Floats

Floats

A float flattens and finishes a wet surface, and the face material decides the finish it leaves. Plastic floats are the general purpose choice for laying on and levelling render, plaster and screed, and they are light enough to work overhead without wearing you out. Polyurethane floats are firmer and harder wearing, holding a true face longer over repeated use, which matters on a large area. Sponge floats do the opposite job to a flattening float: the open cell face lifts fines and leaves a fine even texture, which is how a rendered wall gets its uniform finish, and a hydro sponge holds water for working the surface without dragging. Grout floats are different again, using a soft rubber face to push grout into tile joints and scrape the surplus off the tile without scratching the glaze, so a plastering float will not do the job. Size follows reach and control: smaller floats around 280mm suit patching, corners and confined work, while 360mm covers ground faster on open walls at the cost of manoeuvrability. Two supporting tools sit alongside the floats. A hawk is the flat plate held in one hand that carries the mix while the other works, and a margin trowel is the narrow blade for corners, angles and cleaning tools down.

Dargan is the widest range, with plastic floats in small at 280mm by 110mm, extra large and 14 inch by 8 inch, plus hydro sponge floats at 11 inch and a polyurethane hydro sponge float. Bihui supplies a TPR soft grip sponge float and a grout float with a TPR handle for tiling. Faithfull covers a mill finish alloy plasterers hawk at 300mm by 300mm and a brick joint raker, and Tala a professional polyurethane float at 360mm by 150mm. Marshalltown makes a 52D margin trowel with a DuraSoft handle, alongside a large fibreglass hawk. For grout, adhesive and tiling tools see Tiling, and for cement and plaster General Hardware.