# PCC Finishing

Finishing involves all processes and equipment used to create the final surface finish and texture of fresh PCC. Generally, finishing can be divided into floating and texturing:

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Finishing involves all processes and equipment used to create the final surface finish and texture of fresh PCC. Generally, finishing can be divided into floating and texturing:

- **Floating**. A flat surface is run across the PCC in order to eliminate high and low spots, embed larger aggregate particles beneath the surface, remove slight imperfections and to compact the mortar at the surface in preparation for texturing (PCA, 1988[^1]). Floating can involve a number of different tools and may involve multiple passes over the same surface.
- **Texturing**. After floating, fresh PCC is usually quite smooth. In order to create a slip resistant surface for traffic, a rough pattern is usually imparted by dragging a broom, rough-textured item, or tined instrument across the surface. Typically, texturing is divided into the following two categories (FHWA, 1999[^2]):

  - *Microtexture (Figure 1)*. This is achieved by dragging a section of burlap or artificial turf behind the paver. Microtexture enhances friction between vehicle tires and the pavement surface, and enhances safety at low speeds.
  - *Macrotexture (Figure 2)*. This is generally achieved by tining the pavement surface. Macrotexture permits water to escape from between tires and the pavement surface and enhances safety at high speeds. Typically, an average texture depth of 0.7 mm (0.03 in) will substantially reduce both total and wet weather accident rates. Tining practices vary by agency, but many states require transverse grooves on the order of 3 - 5 mm (0.12 - 0.20 inches) deep, 3 mm (0.12 inches) wide and spaced 12 - 20 mm (0.47 - 0.79 inches) apart (ACPA, 1995[^3]). Sometimes the area over the future joint locations is not textured in order to provide a good sawing and sealing surface. Some agencies consider microtexturing sufficient and do not macrotexture their [rigid pavements](https://pavementinteractive.org/glossary/rigid-pavement/).

![Texturing using a piece of artificial turf.](https://pavementinteractive.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/Texturing.jpg)

![Tine texturing.](https://pavementinteractive.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/Texture_tine.jpg)

*Figures 1 and 2.* Texturing using a piece of artificial turf. Tine texturing.

## Texturing Practice

Texture is applied while the concrete is still workable, and finishing, texturing and tining should proceed quickly so that [curing](https://pavementinteractive.org/reference-desk/construction/placement/pcc-curing/) can begin as soon as possible. Most texture can be applied in either the longitudinal or the transverse direction, and specifications may require one or the other; transverse tining is sometimes skewed so that the grooves cross the pavement at an angle. Besides friction, texture affects the noise made by tires on the finished pavement.

### Drag Texture

Burlap or artificial turf can be dragged directly behind a [slipform paver](https://pavementinteractive.org/reference-desk/construction/placement/slipform-paving/); otherwise the drag is pulled from a construction bridge spanning the pavement so that it moves at an even rate. The drag should produce striations about 1.5 to 3 mm (1/16 to 1/8 in.) deep. The drag material should be checked for wear and kept free of clumps of concrete, and its weight must be evenly distributed. How easily texture forms also depends on the moisture content of the concrete.

### Tining

A tining head carries a row of fixed wires that are pulled across the surface to form grooves about 3 to 5 mm (1/8 to 3/16 in.) deep. Tining can be done by hand on small areas but is usually done with a mechanical device that travels across or along the pavement. The width, depth and spacing of the grooves affect tire-pavement noise; in general, narrow, deep grooves are quieter than wide, shallow ones. For longitudinal tining the wires are usually spaced uniformly about 20 mm (3/4 in.) apart. For transverse tining, random spacing can be used to reduce noise, with wire spacings that average about 13 or 26 mm (1/2 or 1 in.). The FHWA has recommended specific random tine patterns.

**Table 1.**

| Average tine spacing | 13 mm (½ in.) | 26 mm (1 in.) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Example illustration |  |  |
| Recommended actual spacing intervals (in mm) | 10/14/16/11/10/13/15/16/11/10/21/13/10 | 24/27/23/31/21/34 |

### Texturing Hardened Concrete

Texture can also be applied after the concrete has hardened, most often by [diamond grinding](https://pavementinteractive.org/reference-desk/maintenance-and-rehabilitation/maintenance/diamond-grinding/). Diamond saw blades on a cutting head remove about 6 mm (1/4 in.) of the surface, leaving a longitudinal texture and removing surface irregularities, so grinding also serves as a rehabilitation technique.

### Texture Wear

Because texture exists only at the surface, traffic and the environment wear it away; in cold climates it is often lost to studded tires and snowplows. Research by WSDOT found that none of the texturing methods significantly improves resistance to wear from heavy studded tire use, and that drag texture and longitudinal tining performed at least as well as transverse tining in other respects where texture matters, such as [ride quality](https://pavementinteractive.org/glossary/ride-quality/) and noise (WSDOT, n.d.[^4]).

## Sources

[^1]: Portland Cement Association (PCA) (1988). Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures. Portland Cement Association. Skokie, IL.
[^2]: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) (1999). Concrete Pavement Design Details & Construction Practices. Course No. 131060. CD-ROM course companion including technical digest, instructor's guide, participants workbook and visual aids. Federal Highway Administration. Washington, D.C.
[^3]: American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) (1995). Construction of Portland Cement Concrete Pavements. National Highway Institute Course No. 13133. AASHTO/FHWA/Industry joint training. Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation. Washington, D.C.
[^4]: Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) (n.d.). Performance of Concrete Pavements with Longitudinal Tining, Transverse Tining, and Carpet Drag Finish. Washington State Department of Transportation. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/637.2.pdf