Concrete Rake

Concrete rakes (grace) by Toolsa, Altrad Belle and Beton Trowel — what they are and what they do

Concrete rakes, called grace on building sites, are a hand tool for spreading and roughly levelling freshly placed concrete — on foundation slabs, floor screeds, driveways and pavements. Unlike garden rakes, they have a rigid, metal head with fewer teeth (usually 12–20) spaced wider apart, so the tool doesn't sink into the dense mix and lets you pull concrete out to the target thickness before the crew moves on to trowel finishing or vibrating with a screed.

At NORWIT.PL we carry concrete rakes from Toolsa, Altrad Belle and Beton Trowel — aluminium and steel models, plus versions with a rebar hook for pulling reinforcement into place. Toolsa equipment is available on the Toolsa brand page. Below we explain how to choose head material, tooth count and handle length for a specific job on site.

Types of concrete rakes — aluminium, steel and rebar-hook models

Concrete rakes differ mainly in head and handle material and in tooth shape. Aluminium versions are lighter and corrosion-resistant, which makes them a good fit for longer, one-off jobs over a large area. Steel versions have a thicker, stiffer head and hold up better against sharp aggregate and repeated knocks against reinforcement. A separate group is rakes with a rebar hook — an extra, bent end on the handle used for pulling and positioning reinforcing bars while concrete is being poured.

Concrete rakes are part of the wider concrete finishing tools range — alongside the float, hand trowel and vibrating screed used at the later stages of finishing fresh concrete.

How many teeth and what handle length — choosing the right concrete rake for the job

The number of teeth on a concrete rake decides how much material the tool moves in a single stroke and how quickly you can spread the mix. Models with fewer teeth, usually 12–14, are more manoeuvrable when working close to formwork edges and reinforcement, while wider heads with 16–20 teeth suit large, open areas where speed matters. Tooth spacing on a concrete rake is usually 2–3 times wider than on a garden rake, which stops the head from clogging with dense mix.

Handle length is matched to the worker's height and the depth of the pour — straight handles are usually 120–150 cm, while telescopic models extend the tool to about 180–200 cm, which reduces bending over when working with thicker layers of concrete. The overall weight of the tool depends on head material: aluminium rakes usually weigh around 1–1.5 kg, and steel ones around 2–3 kg — a heavier head makes it easier to move dense concrete but tires the arms faster over a long shift.

Concrete rakes vs garden rakes, and working with asphalt or gravel

Garden rakes have a light, densely ribbed head with flexible tines built for collecting leaves and grass — they won't survive contact with hard aggregate or the weight of wet concrete and will bend out of shape quickly. Concrete rakes have a rigid, thicker head and a reinforced handle, so they hold up to hours of work with material at a density of around 2,300–2,400 kg/m³, several times denser than the soil or garden mulch that garden rakes are built for.

The same tool also works well for spreading hot asphalt when patching a road surface and for levelling gravel sub-bases under paving blocks or foundations — provided the head is steel and resistant to high temperature and abrasion, a spec the Altrad Belle and Beton Trowel models meet. Lighter aluminium rakes are not recommended for hot asphalt because the material has lower heat resistance.

Frequently asked questions about concrete rakes (grace)

Why buy concrete rakes at NORWIT.PL

At NORWIT.PL we match concrete rakes from Toolsa, Altrad Belle and Beton Trowel to the specific job — from light work on floor screeds to jobs with sharp aggregate and reinforcement. Concrete rakes round out our wider concrete finishing tools range, so a complete set for finishing fresh concrete — rake, float, hand trowel and vibrating screed — can be ordered in one place, with delivery across the country.