Are you thinking about adding on a new patio to your home for those back-yard barbeques and family get togethers. How about running a sidewalk or path around the side of your home to keep from getting a muddy trail going? Having the proper concrete tools for the job should certainly be considered before you begin. Weather you are a concrete newbie or a seasoned handy-man here are the hard facts about concrete projects.

Probably the biggest factor in deciding weather to do-it-yourself or hire a professional crew is the size of the job. A new driveway for example would be quite a task for even the most seasoned do-it-yourselfer! Especially if you must first tear out the old driveway and if there is rebar (steel) in the old driveway the difficulty level and expense just got much worse. The reason you should hire out this type of job is because the concrete should all be poured at once to prevent any unwanted cold joints. Also a large job like a driveway will take the efforts of a full crew and many concrete hand tools to get the concrete in place before it sets up. As they say on the job-site ?wet concrete waits on nobody!?

On the other hand, smaller concrete projects like small patios, sidewalks and even concrete pads for a hot tub or grill area can be accomplished with just a little planning and effort. Also you don't have to break the bank with a complete set of concrete finishing tools. A float, an edger and a trowel are just about all you need for the finishing. Concrete projects like patios and sidewalks need to be properly finished and just before the concrete dries a light sweeping with a broom to give some anti slipping texture. Keep in mind that for larger patio projects many concrete hand tools such as bull floats are available for rental.

So when planning a patio addition or running a sidewalk around the house here are the basic concrete hand tools needed for the job and there uses:

The Jointer or Groover: The purpose of this tool is to control the location of the cracks that ?will? occur in the concrete so if done properly the cracks should occur in the control joints.

The Edger: Edgers produce a radius along the ?edge? of the concrete so it is a much safer line and more resistant to chipping.

The Float: Floating should be done after edging and jointing to work the concrete into place and push the rough aggregate into the mix to leave a smoother finish.

The Trowel: The trowel should be the last concrete hand tool to be used. Most concrete will require more than one troweling. Also the angle of the trowel should be higher each time you go over the surface to produce a hard finish.

The Broom: This is tricky. Broom too early and it will leave an ugly finish and you have to trowel again. Broom too late and you cannot get the anti-slip finish desired.

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