cement), aggregate (generally gravel and sand), water and admixtures. Concrete solidifies and hardens after mixing and placement due to a chemical process known as hydration.

Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general usage.

Thorough mixing is essential for the production of uniform, high quality concrete.

Because the cement requires time to fully hydrate before it acquires strength and hardness, concrete must be cured once it has been placed. Curing is the process of keeping concrete under a specific environmental condition until hydration is relatively complete.

Decorative concrete involves concrete structures being used in roles that are not strictly related to concretes functional elements. Concrete has long been prized for its great strength, especially when combined with steel rebar. Concrete can be used for, among other things, decorative walls, floors and countertops that are both structurally sound but also provide a decorative finish that resembles polished stone and has an extremely low cost for materials.