What is a Concrete Screed? [Video]

A concrete screed is a tool used to smooth and vibrate concrete when wet mud comes out of a concrete truck. Wet concrete must be smoothed and vibrated when pouring projects like driveways, sidewalks, and flat work. Screeding can be as simple as using a wooden two by four or made easier by using a concrete power screed.
Sometimes screeding is also called striking off the concrete.
Several items should be taken care of prior to calling a concrete truck to deliver wet concrete. Preparation of the surface and forming up the outside edges of the project are just two things that are done ahead of time.
Wet concrete leaves the concrete truck through the shoot and is layered out along the job. As the wet mud leaves the truck the concrete crew should begin to rake out the concrete along the edges and middle of the project, carefully keeping the surface as level as possible. The next step is to screed the concrete to allow for further smoothing of the concrete surface. One aspect of screeding that sometimes gets overlooked is the need to vibrate the wet mud in a downward motion in order to fill in the air gaps that occur as the concrete is poured from the truck. Wet concrete should be thoroughly settled so that air gaps or air bubbles are not left to reek havoc in the future. Water often can fill these gaps and then a freeze thaw process will lead to cracks and flaws in the final product.
The old fashioned way of screeding will certainly work. This would mean using a simple two by four with two screeders on each end of the board. The screeders would level out the wet concrete by placing the wood board on the surface and sawing back and forth along the top of the set up forms. An easier way to screed off wet concrete is to use a power screed. These screeds utilize and engine to aid in vibration and settlement of concrete. Power concrete screeds require one operator and thus tend to make the job go quicker. There are several power screeds out on the market today. Some require several size aluminum bars. The TTI Screedright Pro utilizes a wooden two by four or two by six that the contractor cuts to the desired length.
For more information on the TTI Screedright Pro visit Trade Tool Innovations at www.toolsbytom.com.

Screeding Concrete