Miguel didn't know concrete could burn. He found out on his third day, kneeling in fresh pour, hands submerged while working a screed. By that evening, the chemical burns were blistering.
"Nobody warned me. I thought concrete was just rocks and water. I didn't know the lime was eating my skin the whole time."
The Hard Lesson
The burns took weeks to fully heal. Miguel worked through it, hands wrapped in bandages that stayed wet and useless. Every task was harder, slower, more painful.
"Now I know. Concrete gets on your skin, you wash it off immediately. You wear protection. You don't mess around with chemical burns."
Passing It On
Miguel makes sure every new guy on his crew knows about concrete. The burns, the timeline, the prevention. Some lessons shouldn't be learned the hard way.
"I show them my scars. I tell them: this was preventable. Don't be stupid like I was. Protect your hands from the concrete."